Across the States

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53: New ALEC Report Rich States, Poor States: A Primer Aug 12, 2020

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In this special episode of Across the States Dan Reynolds is joined by two ALEC policy experts to discuss the newest edition of Rich States, Poor States: the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index – which released today. Report co-author, ALEC EVP for Policy and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams and Senior Director of the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform Lee Schalk discuss the background of the report, the two state rankings it awards and most importantly, how state leaders can use this year’s findings to advance economic growth following a global pandemic.

Find your state’s ranking and learn more at: www.richstatespoorstates.org Jonathan Williams and Lee Schalk in the Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/493673-states-should-say-no-thanks-to-a-federal-bailout
Jonathan Williams and Lee Schalk in Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/state-lawmakers-against-state-bailouts-opinion-1512029
ALEC Letter signed by over 200 legislators: State Leaders Say “No Thanks” to Federal Bailout: https://www.alec.org/article/state-leaders-say-no-thanks-to-federal-bailout/
Policy Prescriptions: Fiscal Discipline to Address Economic and Health Care Challenges in the Face of COVID-19: https://www.alec.org/article/policy-prescriptions-to-address-economic-and-health-care-challenges-in-the-face-of-covid-19/

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52: How to Fix the Safety Net w/ FGA Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

Balancing state budgets is always important, but during the pandemic, doing it right is even more important. On the podcast today to discuss this is FGA Director of Government Affairs Roy Lendardson, FGA Senior Fellow Scott Centorino and ALEC Executive Vice President of Policy Jonathan Williams. Listen in on how the federal government has handcuffed states with “fraud by design” welfare programs, how states can actually improve budgets while still keeping welfare programs and more.

ALEC resources on the FGA website: https://thefga.org/alec/

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51: Certificate of Need Laws w/ Pacific Legal Foundation Jul 20, 2020

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What are Certificate of Need laws and how do they affect businesses across the country? Anastasia Boden, Senior Attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, weighs in on CON laws and COVID-19, how the Pacific Legal Foundation is defending individual liberty in the states and what states can do now to protect medical freedom.

Anastasia Boden in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/kentuckys-ambulance-cartel-is-afraid-of-phillip-truesdell-11570225646
Anastasia Boden in the Wall Street Journal on CON laws standing in the way of new medical facilities and services: https://www.wsj.com/articles/governments-ambulance-chasers-11588198430
Anastasia Boden on Fox Business: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/coronavirus-government-regulations
Pacific Legal Foundation on Economic Liberty: https://pacificlegal.org/economic-liberty/
Pacific Legal Foundation calling on governors to suspend laws that inhibit emergency medical response: https://pacificlegal.org/governors-suspend-laws-inhibiting-emergency-response/

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50: Criminal Justice Solutions w/ MI Rep. Graham Filler Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

This episode of Across the States, recorded in early 2020, takes us back to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where host Dan Reynolds sits down with MI Representative Graham Filler, a speaker at the event and Chair of the MI House Judiciary Committee, to discuss criminal justice solutions at the state level. Following the FIRST STEP Act, based on ALEC model policy, what is the “second step” states can take to lower recidivism rates in America? Rep. Filler weighs in.

ALEC model Justice Safety Valve Act: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/justice-safety-valve-act/

ALEC model: Resolution in Support of Reentry Programs: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/resolution-in-support-of-reentry-programs/

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49: Education Reform w/ Jim Blew from the U.S. Department of Education Jul 02, 2020

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In this special episode of Across the States recorded at the U.S. Department of Education in early 2020, host Dan Reynolds sat down with Jim Blew, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, and Sherry Street, ALEC Vice President of Policy Advancement to highlight the work done advocating for education choice. What’s the reality behind charter schools, what does education reform look like today and how might it look in the years to come? One thing is clear from both the federal and state perspective: it should be about empowering the educators, the parents and the students.

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48: The Road to Higher Taxes w/ Stephen Haner Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

On this episode of Across the States, host Dan Reynolds is joined by Senior Fellow of State and Local Taxes at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Stephen Haner, ALEC Vice President of Policy Jonathan Williams and ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform Legislative Manager Skip Estes. The Thomas Jefferson Institute recently released a brochure, The Road to Higher Taxes, which outlines the nearly two dozen changes in Virginia tax laws passed by the 2020 General Assembly. Now in the podcast studio, the group defines what this will mean for taxpayers come July 1.

The Road to Higher Taxes: http://www.thomasjeffersoninst.org/files/3/RoadToTaxesBrochure.pdf

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47: State Labor Reforms for Public Sector Unions w/ Vincent Vernuccio Jun 23, 2020

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In the 2018 case Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court reshaped the interaction between public sector employees and unions, affirming the 1st Amendment rights of individual employees. Joining host Dan Reynolds to discuss this landmark decision, its ramifications and the “Post-Janus” environment today is Vincent Vernuccio, Senior Fellow at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Top 20 State-Level Labor Reforms by Vincent Vernuccio: https://www.mackinac.org/archives/2020/Labor%20Reform%20Booklet%202020.pdf
ALEC Model Public Employee Rights and Authorization Act: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/the-public-employee-rights-and-authorization-act/
ALEC Model Union Recertification Act: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/union-recertification/
ALEC Model Public Employee Choice Act: https://www.alec.org/model-policy/public-employee-choice-act/
Alaska Protects Public Workers’ First Amendment Rights: https://www.mackinac.org/alaska-protects-public-workers-first-amendment-rights-20190828
Alaska Attorney General Moves to Protect Worker Freedom by Michael Slabinski: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/alaska-attorney-general-moves-to-protect-worker-freedom
Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson joins ALECTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYgtm_zfc3k
Texas Attorney General Says Public Employers Should Stop Collecting Union Dues Until Workers Opt In: https://www.mackinac.org/texas-attorney-general-says-public-employers-should-stop-collecting-union-dues-until-workers-opt-in
Indiana Attorney General Affirms Worker’s Rights: https://www.mackinac.org/indiana-attorney-general-affirms-workers-rights

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46: Youth Involvement in State and Local Government w/ State Legislator of the Month Del. Joshua Higginbotham and TPUSA Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

Youth involvement in free enterprise and individual liberty will play a crucial role in COVID-19 recovery and onward. On the podcast to discuss this is State Legislator of the Month and 23-year old WV Del. Joshua Higginbotham, who recently sponsored a bill reclassifying 911 telecommunication operators as emergency workers. Also joining the podcast to speak on the important participation of youth in politics is Turning Point USA COO Tyler Bowyer.

TPUSA Website: https://www.tpusa.com/

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45: A Free Market Approach to Content Moderation w/ John Samples Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

Social media and free speech: they truly go hand in hand. Knowing this, Facebook recently started funding an oversight board made up of independent individuals as a non-governmental and free market solution to oversee content moderation on the platform. Joining host Dan Reynolds to discuss this is John Samples, a member of the new oversight board and Cato Institute Vice President, and Jonathon Hauenschild, Director of the Communications and Technology Task Force at ALEC.

Facebook’s commitment to the Oversight Board: https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/letter-from-mark-zuckerberg-on-oversight-board-charter.pdf
Facebook and Credible Content Oversight on the Cato Daily Podcast: https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/facebook-credible-content-oversight

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44: Social Media and the Section 230 Executive Order w/ Ash Kazaryan and Carl Szabo Jun 12, 2020

Show notes

President Trump’s executive order, social media and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. To discuss these hot topics, and why they’re so important right now, host Dan Reynolds is joined by TechFreedom Director of Civil Liberties Ash Kazaryan, NetChoice VP and General Counsel Carl Szabo and ALEC Communications and Technology Task Force Director Jonathon Hauenschild.

CNN Story on Facebook Conservative Interaction: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/media/trump-social-media-conservative-censorship/index.html
The Verge story on leftists arguing YouTube is politically biased for refusing to monetize LGBTQ+ content: https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/3/21278050/youtube-lawsuit-lgbtq-google-doj-section-230-trump-executive-order
Link to 47 U.S.C. § 230: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230
Link to Executive Order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-preventing-online-censorship/

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