Goldwater Institute
Encyclopedia
The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

-based conservative public policy research organization established in 1988. The president is Darcy A. Olsen
Darcy A. Olsen
Darcy A. Olsen is the president and chief executive officer of the Goldwater Institute. Phoenix-based media have cited Olsen’s leadership, which has resulted in major policy reforms including private school scholarships for foster children, more transparency in government and legal cases...

. The Goldwater Institute advances public policies with emphasis on lower taxes, limited government spending, school choice, and a reduction in government management of the economy. It describes itself as "an independent government watchdog supported by people who are committed to expanding free enterprise and liberty," and it is devoted to the principles championed by the late Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...

 such as "individual rights, economic freedom
Economic freedom
Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...

, and a government of strictly limited powers." In addition to its Arizona staff, the Goldwater Institute has a number of affiliated senior fellows who are not in residence, including Carrie Lukas
Carrie Lukas
Carrie L. Lukas is the managing director and director of policy for the conservative but non-partisan Independent Women's Forum . She is also a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute and a contributor to National Review Online. Before her tenure at the IWF, Lukas worked for then U.S...

, Dan Lips, Randy Barnett
Randy Barnett
Randy E. Barnett is a lawyer, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches constitutional law and contracts, and a legal theorist in the United States...

, James Gwartney, Alan Kors, and Gordon Tullock
Gordon Tullock
Gordon Tullock is an economist and retired Professor of Law and Economics at the George Mason University School of Law. He is best known for his work on public choice theory, the application of economic thinking to political issues...

.

In 2008 the Goldwater Institute won the Templeton Freedom Award for Initiative in Public Relations. The Goldwater Institute celebrated its 20th anniversary on October 2, 2008, by honoring Czech Republic President Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...

 with the Barry Goldwater Award for Liberty. Former Navy SEAL and Lone Survivor author Marcus Luttrell
Marcus Luttrell
Marcus Luttrell is a former Petty Officer First Class and United States Navy SEAL. He received the Navy Cross for his actions in 2005 facing Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wing.-Early life:...

 also gave a stirring speech about his experiences in Afghanistan. In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, the Goldwater Institute was named "Best Capitol Watchdog" by the Arizona Capitol Times
Arizona Capitol Times
The Arizona Capitol Times is a non-partisan, weekly newspaper covering state politics and government published every Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. The paper focuses on the Arizona Legislature, the state's politicians, government agencies and elected leadership....

and its readers.

Financial support

The Institute's funding comes from private foundations and from individual donors. The Institute does not accept government funds.

Issues

On education reform, the Goldwater Institute has published articles against the AIMS
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards
Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards is a standardized test administered by the state of Arizona. AIMS is a standards based assessment aligned to the Arizona Academic Content Standards.-Test contents:...

 standardized test
Standardized test
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a...

, the No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...

, bilingual education
Bilingual education
Bilingual education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model.-Bilingual education program models:...

 and for school vouchers for higher education. It has also released a report on improvements Florida has made to its education system and how Arizona can do the same.

On economic policy, the Goldwater Institute has published articles for spending reductions and significant tax cuts.

On constitutional policy, the Goldwater Institute has criticized Arizona's Clean Elections
Clean elections
"Clean Elections" is a term used to describe a particular system of government financing of political campaigns, in which the government provides a grant to candidates who agree to limit their and private fundraising efforts and limit their campaign-spending.- In the United States :Clean Election...

 system and campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....

 in general and government abuse of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

 power. The Institute has also pushed for more transparency in government.

The Goldwater Institute opposes government bans on the use of tobacco in private establishments.

Litigation Center

The Goldwater Institute created the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, directed by Clint Bolick
Clint Bolick
Clint Bolick , is an American attorney and the director of the Goldwater Institute's Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation in Phoenix, Arizona....

, in June 2007. The Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation will engage in lawsuits against the government to ensure adherence to constitutional law and to protect individual rights, such as property rights, from potential government intrusion. The Goldwater Institute currently funds its litigation center entirely from donations and sues on behalf of Arizonans free of charge.

The Goldwater Institute filed its first case on June 22, 2007 defending five charter schools from Arizona's department of education. Currently the Goldwater Institute has several lawsuits against government bodies in Arizona. With Turken v. Gordon the Goldwater Institute sued the city of Phoenix over a $100 million corporate subsidy to the CityNorth
CityNorth
Situated in the Northeast Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, CityNorth will be an urban mixed-use development featuring retail, restaurant, residential, hotel, office, cultural, civic and entertainment uses in a pedestrian-friendly environment. At completion, CityNorth will comprise more than of...

 development which the Goldwater Institute claimed was illegal under the Arizona constitution. In December 2008, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Goldwater Institute saying the corporate subsidy violated the Arizona constitution's gift clause.

The Goldwater Institute also filed a lawsuit seeking to terminate the "Cultural Impact Fee" in Mesa, Arizona. The cultural impact fee is tax charged to new homes to fund local museums. Another case, Preston v. Hallman, sues the city of Tempe on behalf of a tattoo parlor owner whose permit to operate in Tempe was revoked based on stereotypes of people with tattoos.

On June 27, 2008, in Miller v. ACC
Miller v. Arizona Corporation Commission
According to the Arizona state Constitution, the Arizona Corporation Commission has the full power to, “prescribe just and reasonable classifications to be used and just and reasonable rates and charges to be made and collected, by public service corporations within the state for service rendered...

the Goldwater Institute filed a special action petition with the Arizona Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for...

, challenging the Arizona Corporation Commission's ability to promulgate environmental regulations. The ACC's new rules require utility companies to derive a specified share of their power from alternative sources. Included in the regulation is a provision allowing those companies to pass on the cost of compliance through rate surcharges that will total millions of dollars. This action invokes the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, requesting a writ of mandamus to compel the ACC and Attorney General to take action to reverse the regulations. The Supreme Court ruled it does not have original jurisdiction so the case has been refiled in Superior Court.

On August 21, 2008, the Goldwater Institute filed suit
McComish v. Bennett
In 1998, Arizona voters approved the ballot measure known as the Clean Elections Act. When it was passed, the Clean Elections law established public financing for elections of statewide office campaigns. Candidates who choose to participate in the system must collect a specific number of $5...

 against the Matching Funds Provision of Clean Elections to protect the First Amendment rights of candidates who choose not to participate in the taxpayer funded campaign finance system. A federal judge ruled the provision unconstitutional but refused to halt matching funds because she said it was too close to the election. On June 27, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the Goldwater Institute, declaring matching funds unconstitutional.

Active cases

  • Congress Elementary School District v. Warren, et. al.
    Congress Elementary School District v. Warren, et. al.
    Congress School District v. Warren In January 2010, the Congress school district filed a lawsuit against Jean Warren, Barbara Rejon, Cindy Regis and Jennifer Renee Hoge. The district claims illegal harassment by the various requests for public records...

  • Coons v. Geithner
    Coons v. Geithner
    Coons v. Geithner is a lawsuit filed on August 12, 2010 by the Goldwater Institute against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act legislation passed in March 2010.-Background of the case:...

  • Goldwater Institute v. City of Glendale - The proposed sale of Phoenix Coyotes
    Phoenix Coyotes
    The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

     (NHL
    National Hockey League
    The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

    ) to Matthew Hulsizer.
  • McComish v. Bennett
    McComish v. Bennett
    In 1998, Arizona voters approved the ballot measure known as the Clean Elections Act. When it was passed, the Clean Elections law established public financing for elections of statewide office campaigns. Candidates who choose to participate in the system must collect a specific number of $5...

    (Clean Elections
    Clean elections
    "Clean Elections" is a term used to describe a particular system of government financing of political campaigns, in which the government provides a grant to candidates who agree to limit their and private fundraising efforts and limit their campaign-spending.- In the United States :Clean Election...

    )
  • Miller v. Arizona Corporation Commission
    Miller v. Arizona Corporation Commission
    According to the Arizona state Constitution, the Arizona Corporation Commission has the full power to, “prescribe just and reasonable classifications to be used and just and reasonable rates and charges to be made and collected, by public service corporations within the state for service rendered...

  • Vong v. Sansom
    Vong v. Sansom
    -Background:In 2008, Cindy Vong, a Gilbert, AZ salon owner, was forced to shut down her spa fish pedicure business after the Arizona Board of Cosmetology determined the practice was unsanitary. Garra Rufa fish are tiny carp that nibble and remove dead skin from humans. Customers place their feet...

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