On August 7, 2018, Missourians will have the opportunity to vote to uphold their state’s right-to-work law, passed by the legislature in 2017, which ensures that anyone can hold a job without having to join a union. If they uphold the law by voting yes on Proposition A, Missouri will join the 27 states that […]
California Takes Two Steps Back on Net Neutrality
The state of California has moved ahead with one of the most ambitious pieces of state-based net neutrality legislation to date. SB 822, the Communications: Broadband Internet Access Service, reinstates the restrictions put in place by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in 2015 and goes even further with additional regulatory restrictions. First introduced on […]
New Jersey Faces Plethora of Tax Increases
In the spring of 2018, New Jersey’s new governor and leaders in the legislature were arguing about which state taxes to raise. Governor Phil Murphy had pledged to soak the wealthy with a state individual income tax of 10.75 percent on all income more than $1 million, but powerful State Senate President Steve Sweeney preferred […]
Seattle’s Plastic Straw Ban is Unnecessary and Counterproductive
On July 1, 2018, plastic straws will be banned in Seattle. No more will children be able to use the straw included with their juice box; no more will a couple on a date be able to order one drink with two plastic straws; you’ll have to navigate the ice in that vodka on the rocks without […]
De Blasio’s Trolley Goes Off The Rails
A trickle of negative stories about New York Mayor Bill De Blasio’s (D) proposed Brooklyn-Queens waterfront trolley, known as the BQX, has turned into a deluge.
California Gas Tax Increase Faces Voters
On November 6, 2018, Californians will elect their new governor, a U.S. Senator, 53 congressmen and women, 80 members of the State Assembly, and 20 state senators. For better or worse, as is usual in California, the ballot is likely also to contain numerous referendums. One of those questions will ask voters if they want […]
New Jersey Politicians Argue About Which Taxes To Raise
There is a lesson to be learned from the dispute between political insiders in New Jersey that has unfolded over the last couple of months regarding raising taxes. Throughout 2017, gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy (D) pledged that, if elected, he would implement a millionaires’ tax in the state: a tax of 10.75 percent on all […]
New York Politicians Wage War on Plastic
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, both Democrats, are widely reported not to get along very well. But they have at least one thing in common: they are waging a war on plastic products. Plastic bags and plastic bottles, used by countless New Yorkers every day, are both […]
Online Sales Tax Debate to See Day in Court
During the first week of April, 2018, a number of organizations filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court with respect to the case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., Overstock.com, Inc., and NewEgg, Inc. The petitioner in the case seeks to overturn the physical nexus requirement specified by the Supreme Court in 1992, when it […]
A Moment of Truth: Will Virginia Republicans Expand Medicaid?
On April 11, 2018, Virginia legislators will return to Richmond for a special session in which they will aim to finish work on the Commonwealth’s budget. At center stage, yet again, is the issue of Medicaid expansion, still unresolved eight years after Obamacare became law. Medicaid is a deeply flawed program that was meant to […]



