The hottest State Policy Substack posts right now

Exclusive: The First Antisemitism Lawsuit Against a U.S. State

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1340 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26

🚌 Education State Policy

Jewish parents and civil-rights groups have filed the first antisemitism lawsuit against a U.S. state, saying California agencies failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, violence, and propaganda in public schools.
The complaint alleges Jewish children are bullied by peers, targeted by teachers, and taught curricula that portray them as oppressors, while the state’s responses are slow and ineffective.
Plaintiffs invoke California’s constitutional guarantee of equal education and point to a surge in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023 (with 2024 reaching record highs), and groups like the Brandeis Center and StandWithUs are representing the families.

Richard is going to lose the bracket

Of Boys and Men • 35 implied HN points • 19 Mar 26

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics State Policy

Prediction-market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket are effectively offering sports betting while operating under federal rules, which lets them sidestep many state gambling protections and serve users as young as 18.
Aggressive app design and campus marketing plus the platforms' financial incentives risk real harms—research links easier online betting to higher bankruptcy, more child-maltreatment reports, and rising suicide risk, with young men hit hardest.
Policymakers can curb these risks with common-sense guardrails—restrict advertising, add friction and deposit limits, raise the minimum age to 21, and regulate sports contracts like traditional gambling—and some lawmakers have already begun proposing such rules.

Wealth Taxes and Activist Judges

Points And Figures • 826 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25

💼 Business State Policy

Wealth taxes and financial-transaction taxes are resurfacing at the state level and could push founders, executives, and companies to move or recharter to avoid large tax hits, with some arguing fiduciary duties may require such moves to protect shareholders.
Nevada is being promoted as a business-friendly alternative because of low taxes, favorable quality-of-life and infrastructure, and strong legal protections like a statutory business-judgment rule, limited inspection rights, and specialized business courts.
Recent court decisions and activist judges in traditional corporate havens have raised legal risk for companies, prompting a broader, nationwide shift as firms and investors consider relocating to states with friendlier tax and corporate-law environments.

The Wall Street Journal follows my scoop on autism therapy providers taking billions from Medicaid

Unreported Truths • 39 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26

🏥 Health Politics State Policy

A Medicaid reimbursement loophole let autism therapy providers bill extremely high hourly rates, which made state spending on these services skyrocket in a short time.
Companies were able to charge far more than they paid frontline therapists, creating huge profits that translated into significant personal wealth for some owners.
Even after states tightened reimbursement rules, low training requirements and legal billing structures leave the system vulnerable to costly, potentially abusive practices even when services are technically provided.

2025 SAT Data Drop

Cremieux Recueil • 211 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26

🚌 Education State Policy

Longstanding score gaps between well‑identified demographic groups remain essentially unchanged and are at levels seen for decades.
Most racial/ethnic groups show similar score variability, but Asian students have much higher variance, possibly because the category is more diverse or because high performers are more spread out.
Male scores are slightly higher and more variable at the national level, but that male advantage disappears in Michigan — where all students take the SAT — highlighting that selective test participation shapes national patterns.

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It's not just Minnesota. Or just daycares. The deepest government honeypot is blue-state Medicaid.

Unreported Truths • 117 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25

🏥 Health Politics State Policy

Medicaid and other big government health programs have become massive targets for waste, fraud, and abuse, far exceeding smaller examples like daycare fraud. The sheer amount of money makes them especially vulnerable.
New York is an extreme case, now spending roughly $120 billion on Medicaid and far more per person than decades ago. Federal backstops and political incentives have driven much of this growth.
Growing Medicaid spending doesn’t clearly improve patient health and risks unsustainable costs for taxpayers, with absurd billing examples highlighting broken incentives. This dynamic can worsen care quality while expanding taxpayer burdens.

A Pivotal Year

Of Boys and Men • 99 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics State Policy

Issues affecting boys and men went mainstream in 2025, moving beyond talk to real public and policy attention, especially at the state level.
The American Institute for Boys and Men grew fast, doubling its staff and launching major programs on men in higher education, online life, and K–12, plus new fellows and initiatives.
Several governors rolled out targeted policies—more male teachers, apprenticeships, re‑enrolment drives, mentorship and a Male Service Challenge—and national conversations expanded on male loneliness, HBCU enrollment, caring jobs, sports betting, fatherhood, and rites of passage.

Medicaid fraud and abuse are hitting unthinkable levels

Unreported Truths • 53 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26

🏥 Health Politics State Policy

Medicaid-funded behavioral autism programs have exploded in cost in some states, creating very high per-child spending and attracting documented fraud schemes.
These programs are easy to abuse because they pay high hourly rates, require minimal training or oversight for providers, and many listed providers aren’t even operational.
Medicaid’s huge size makes fraud hard to detect and prosecute, so waste persists and risks undermining public trust and the justification for costly programs with mixed evidence of benefit.

S.F.’s Marina District towers are bad, actually

Urben Field Notes • 27 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics State Policy

A developer used the State Density Bonus and a zoning loophole to propose a 25‑story tower on a site zoned for four stories, effectively letting builders waive height and bulk limits and defeating the point of zoning.
Density bonuses should be tied to clear, objective height rules — for example a percentage above the zoned height or an absolute cap like double the allowed height — so bonuses increase homes without obliterating predictable zoning.
Cities do need more housing, but growth should be guided by context: protect iconic waterfronts and steer taller buildings to transit-rich corridors so planning and public shape of the city still matter.

Alabama's Disastrous New Execution Method Is Hitting the Road Anyway

The Medicine & Justice Project • 59 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics State Policy

Alabama is moving forward with a new execution method involving nitrogen gas despite evidence showing it caused significant distress to the individual being executed.
Alabama officials blamed the individual being executed for any complications, deflecting from the questionable effectiveness and humaneness of the new method.
Other states like Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Ohio are considering adopting the nitrogen gas execution method, with some officials emphasizing its ease of availability and implementation.

ACIP - Advice or Policy?

Who is Robert Malone • 8 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25

🏥 Health Politics State Policy

ACIP is an advisory committee under FACA and does not set binding vaccine policy; the CDC Director or HHS makes final federal decisions and states decide whether to adopt recommendations.
Although not legally required, ACIP recommendations carry strong practical influence by shaping CDC immunization schedules and affecting insurance coverage, the Vaccines for Children program, immigration vaccine rules, and aspects of vaccine injury compensation.
The committee’s independence has been eroded by capture from medical guilds, industry, and CDC bureaucracy, which has caused controversy and led to recent membership changes and political pushback.