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Nicholas Horton

Biography

Nicholas Horton is a Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability.

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Prior to joining FGA, Nic worked as a policy specialist, reporter, and commentator for a free-market think tank in Little Rock. As editor of the largest conservative news outlet in the state, his work was regularly cited by lawmakers, activists, and commentators as a key resource in the fight for limited government. Nic's critical reporting has played and continues to play a key role in the debate over Arkansas’ ObamaCare Medicaid expansion.

Since joining FGA, Nic has regularly contributed to Forbes.com and coauthored numerous policy papers on ObamaCare and food stamp reform. His work has been cited by various national news outlets including Fox Nation, The Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, and the Associated Press. He has received national recognition for his social media work and is a frequent contributor on talk radio.

Nicholas lives in central Arkansas with his wife Leah. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harding University.

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Nic received his Bachelor of Science in Public Administration & his Masters of Business Administration from Harding University in Searcy, AR.  While at Harding, Nicholas founded Libertas Exemplar, a conservative political-commentary newsletter. Nic has owned and operated Horton’s Lawn Care for 10 years and campaigned for Searcy City Council in 2010.  He is an active political commentator and campaigner across the state of Arkansas.  Nic is the worship leader for his local church and is active in community volunteerism for local non-profits, including pro-life causes.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Cornerstone Christian Academy and works as an analyst for Advance Arkansas Institute.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Advance_Arkansas_Institute

Advance Arkansas Institute (AAI) is a state think tank member of the State Policy Network (SPN) that was founded in 2009.[1] It was formerly known as the "Mid-American Policy Institute," according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).[2] It is listed as hosting Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity "investigative journalists."[3] The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.[4] Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.[5][6] On it's website, the Franklin Center claims that it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide." [7]

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” in every state across the country. It is an $83 million right-wing empire as of the 2011 funding documents from SPN itself and each of its state "think tank" members. Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[8]

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"[9]

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.[10]

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

AAI has direct ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In December 2011, the organization sent its executive director, Dan Greenberg, to present on "Preventing Settlement Abuse: The Work of CCAF and the Advance Arkansas Institute" to ALEC's Civil Justice Task Force.[11] AAI is also connected to ALEC through SPN, which is a member of several ALEC task forces.

SPN's predecessor, the Madison Group, was "launched by the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC . . . and housed in the Chicago-based Heartland Institute," according to a 1991 report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) found in the University of California-San Francisco's Legacy Tobacco Documents.[12][13]

The case is strengthened by an October 1987 ALEC directory also available via the Tobacco Documents that says, "The Madison Group is chaired by Mrs. Constance Heckman now Constance Campanella, founder of the lobbying firm [Stateside Associates], Executive Director of ALEC . . ."[14] A speakers list also available in the Tobacco Documents says in Constance Campanella's biography, "She was a co-founder and first President of The Madison Group, the first network of free-market state think tanks."[15]

SPN has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for many years. In the mid-2000s, SPN secured funding for more of its member think tanks to join ALEC in order to help develop model legislation. By 2009, 22 SPN member think tanks were active ALEC members and participants in ALEC task forces, according to an SPN newsletter, and SPN was being rewarded for its services by ALEC.[16] As of 2013, at least 35 SPN member think tanks have demonstrable ties to ALEC in addition to SPN's own ties, and all of SPN's member think tanks push ALEC's agenda in their respective states, according to a review by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) (see below for more).

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more

About ALEC

ALEC

is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it

is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state

legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations

fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task

forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with

elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for

Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.

Funding

In 2011, the first year in which it filed a full IRS Form 990 (albeit a Form 990-EZ), AAI received $195,410 in revenue, had $117,685 in total expenses, and ended the year with $77,725 in net assets.[17] As of December 2012, it does not disclose its donors. In 2009 and 2010, the organization, then known as the Mid-American Policy Institute (it filed a name change with its 2011 Form 990), filed a Form 990-N, meaning it claimed to have gross receipts of less than $25,000 in those years.[2]

Ties to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity

The Advance Arkansas Institute has hosted writers from the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which screens potential reporters on their “free market” views as part of the job application process.[18] The Franklin Center funds reporters in over 40 states.[19] Despite their non-partisan description, many of the websites funded by the Franklin Center have received criticism for their conservative bias.[20][21] On its website, the Franklin Center claims it "provides 10 percent of all daily reporting from state capitals nationwide."[22]

Franklin Center Funding

Franklin Center Director of Communications Michael Moroney told the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) in 2013 that the source of the Franklin Center's funding "is 100 percent anonymous." But 95 percent of its 2011 funding came from DonorsTrust, a spin-off of the Philanthropy Roundtable that functions as a large "donor-advised fund," cloaking the identity of donors to right-wing causes across the country (CPI did a review of Franklin's Internal Revenue Service records).[23] Mother Jones called DonorsTrust "the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement" in a February 2013 article.[24] Franklin received DonorTrust's second-largest donation in 2011.[23]

The Franklin Center also receives funding from the Wisconsin-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation,[25] a conservative grant-making organization.[26]

The Franklin Center was launched by the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance (SAM),[27] a 501(c)(3) devoted to pushing free-market ideals. SAM gets funding from the State Policy Network,[28] which is partially funded by The Claude R. Lambe Foundation.[29] Charles Koch, one of the billionaire brothers who co-own Koch Industries, sits on the board of this foundation.[30] SAM also receives funding from the Rodney Fund.

Personnel

Staff

Board of Directors

Board of Scholars

Core Financials

2012[31]

2011[32]:

Contact

Advance Arkansas Institute

55 Fontenay Circle

Little Rock, Arkansas 72223

Phone: (501) 588-4245

E-mail: advancearkansas at gmail.com

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

Related PRWatch Articles

External Resources

References

  1. Advance Arkansas Institute, 2011 Form 990, organizational annual IRS filing, May 1, 2012.
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Categories:

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http://www.americanopportunityproject.org/regulation-freedom-amendment/

Dan Greenberg

Counsel, American Opportunity Project

55 Fontenay Circle

Little Rock, AR 72223

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Registrant ID: FAST-21064017

Registrant Name: Nicholas Horton

Registrant Organization:

Registrant Street: 1301 DEENER DR

Registrant City: Searcy

Registrant State/Province: Arkansas

Registrant Postal Code: 72143

Registrant Country: US

Registrant Phone: +1.5012309302

Registrant Phone Ext:

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Registrant Email: email@gmail.com

Admin ID: FAST-21064017

Admin Name: Nicholas Horton

Admin Organization:

Admin Street: 1301 DEENER DR

Admin City: Searcy

Team Members will do three things:

    Support the Regulation Freedom Amendment” to require that Congress approve major new regulations

    Support passage of a “Tenth Amendment” law in their state similar to the law just signed by Gov. Pence in Indiana to empower 2/3 of the states to force Congress to propose a specific Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

    Agree to personally contact at least 3 other grassroots leaders in a state with a limited-government majority in the state legislature.  We can provide the contact information

If you want to help save our nation from the irresponsible growth of federal power, join our grassroots leadership team!

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HOW TO REIN IN FEDERAL REGULATION: THE REGULATION FREEDOM AMENDMENT

People around the nation are searching for practical ways to rein in the excessive growth of federal power.

One concern shared by many is the expansion of excessive federal regulation that has endangered economic growth and job creation.

You may be familiar with the proposed “REINS” Act proposed by some Members of Congress, which would, if enacted, require Congressional approval of major federal regulations.

Of course, the chances of getting 60 Senate votes and a Presidential signature for such legislation are speculative at the current time.

However, given the more skeptical attitude of many state legislators towards federal power, there is a potential strategy for empowering state legislators to force Congress to propose such a measure.

There is an initiative, backed at this time by legislators in multiple states, to constitutionally require the approval of Congress for significant new federal regulations.

Here is the text of — and some background on — what we call “The Regulation Freedom Amendment.”

THE “REGULATION FREEDOM” AMENDMENT

“Whenever one quarter of the Members of the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate transmit to the President their written declaration of opposition to a proposed federal regulation, it shall require a majority vote of the House and Senate to adopt that regulation.”

HOW STATES COULD FORCE CONGRESS TO PROPOSE THE AMENDMENT

Just as states helped force Congress to propose the Bill of Rights, States could force Congress to propose the Regulation Freedom Amendment....

Why the Madison Initiative?

The Madison Initiative gives States the same power as Congress to propose an individual Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

“ARTICLE _. The Congress, on Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, which all contain an identical Amendment, shall call a Convention solely to decide whether to propose that specific Amendment to the States, which, if proposed shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified pursuant to Article V.”

We need to restore accountability and balance in Washington

==

A partial list of endorsers of the

Regulation Freedom Amendment

GOVERNORS

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Mike Pence, IN}:

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Phil Bryant, MS

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Matt Mead, WY

STATE LEGISLATIVE LEADERS

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NCSL (National Conference of State Legislators) President and UT Senate President Pro-Tem Curt 

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Bramble

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CSG (Council of State Governments)  immediate past National Chair and TN Senate Majority Leader 

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Mark Norris

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ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Counsel) Immediate Past National Chair and TX State and Federal

Power Committee Chair Rep. Phil King

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TN Lt Gov/Senate President Ron Ramsey

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TN Past CSG Chair and TN Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris

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GA Senate President David Schafer

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GA NCSL Former President Sen. Don Balfour

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ID House Speaker Scott Bedke

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IN Senate President David Long

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IN House Speaker Brian Bosma

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AR former Senate Majority Leader Sen. Eddie Joe Williams

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KY Senate President Robert Stivers

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KY House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins

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KY House Natural Resources Chair Jim Gooch

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MI Senate President Pro-Tem Tonya Shuitmaker

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MO Former Senate President Tom Dempsey

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NC House Majority Leader Mike Hager

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ND Senate President Rich Wardner

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ND House Majority Leader Al Carlson

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ND House Judiciary Chair and former National CSG Chair Rep. Kim Koppelman

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OH former House Speaker Pro-Tem Matt Huffman

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PA Senate Finance Committee Chair John Eichelberger

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SC Senate Labor Commerce and Industry Chair Thomas Alexander

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TX ALEC National Chair and TX House State and Federal Power Committee Chair Phil King

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UT Senate President Wayne Niederhauser

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UT NCSL National Chair and UT Senate President Pro-Tem Curt Bramble

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VA House Majority Caucus Chair Del. Tim Hugo

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WV Senate President Bill Cole

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WY Senate Majority Leader Eli Bebout

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WY former House Speaker Tom Lubnau

BUSINESS GROUPS AND LEADERS

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American Farm Bureau Federation

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National Taxpayers Union

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Commonwealth Foundation

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Indiana Manufacturers Association

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Indiana Bankers Association

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Salt Lake Chamber, UT's Business Leader

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Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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Tennessee Mining Association

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Tennessee Association of Health Underwriters

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Wyoming Stock Growers Association

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Terry Considine, CEO Considine Investment Company

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Kenneth L. Burgess, Jr. Chairman of the Board, First Capital Bank of Texas,

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Chair, Texas Bankers Association

LEGAL EXPERTS

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C. Boyden Gray, Former White House Counsel

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Chuck Cooper, Former Director, Department of Justice  Office of Legal Counsel

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John Ryder, General Counsel, RNC

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David Norcross, fmr. RNC Gen. Counsel Tom Sansonetti,

fmr RNC Gen. Counsel Mark Braden, fmr 

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RNC Gen. Counsel

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Bill Crocker, fmr RNC Gen. Counsel

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Curt Levy, Pres. Cmtee for Justice

CONSERVATIVE LEADERS

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American for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist

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Former House Appropriations Chair Bob Livingston.

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McCain 2008 National Chair Charlie Black

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Let Freedom Ring President Colin Hanna

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Federalist Society Co-Founder David McIntosh

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Former RNC Chair and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson

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Former President NRA, David Keene,

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Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell

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Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

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Former National Federation of Women Chair Sue Lynch

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Larry Pratt, Executive Director, Gun Owners of America

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS

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Wyoming Republican Party

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South Dakota Republican Party

Advance Arkansas Instit

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Advance_Arkansas_Institute