April 21, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee should veto SB 1005 assault on free speech
By Rick Manning
Gov. Bill Lee (R-Tenn.) should veto the SB 1005 - HB 1201 assault on free speech should they come to his desk.
America is in a free speech crisis. The mere mention of involvement in issue advocacy has resulted in personal and professional attacks by internet thugs determined to deny Americans, and indeed, Tennesseans the right to participate equally in the political process and petition our government.
In 2008, Brendan Eich, the inventor of Java Script and founder of Mozilla, legally contributed $1,000.00 to a California initiative campaign opposing gay marriage (which incidentally was supported by the electorate.) Eich was forced out of his position as the head of Mozilla due to threats by Internet social justice warriors making threats against his company. Eich shared his position with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, so it could not have been more mainstream, yet he lost his company and livelihood.
Today, doxing of conservatives is viewed as sport by the current generation of internet warriors, and the impact is that many people will not donate to causes if they believe that their names will be made public.
I don’t have to provide a laundry list of examples, we both know this is true.
SB 1005-HB1201 would paint a target on the back of anyone who donated to a non-profit group which expressed a position on legislation pending in Nashville. While I can certainly understand and sympathize with the intent behind the legislation, the practical violence it does to the basic freedom to petition lawmakers in violation of the First Amendment overwhelmingly argues in favor of a veto.
In the 1950s, the state of Alabama passed legislation which required the NAACP to provide their membership lists to the state with the intent of discouraging participation. In 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down this legislation. The practical effect of SB 1005- HB 1201 is the same, as participation in issue advocacy campaigns that happened to be adjacent to elections would be squelched.
For example, disclosure makes it foolhardy for someone with an interest in developing a green energy technology to publicly support a legislative effort to increase police funding. This simple act would put that donor at risk of losing funding from Wall Street’s Environmental, Social and Governance driven investment instruments due to Black Lives Matter’s word of disapproval.
We live in a world where people’s legitimately held, mainstream opinions are used to cancel their careers and livelihoods. SB 1005-HB 1201 enables that political persecution and no amount of legislative tinkering changes that fact.
For this and other reasons, Americans for Limited Government strongly urges Gov. Lee to veto this well-meaning, but ill-considered, dangerous and unconstitutional legislation.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/04/west-virginia-is-ground-zero-for-the-battle-for-broad-educational-savings-accounts-in-america/
West Virginia is ground zero for the battle for broad Educational Savings Accounts in America
By David Potter
One of the broadest Educational Savings Accounts (ESA) in the nation is set to go into effect on Aug. 15 in West Virginia. The program stipulates $4,600 to West Virginia students that leave the public school system for either private schools or homeschooling. Any unused funds in the account can be rolled over to the next school year or used for postsecondary expenses.
But to qualify for the scholarship, a student must first have been enrolled in a West Virginia public school. Regarding a student currently in a private school and being homeschooled the “student could become eligible by enrolling full time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for at least 45 calendar days at the time of application.”
Meaning, unless they immediately enroll in public school, the roughly 14,000 West Virginia students who are enrolled in private school or the more than 30,000 who are homeschooling will be ineligible for the scholarships. The exact number is not quite clear as the reporting requirements for homeschooling in West Virginia has recently changed.
That said, all students would become eligible for the Hope Scholarship in 2026 if less than 5 percent of students statewide are enrolled in the program in 2024.
While the West Virginia Hope Scholarship is a major step in the right direction, and an excellent initiative for parents skeptical of their current student’s public school, excluding the families who have already chosen alternative education is not an ideal launch for a program. It also is unfortunate for parents of older children who will have little time ahead to use the money as opposed to a new kindergartner. The state should open the program to all students immediately, but with its expected cost, there may be a lack of funding and an unwillingness to reallocate other funding. This is unfortunate.
Out of the roughly 266,000 K-12 students in West Virginia, 90 percent will be eligible to receive funding to help pay for tuition, curriculum, tutoring, therapy, and other educational expenses in lieu of public school.
West Virginia's Hope Scholarship Program, established by House Bill 2013, became law on June 15, 2021. Students started enrolling earlier this year on March 1 for an initial fund distribution on Aug. 15, 2022. “The Hope Scholarship Program is an education savings account (ESA) program that will allow parents and families to utilize the state portion of their education funding to tailor an individualized learning experience that works best for them” according to the Hope Scholarship website.
The program has its own fund created and managed by the State Treasury. A parental agreement must be signed prior to a student receiving assistance. Additionally, the funds will only made available through a dashboard in which educational expenses can be paid. No direct checks shall be issued.
The Hope Scholarship is an unexpected legislative victory in a state with a very powerful teacher’s union. West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee opposed the measure and gave the state legislature an F in public schools. This is at odds with the 64 percent of adults and 73 percent school parents in West Virginia who support Educations Savings Accounts.
The Hope Scholarships are just one of the multi-year, bitter battles that have been fought between West Virginia State legislators and the union. On Feb. 22, 2018, around 20,000 West Virginia teachers went on strike for 9 consecutive days. Public schools in all 55 West Virginia Counties were closed. The legislature then conceded gave teachers a 5 percent pay raise.
Many on the left considered this a major victory for organized labor and the birth of the Red for Ed movement where teachers went on strike in Republican held states across the country.
Less than one year later, West Virginia teacher went on strike again, citing being left out of discussions of a complicated piece of education legislation in the Virginia Senate. The bill would have allowed for the creation of 7 charter schools throughout the state and 1,000 educational savings accounts for parents to pay for private school. The House killed the Senate’s version of the bill and educators returned to work on Thursday. This was after the teachers demanded a second 5 percent pay raise in two years.
Fast forward back to 2021 and the West Virginia Senate passed a bill that illegalized work stoppages by public employees and called for withheld pay for any days missed. The House also passed its version of the bill, and it was signed into law.
Now, three West Virginia parents are suing state officials and seeking a judgement and injunction against the Hope Scholarship program. The plaintiffs argue that the program creation was the result of the Legislature exceeding or frustrating the West Virginia Constitutional obligation to public education being upheld as public right. This argument may not hold up in court as the West Virginia Constitution grants the legislature the power to determine what is thorough and efficient for public schools, not the courts.
While it’s unknown how this will end in West Virginia, the fight over education between red legislatures and blue teacher unions is only intensifying. West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship school choice move may encourage other states to take notice and let parents decide what education is best for their children.
David Potter is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government.
To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2022/04/west-virginia-is-ground-zero-for-the-battle-for-broad-educational-savings-accounts-in-america/
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured report from the Tennessee Star, Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning urged Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee to veto SB 1005 legislation that would force public disclosure of donors to issue advocacy organizations:
Tennessee Star: Americans for Limited Government urge veto of Tennessee campaign finance reform bill if passed by legislature
By Cooper Moran
Americans for Limited Government, an organization that supports reducing the size and scope of government, sent a letter to Governor Bill Lee to urge him to veto a new campaign finance reform bill, if it passes the state legislature.
SB 1005, which was passed on a bipartisan vote in the Senate, would enact multiple changes to disclosure rules for political action committees (PAC), certain nonprofits, and candidates.
The House version includes minor differences that must be worked out before the legislation is fully approved and sent to Lee.
Specifically, some nonprofits would be forced to disclose expenditures, if the organization spends more than $5,000 on certain political messaging within 60 days of an election.
However, Americans for Limited Government argue the bill targets free speech.
“Today, doxing of conservatives is viewed as sport by the current generation of Internet warriors, and the impact is that many people will not donate to causes if they believe that their names will be made public. I don’t have to provide a laundry list of examples, we both know this is true. SB 1005-HB1201 would paint a target on the back of anyone who donated to a nonprofit group which expressed a position on legislation pending in Nashville. While I can certainly understand and sympathize with the intent behind the legislation, the practical violence it does to the basic freedom to petition lawmakers overwhelmingly argues in favor of a veto,” Richard Manning, the group’s president wrote in a letter to Lee.
Largely, some of the reforms are connected to a federal investigation into the actions of former Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada, his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren, and former State Representative Robin Smith.
“We live in a world where people’s legitimately held, mainstream opinions are used to cancel their careers and livelihoods. SB 1005-HB 1201 enables that political persecution and no amount of legislative tinkering changes that fact. For this and other reasons, Americans for Limited Government strongly urges you to veto this well-meaning, but ill-considered, dangerous and unconstitutional legislation,” Manning added.
The legislation will likely pass the General Assembly, as the measure is supported by the leadership of both chambers.