Last year, we saw state bills covering everything from banning the use of cell phones while driving, to banning sushi and undercooked food. Internet taxation, privacy concerns and other e-commerce issues should be hot agenda items at the state level this year. Check back periodically as we update the status of state legislation that could affect your individual freedom.
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell Discusses Role of State AGs
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell recently joined CFIF Corporate Counsel and Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss his role as attorney general, which he believes requires a balanced approach between good consumer protection and protection of the free enterprise system, and how this approach and the state’s legal reform climate have helped Virginia earn a top ten ranking as a pro-business state. ...[Read more and listen to the interview here.]
California — The Nanny State that Never Sleeps
A few years ago, we ordered a fine saltwater fishing reel from a fine specialty sporting goods purveyor in California..[more]
CFIF Files Motion in Federal Court Seeking to Solidify its First Amendment Rights in Pennsylvania
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) last week filed a motion with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking, among other things, to further solidify its First Amendment rights to run issue ads in the state... [more]
Learning an Illegal Lesson in Our Public Schools
Nothing shocks us anymore, especially when it comes to illegal immigration...[more]
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) last week filed a motion with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking, among other things, to further solidify its First Amendment rights to run issue ads in the state...[more]
CFIF Prevails Against Pennsylvania's Attempt to Muzzle Our Speech
This morning the Commonwealth Secretary of the state of Pennsylvania and the State Attorney General (AG) filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) from airing its television ad in Pennsylvania...[more]
On Thursday, November 1, Pedro Cotes, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, announced that he would seek an injunction in state court to stop the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) from running its television ad in Pennsylvania...[more]
CFIF Launches Public Education Effort in Pennsylvania
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today launched a public education effort in Pennsylvania designed to inform the public about important judicial issues in the state...[more]
CFIF Condemns Massachusetts Bureaucrats' Misguided Subprime Mortgage Bailout Proposal
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today lambasted a dangerous plan by Massachusetts officials to waste $250 million of state taxpayers' money by bailing out careless subprime mortgage lenders and their reckless borrowers...[more]
Got Bottled Water?
Of course you do. You're a creep, a wastrel, a planet polluter.
You clearly have too much disposable income...[more]
CFIF Secures Free Speech Victory in Pennsylvania
Lawsuit Clarifies that Enforcement of State Campaign Finance Law Must be Limited to "Express Advocacy," Enabling CFIF and Other Similarly Situated Speakers to Broadcast Independent Issue Ads Close to Elections...[more]
Live by Subpoena; Die by Subpoena
Although Rush Limbaugh has, with characteristic humor, bemoaned the incredible nationwide demand and short supply for blank subpoena forms, there must be good gnomes somewhere laboring through the night to produce sufficient quantity for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and some of his henchpeople...[more]
New York's Eliot Spitzer in the Eye of Scandal
Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York, has a problem. The Governor of New York is the former Attorney General of New York. As Attorney General, Spitzer exploited scandals, some real, others imagined, many never resolved, but all pursued with the righteous indignation of a populist avenger...[more]
HillaryCare Exposing Itself as a
Catastrophe
State Experiments with Socialized Medicine Already Failing . Socialized
medicine doesn't work, and state experiments toward that end are proving it...[more]
Center
For Individual Freedom Sues to Strike Down Pennsylvania Speech Restriction
The Center for Individual Freedom
(CFIF) last week filed a lawsuit to hold unconstitutional a Pennsylvania law
that forbids independent issue ads during election periods...[more]
Sanctuary Cities:
Defying the Law for Illegal Aliens
Recently, William Otis, Director of Legal Affairs for the American Civil Rights
Union, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel and Senior Vice President Renee Giachino
to discuss “sanctuary cities” and why there is a clear consensus
that illegal immigrants who break U.S. laws should not be given special rights
or protection by local communities. …[Read
more and listen to the interview here.]
Stunning Political Victory against Illegal Immigration
Remember the liberal, pro-amnesty for illegal aliens mantra following the 2006 elections? The one that had it that politicians in any way critical of illegal immigration lost because of that stance...[more]
One Small Step for Free Speech, One Giant Leap for Big Media
Don't get us wrong. By all accounts, last week certainly can be tallied in the win column for those of us who understand that "campaign finance reform" is just a euphemism for restricting political speech at the core of the First Amendment...[more]
CFIF
Encourages Governor Sonny Perdue to Sign Consumer Choice for Television Act
Into Law
Following the Georgia House's lead, the state Senate last week overwhelmingly
passed the Consumer Choice for Television Act, which, if signed into law, will
result in long-overdue lower prices and more choices for cable TV consumers
across the state...[more]
"Gun-Free Zones" = Sanctuaries for Maniacal Killers
Like clockwork, this week's horrific murders at Virginia Tech prompted the instantaneous but typical, tired and misguided calls for increased infringements upon the Second Amendment's individual right to keep and bear arms...[more]
Three Southern States on Front Lines in Battle for Cable Competition
Unlike practically every other sector of the communications market, cable TV has managed to cling to its virtual monopoly power, helped by outdated rules in most states that discourage competition and keep consumers captive to whichever cable company holds an often-times exclusive franchise to service their respective towns...[more]
Western State Governors Succumb To Climate-Change Silliness
Pact to Reduce "Greenhouse Gases" Will Harm State Economies but do Nothing to Affect Climate...[more]
Governor's New "Municipal Partnership Package" Will Stifle Telecommunications and Harm Consumers...[more]
The Perils of Legal Immigration
When Columbian-born Sascha Herrera sought to join her parents in the United States on a visitor visa in 2003, she believed that she was doing so legally...[more]
Petitioners, which include a Louisiana District Attorney, members of the Louisiana Board of Ethics, and the Supervisory Committee for Campaign Finance, seek Supreme Court review on the grounds, in part, that the Fifth Circuit erred by not referring this case to the Louisiana Supreme Court...[more]
One of the most prominent arguments used by proponents of amnesty for illegal aliens is that they do jobs Americans won't do, and there are just so many of those necessary jobs that amnesty and its assorted variations are the only solution to the problem...[more]
Florida 13: Trying to Duplicate Election 2000
Florida 13, as the congressional district along Florida's central gulf coast is designated, does not yet have a new congressperson...[more]
Liberally Flaunting the Voters in Michigan
While the President of the University Michigan was listening, she didn't care what the voters had to say -- at least not if it wasn't what she wanted to hear...[more]
"Given the avalanche of predatory lawsuits stemming from the Putnam case, will the West Virginia State Bar investigate kickback allegations against a prominent law firm, or will it instead protect its own?"...[more]
Allowing Illegal Votes From the Bench
Illegal immigration might not be popular among American voters, especially in the Southwest, but two judges sitting on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have decided the way to fix that is to let the illegal aliens vote...[more]
The ‘Activist’ Journey of the Florida Supreme Court
Recently, Colleen Pero, a legal analyst specializing in reviewing state supreme court opinions for philosophical trends and directions, joined CFIF Corporate Counsel & Senior Vice President Renee Giachino to discuss judicial activism and her new paper, commissioned by the American Justice Partnership, titled “The ‘Activist’ Journey of the Florida Supreme Court.” …[Read more and listen to the interview]
Wal-Mart Ruling Confirms Importance of Conservative Judges, but Battle Continues
Judge Motz, a Reagan appointee, has struck down Maryland's infamous "Wal-Mart Law," which singled out Wal-Mart and required it to spend at least 8% of its payroll on health benefits...[more]
Killing Frivolous Lawsuits Not Once, But Twice ... And Counting
Less than two years ago, the courts of the Golden State were truly rich for trial lawyers who wanted to profit from baseless claims. Back then, anyone could file a lawsuit under the state's unfair competition law -- known as 17200 for its section in the state Business and Professions Code -- against a business to "protect" consumers from any "unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice" and any "unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising."...[more]
Partying Like It's 1999: State Politicians Repeating 1990s Budget Indiscretions
As the nation's robust economy generates federal, state, and local revenue windfalls (thank you, Bush tax cuts), state governments are regrettably repeating their disastrous 1990s budget indiscretions. Unless taxpayers demand change, they will ultimately pay the price...[more]
The extreme measures that schools employ to protect themselves from liability mean preventing kids from doing things they might enjoy, especially if those things involve the slightest risk...[more]
Free Speech Restored in Louisiana
After nearly two years of litigation, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) won an important free-speech decision last week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Louisiana's campaign finance law does not restrict or regulate independent political issue advertising...[more]
Fairness Coming to Florida's Civil Justice System
With time running out in many state legislative sessions to pass much-needed litigation reform, thankfully the Florida legislature wasted no time this session in passing a law that will eliminate the concept of "joint and several" liability...[more]
The Food Police Go to the States
When we think about the men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to craft our Constitution, we usually picture the greatest men of their age, putting aside self interest and struggling to shape the blueprint of a nation. This is a worthy and honorable portrait and in many ways, an accurate one...[more]
Civics Education 101: The Case for Good Citizenship
By Alan B. Bookman: Nearly 44,000 Florida residents willingly – in fact, quite happily – recently faced a challenging test of their knowledge of our government and its history, and they all passed. You may be surprised to learn the test takers were all immigrants to the United States taking the examination for citizenship...[more]
Georgia Gets Tough on Illegal Immigrants
The State of Georgia has done what the U.S. Congress (thanks largely to political gamesmanship in the Senate) cannot. It has produced signed, sealed and delivered legislation to deal with the state's burden of illegal immigration...[more]
Bringing Competition to Cable Television
The lack of competition in the cable markets is causing quite a stir in Congress and state legislatures as cable and telephone lobbyists and local government officials trade words over the best and most economical way to get video services to consumers...[more]
Rich v. the Rich: Eminent Domain Goes Golfing
"Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."...[more]
Vermont Is Corrupt: State Attorney General Says So
Pity poor William H. Sorrell, Attorney General of Vermont. On February 28, he went before the U.S. Supreme Court. He said political corruption in Vermont is a serious problem. Then under tough questioning from Chief Justice John Roberts he said he hadn't prosecuted anyone for it...[more]
America's New Love Affair with Taxes: Uh Huh
Immediately after last week's off-year state elections, a host of liberal screech monkeys loosed a litany of overblown claims regarding what selected outcomes would mean for federal elections in 2006...[more]
The Revolutionary Governor: Schwarzenegger Stalls
In his long string of action movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger played characters who were invincible. In his focused business ventures, he has been shrewd and successful...[more]
Live Free Taxed or
Die and Be Mad as Hell
When the tax-nabbing city burghers of New London, Connecticut decided to set a record for greedy government by confiscating private property to give to developers...[more]
Former NRA President Exposes the Lies and Misinformation Aimed at Florida’s “Castle Doctrine” Law
There are some folks who would like us to believe that the Wild, Wild West now starts in the Sunshine State...[more]
CFIF Urges Governor Romney to Amend Massachusetts Wireless Services Policy
The Constitution of the Commonwealth clearly states that government action should not serve any specific private interest. By initiating procurement favoritism, the new technology policy in fact serves those few companies and organizations that support your mandated technology...[more]
Florida’s
‘Stand Your Ground’ Law:
It Ain’t What the Bradys Say It Is
Most readers of this website will not be surprised that some anti-gun advocates have serious difficulties with facts, truth, logic and the derivatives thereof...[more]
CFIF Urges Massachusetts to Reject New Red Tape for Cell Users
This week, CFIF joined a coalition of major organizations to urge Massachusetts legislators to reject a proposal to increase taxes and regulatory red tape on cell phone users...[more]
States Race to Restore Private Property Rights
Less than two months after five justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional for local governments to seize private property for private development...[more]
The Center for Individual Freedom has expanded its effort to educate Virginians about the major differences between Governor Mark Warner’s and Lt. Governor Tim Kaine’s records on the Second Amendment and the death penalty...[more]
CFIF: TV Issue Ads Expose Tim Kaine’s Real Record on the Death Penalty and Second Amendment Rights
The Center for Individual Freedom today began airing a television issue ad across Virginia educating the public about the major differences between Governor Mark Warner’s and Lt. Governor Tim Kaine’s records on the Second Amendment and the death penalty...[more]
Update: Kaine Runs from His Record in Response to CFIF Issue Ads
“Tim Kaine can try to run from his anti-Second Amendment, anti-death penalty record, but he won’t ever escape it."...[more]
A Worst-Case Scenario for Federalism: Massachusetts and the Minimum Wage
By Alexander Schwab: Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis’ conception of individual states as "laboratories of democracy" would aptly describe Massachusetts should its legislature pass a bill raising the state minimum wage from $6.75 to $8.25. Sadly, this is one experiment destined to go up in smoke...[more]
So. You bought some tin-can hybrid econotoy powered by a burble motor, greased with biodegradable, recycled chicken fat. Saving that gas. Doing your thing for the environment...[more]
Spitzer’s Overreaching Finally Coming Back to Haunt Him
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has made himself the darling of the media and a “hero” for the little guy through years of aggressive legal action against any corporate boogieman he could dredge up and bully into a headline-grabbing settlement...[more]Florida Justice Reform Institute Director Discusses Legal Reform
Recently, on the radio program “Your Turn — Meeting Nonsense with Common Sense” the Center’s Renee Giachino interviewed Pam Philp, the Executive Director of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, about the goals of the recently-formed organization and the need legal reform in Florida...[more]
Five months after banishing "junk food" from their premises, Los Angeles public schools have stumbled upon a remarkable discovery: children won't spend their allowance money on carrot sticks and broccoli. Banning soda also had another, equally predictable result: the soft drink companies ended sponsorship deals that had previously brought campuses tens of thousands of dollars...[more]
A Letter to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture
This week, the Center urged New Jersey officials to reject a proposed plan to ban certain food and beverages from New Jersey Schools. The Center argued that such would ban would not address childhood obesity, but instead would reduce choices for students and abandon an opportunity to teach children to eat and drink in moderation...[more]
Stopping Trial Lawyer Shakedowns in California
Imagine. … You own a small travel agency that you spent all of your savings to start a few years ago. You have three employees. With airlines and cruise lines cutting back on commissions, you have to work very hard to make ends meet, but you manage. Thanks to the Internet and that new website you’ve launched, you’re finding new customers. Your profit margins are...[more]Let Them Eat Cardboard in California
We write about food a lot, because we like food a lot. What we don’t like a lot, to put it mildly, are people who mess with our food. That would include trial lawyers who see deep pockets to be looted from the purveyors of fast food, which can’t help but raise the price of our chili cheese fries...[more]Marshall Manson Offers Written Testimony Before Committee Hearing on "Reducing Childhood Obesity"
Given the report earlier this year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrating that obesity and diseases caused by obesity are now leading killers in the United States, there can be no question that obesity is and ought to be a major health concern for all Americans. In recent months, this "obesity crisis" has attracted significant public and media attention...[more]
A Letter to the California Performance Review Commission
In a letter to the California Performance Review Commission, the Center for Individual Freedom opposed the Commission’s recommendation for the state to implement a procurement preference in favor of open source software over proprietary software...[more]Spitzer: Surrendering to the Temptations of Power
In the name of fighting crime, government prosecutors have tremendous power to investigate, charge, and sue those suspected of wrongdoing. But that power can lead to abuse. Easy access to favorable publicity lures ambitious prosecutors into pursuing politically popular cases, even if those cases aren’t always legally sound. And prosecutors can be tempted to use their posts to further their own political or ideological agendas...[more]On June 29, the Center's General Counsel, Renee Giachino submitted written testimony to the Texas Joint Interim Committee on Nutrition in the Public Schools...[more]
Given the recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrating that obesity and diseases caused by obesity are now leading killers in the United States, there can be no question that obesity is and ought to be a major health concern for all Americans. The central questions now are: whether and if so how the federal government should respond...[more] This week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) unveiled the results of its latest "study." CSPI was horrified to learn that a large percentage of food products sold in school vending machines are sodas, chips and candy. And, in a shocking disclosure that seemed straight from a Dave Barry column, the group also revealed that these products are not nutritious...[more] From Texas to Connecticut, state legislators are working on education initiatives to better our public schools and to fund them. As they debate these critical issues, their attention must also focus on new and proposed policies that will rob public schools of desperately needed funds...[more] Governor Jim Doyle needs to take a basic course in the American tort system. As he leaps onboard the prescription drug importation bandwagon — touting "savings" for Wisconsinites and the state’s red-inked budget — Doyle is turning a blind eye to the legal consequences of his plan, not to mention its real monetary cost. Wisconsin is not just importing prescription drugs but legal liability, too...[more]The Food Police: Coming Soon to a Texas School Lunchroom Near You
The Lone Star State may soon find its school lunch lines getting a lot lonelier. That’s because the food police will be coming to a local school cafeteria near you if Texans do not take a stand against the nutrition guidelines recently announced by the Texas Department of Agriculture. This summer, on August 1, 2004, when Texas families are still focused on fun and sun, the revised Texas Public School Nutrition Policy will take effect, significantly restricting the foods available on school grounds and in the cafeterias...[more]The Center for Individual Freedom today urged Minnesota state legislators to adopt the proposed social studies standards now pending before the House Education Policy Committee. "A meaningful knowledge of American government and the Constitution are essential if citizens are going to be truly free," said Marshall Manson, the Center’s Vice President of Public Affairs...[more]
D.C. Shouldn’t Attack Neighbors’ Liberty With Commuter Tax
Americans take taxation seriously. From the earliest days of our constitutional government, our leaders understood that taxes were an attack on freedom and liberty. In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall famously declared that the "power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy." Until the 17th Amendment was approved in 1913, the federal government was barred from levying an income tax, and questions about tax policy continue to dominate the public debate...[more]
Privacy Taken to the Nth Degree
Privacy is a dominant theme in United States public policy. Yet, although privacy is important, it is not everything. As the lessons of the 9-11 have taught us, we cannot simply put our collective heads in the sand and be "either for or against" privacy, no matter what the circumstances. Seeking to protect privacy is both commendable and necessary, but we cannot do it blindly and without cost...[more]Last week, the Center for Individual Freedom published "Putting the Bottom Line Above the Law," which pointed out that recent state and local plans to re-import prescription drugs from Canada are not only bad policy but also blatantly violate federal law. For this latter reason, the article noted that the "fundamental problem" with a Governor or Mayor, "or anyone else, blindly re-importing drugs from abroad is that neither he nor any other elected official is above the law." In other words, state and local elected officials "shouldn’t be leading the charge to break the law; they should be doing everything in their power to uphold it," the article concluded...[more]
Blame it on the Bars By Erin Murphy: Nothing gets the plaintiffs’ bar going like alleged "evil empires" with deep pockets — big tobacco, gun manufacturers and profitable corporations are always at the top of the list. Not to be discounted is the alcohol industry, which has been battling dram shop liability claims for decades. Under dram shop liability laws, a party injured by an intoxicated person can sue establishments contributing to that person’s intoxication...[more]
Putting the Bottom Line Above the Law Perhaps some elected officials need a refresher course in the fundamentals of American government and the rule of law. After all, ours "is a government of laws and not men" and "no man is above the law." Yet lately, when the bottom lines of the states and municipalities have looked grim (due in large part, we might note, to excessive spending), our local representatives all too quickly and casually ignore what the U.S. Constitution calls "the supreme Law of the Land" — namely, "the Laws of the United States" — all in order to save a few lousy nickels, maybe more, maybe less...[more]CFIF Urges Arkansas Legislators to Oppose
Any and All Tax Increases
In a letter reproduced here, the Center for Individual Freedom joined several
other national and state anti-tax and free-market organizations in urging Governor
Huckabee and Arkansas state legislators to oppose any and all tax increases
that are and may be considered in the legislature’s special session now
underway.
To download and read the letter, click here.
(PDF)
Last June, the Center for Individual Freedom ran an ad campaign against Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and the shell game he called a budget. At that time, the Center along with others (Americans for Tax Reform, Illinois Policy Institute, National Taxpayers Union, Illinois Manufacturers Association, ILNFIB, to name just a few) urged the governor to scrap his proposed budget plan...[more]
Do As I Say, Not As I Do: The Plight for Private Property Rights It is interesting to follow the developments of the newly liberated Iraq and to compare the activities there to those happening at home. The Iraqi Governing Council is tasked with the job of creating a Constitution and as Jay Leno has said, "maybe we should send them ours since we’re not using it." After all, how can we as Americans guide others when we allow our own government to infringe on our own basic rights here at home?...[more]
For the past two years, states have repeated the same fire drill: increasing spending while increasing taxes and threatening program cuts. Yes, the country experienced an economic slowdown and mild recession in 2001. But the recession is over; it has been for two years. Not only has the U.S. Department of Commerce recently reported record revenue collections by state and local governments for 2002 ($872 billion in 2002), Americans just received the good news that the nation’s GDP grew by 7.2% in the third quarter of this year (the highest growth rate in almost 20 years)...[more]Armed with the technology to finally refute the policies of tax-and-spend politicians, the Illinois Policy Institute has the tools to separate reality from fiction regarding Illinois’ state tax policies...[more]
Add getting enough sleep to the lengthy list of requirements for driving, at least on the highways and thoroughfares of New Jersey. The state recently became the first in the nation to make it a criminal offense for a driver to get behind the wheel while being too sleepy — committing a DWD, Driving While Drowsy, if you will...[more]An Econ Lesson for Governor Blagojevich
By Greg Blankenship: When government hikes taxes government tends to receive less revenue than expected, and when government cuts taxes government tends to lose less revenue than opponents of tax cuts contend. This is because changes in tax policy influence the way economic actors behave. It’s simple — really — if you want less of something tax it, if you want more, don’t...[more]Will Hurricane Isabel Wash Away the Trial Lawyers?
With the mid-Atlantic Coast bracing itself under the significant threat of Hurricane Isabel, some East Coast residents wisely are preparing for the worst. News stations from the Carolinas to New England are tracking the storm and reporting live from local home improvement and grocery stores bustling with shoppers augmenting their hurricane-proof supplies...[more]Readin’, Writin’ and ’Rithmetic: A Back to School Guide for the Alabama Governor
Not only was Governor Bob Riley’s $1.2 billion tax increase defeated — it was bludgeoned to death with only 33% of voters voting "yes." On September 9th, Alabama voters sent a resounding message to politicians in Montgomery — no new taxes. The question is not "why did the measure lose" but "why did the measure lose so badly?"...[more]Big Blind Brother:Tampa Abandons Facial Recognition Policing
While all good liberals were undoubtedly frolicking away the remnants of summer in the pristine wilderness of ANWR and the rest of us were hurriedly spending our tax cuts before President Dean takes them back, the Tampa, Florida police department made an announcement. After a highly publicized and controversial two-year test, the city is discontinuing the use of facial recognition technology...[more]
Center Joins More Than a Dozen National Groups in Opposing Alabama Tax Hike
In an August 8 letter to Alabama state leaders, the Center for Individual Freedom joined more than a dozen national anti-tax and pro-freedom groups in opposing Governor Bob Riley’s plan to raise taxes by $1.2 billion on Alabama families and businesses.
To download the full letter in PDF, click here.
Judicial Activism in Nevada: State Supreme Court Trumps Will of the People Welcome to Nevada, where the state's official motto, "All for our country," is giving way to a new slogan —"why bother?" — in the wake of a highly politicized state Supreme Court ruling setting aside a voter-initiated state constitutional amendment...[more]
CFIF Joins Taxpayer and Business Groups in Urging Illinois Governor to Offset Tax and Fee Hikes In a June 25 letter, the Center for Individual Freedom joined the Illinois Policy Institute and other taxpayer and business groups in urging Governor Rod Blagojevich to alleviate the economic burden his Fiscal Year 2004 Budget places on the Illinois business community. As part of President Bush's Jobs and Growth Plan, Illinois will receive approximately $780 million in federal aid, $357 million of which will be directed towards Illinois' Medicaid Program. The letter calls on the Governor to use the remaining $422 million to offset -- dollar for dollar -- the drastic increase in taxes and fees the Governor slapped on Illinois employers.
To download the full letter in PDF, click here.
Instead of "Ending Business as Usual" in Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich is "Ending Business" in Illinois The Center for Individual Freedom this week launched an ad campaign in Illinois to denounce the devastating impacts of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's budget on jobs, consumer costs and the state's economy. The print advertisement, which is running throughout the week in multiple newspapers across Illinois, likens Blagojevich's budget to a "shell game."...[more]
G-Rod Costs Jobs: Instead of "Ending Business as Usual" in Illinois, Blagojevich is "Ending Business" in Illinois. Blagojevich's New Budget to Cause Massive Job Layoffs, Less Revenue, and Will Drive Business Out of State...[more]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been seen strutting around the state lately, preening over his shiny new budget spun by his Democratic cohorts in the legislature. And what's not to be proud of? The young governor has somehow pulled off a budget that will temporarily bandage the state's hemorrhaging massive budget deficit, while finding even more cash to pump into his favorite pet projects — all with nary an increase in consumer sales or income taxes. Why, a plan this good might even serve as a blueprint for Democrats looking to take the White House in 2004...[more]
A Legal System Going to the Dogs "Who Let the Dogs Out" may be an entirely different tune if animal rights advocates get their way in Colorado. In fact, dogcatchers, veterinarians, pet groomers, pet sitters and even those chic new pet salons could find themselves facing increased liability for letting the dogs out should harm then come to Lassie, Benji, Spike or Fluffy...[more]
States Vote to Streamline Collection
of Internet Sales Taxes
A coalition of lawmakers and tax collectors from more than 30 states gathered
together in Chicago on November 12 to approve the final draft of an interstate
agreement to "simplify" their tax laws and make it easier for budget-strapped
legislators to collect sales and use taxes on Internet purchases...[more]
Voters Not High On Easing Drug
Laws
The American electorate drew the line on softening our nation's drug laws after
voters in three states overwhelmingly rejected ballot measures designed to either
legalize or ease penalties for personal possession or use of certain drugs,
including marijuana. The votes came just a week after the battle for medical
marijuana scored an important victory in the courts…[more]
We,
the [Pregnant Pigs] Of the State of Florida…
"FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD"
Remember George Orwell’s Animal Farm? Snowball (the pig) inscribed the above maxim on the side of the barn to teach the farm’s inhabitants the "essential principle of Animalism." While most of us understand that Orwell’s classic allegorical novel was meant to educate us about the evils of totalitarianism, the animal rights movement has adopted Snowball’s motto as its own…[more]
South Dakota: A State of Men, And Not
Of Laws?
The proposed addition to South Dakota's Constitution, known as Amendment
A, states that criminal defendants have the right "to argue the merits, validity,
and applicability of the law, including the sentencing laws." Thus, if approved,
the amendment will enable a defendant and his lawyers to openly argue that jurors
should ignore the law and vote to acquit for any variety of reasons, even if
the facts show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.
By allowing such an argument, the amendment would institutionalize the power
of jury nullification in South Dakota's Constitution.
Unfortunately, institutionalizing the power of jury nullification will only
permit juries to dispense inconsistent justice on a more frequent basis...[more]
Want to Cut Taxes? Don’t Look to the Media for Help
President Bush recently signed into law an increase in the Federal government’s credit limit from $5.95 trillion to $6.4 trillion dollars, a nearly eight percent increase. Forget about the relative merit, or lack thereof, of each of the Federal programs accounting for the increased demand of taxpayer money, focus instead on the fact that our Federal government can unilaterally raise its own credit limit. Imagine having the power to raise your own credit limit; that’s a scary thought for most of us...[more]
The budget battle in Tennessee is over, at least for now. For the fourth consecutive year, anti-tax advocates were successful in defeating the imposition of a state income tax, and the legislature fulfilled its constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget — despite the state’s $800 million deficit...[more]
For the umpteenth time in the past four years, Tennesseans rallied at the state capitol in Nashville last week to oppose a state income tax. And, for the umpteenth time, chants of "NO NEW TAXES" from thousands of angry taxpayers, and incessant horn-honking from citizens circling the capitol in their automobiles, won the day...[more]
If you’re one of those Americans who knowingly overpay their taxes each year, expecting a hefty refund in return, it may be time to revisit your W-4 withholding form...[more]
States Clamoring to Tax E-Commerce (Again!)
As state budgets dwindle, due in part to the nation’s lingering economic slump, Governors around the country are once again chomping at the bit to fill state coffers with tax money collected from e-commerce. However, they argue it’s a difficult task; one they hope Congress might make a little easier -- and more popular -- for them...[more]
Challenges to State Campaign Finance Laws Heat Up
With lawsuits over federal campaign finance legislation brewing, suits involving state campaign laws are boiling over, with two recent decisions being handed down, one involving a Massachusetts law and the other a Mississippi statute...[more]
Virginia Senate Votes Against First Amendment; Unanimously Approves "Stand by Your Ad" On Tuesday, the Virginia Senate chose to ignore the First Amendment concerns of those purchasing political ads in the state by unanimously voting to approve H.B. 558, "Stand by Your Ad."...[more]
"Stand by Your Ad" . . . Back From the Dead
The Virginia Legislature has revived a bill that represents an all-out assault on the First Amendment. The bill (H.B. 558), known as "Stand by Your Ad," calls for strict disclosure requirements for political advertisements, in all forms, including requiring candidates to put their pictures on campaign television commercials along with mandated statements claiming responsibility for the ads. Radio advertisements would require statements voiced by candidates. Officers for organizations running ads advocating the election or defeat of specific candidates would be required to make the statement of responsibility...[more]
CIF URGES VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
TO DEFEAT "STAND BY YOUR AD"; PROTECT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS OF VIRGINIANS
In an effort to defend the First Amendment rights of those who purchase
political advertisements in Virginia, the Center for Individual Freedom (CIF)
today sent a letter to the entire Visginia Senate, Governor Mark Warner and
Attorney General Jerry Kilgore urging opposition to House Bill 558, "Stand
by Your Ad." ...[more]
Massachusetts Campaign Finance Reform Melee
Massachusetts’s highest court is now refereeing a campaign reform fight with constitutional implications that has angry voter groups in one corner and a stubborn legislature in the other...[more] Governor Huckabee Says "Put Up or Shut Up!" Imagine for a moment that you are in a financial bind. Your spending habits have suddenly exceeded your income and you are struggling to meet your monthly financial obligations. Maybe you recently lost your job or didn’t get that holiday bonus you were counting on. Would you think it a good idea to tighteo your belt for a little while until things got better? The answer for most people is "yes."...[more]On September 25, Governor Gray Davis extended the state moratorium on new and discriminatory taxes on the Internet by signing into law SB 394, the California Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA). The current moratorium was set to expire in December...[more]
Citizens Defeat Tennessee Income
Tax Measure
(Again!)
Now that New York has banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving and 37 more states and the U.S. Congress are considering such restrictions, lo and behold, a new study finds that hands-free phones are no safer. That’s right, New Yorkers, you’ve been had by your legislature, but what else is new? [more]
Update:Orwellian Toll Roads, the Future of Transportation Funding?
Rhode Island Governor Vetoes Cell Phone BanOnly a few weeks after New York outlawed hand-held cell phones while driving, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond vetoed a similar bill that would have made Rhode Island the second state in the nation to adopt the prohibition... [more]
New York to Become First State to Ban Use of Hand-Held Cell Phones While DrivingGovernor George Pataki recently agreed to a new law making New York the first state in the nation to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving... [more]
Miami-Dade County Ordinance Prohibits Hand-Held Cell Phones While Driving
On September 25, the Miami-Dade County Commission passed an ordinance that bans motorists’ use of hand-held cell phones while driving. The ordinance, which will take effect in October 2002, passed with a 6-5 vote...[more]
The universities of Minnesota and Iowa are studying the feasibility of using satellites and global positioning systems to track drivers in order to tax them for the miles they travel...[more]
Virginia House Bill 2568 - "Stand By Your Ad"
On February 16, the Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee killed H.B. 2568 on a 10 Ï 3 vote. The bill had unanimously passed the Virginia House...[more]