# State Policy Network (SPN) The **64-state think tank network** that provides the intellectual cover for the Koch Network's state-level policy agenda. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, SPN coordinates a web of nominally independent conservative and libertarian think tanks — one or more in every state — that produce research, policy recommendations, op-eds, and expert testimony supporting deregulation, tax cuts, school choice, labor reform, and limits on government spending. SPN's combined annual budget across the network exceeds **$120 million**, funded by the [[Koch brothers]], the DeVos family, [[the Coors]] family, the Walton Family Foundation, the Roe Foundation, the [[Bradley Foundation]], and the Searle Freedom Trust. The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation has donated to both SPN itself and directly to many of its member organizations. ## How It Works SPN functions as a **hub-and-spoke model** for state-level conservative policy: **The Hub (SPN national)**: - Coordinates strategy and priorities across the 64 affiliates - Provides shared resources: communications support, policy templates, fundraising guidance, data - Organizes annual meetings where affiliate directors align on multi-state campaign priorities - Connects affiliates to national funders including Koch, Bradley, and DonorsTrust **The Spokes (state affiliates)**: - Each presents itself as an independent, locally focused policy research organization - Examples include the [[Texas Public Policy Foundation]], the [[Mackinac Center for Public Policy]] (Michigan), the [[Goldwater Institute]] (Arizona), and the [[Manhattan Institute]] (New York — though Manhattan Institute is larger and more nationally oriented) - Affiliates produce state-specific research that supports the same policy conclusions: lower taxes, fewer regulations, weaker unions, school choice, privatization - Affiliate staff testify before state legislatures, write op-eds in local papers, and appear on local TV as "nonpartisan" policy experts ## The Three-Legged State Strategy SPN operates in tandem with two other Koch-connected organizations to form a complete state-level policy machine: | Organization | Function | Koch Connection | |-------------|----------|-----------------| | **State Policy Network** | Research and intellectual justification | Koch/Bradley funded | | **[[ALEC]]** | Model legislation (the actual bills) | [[Koch Industries]] member, Koch foundation funded | | **[[Americans for Prosperity]]** | Grassroots lobbying and voter pressure | Koch flagship, $168M budget | The workflow: SPN affiliates produce a study showing that, say, right-to-work laws improve economic growth → ALEC drafts model right-to-work legislation → AFP pressures state legislators to pass it → the bill becomes law. Each step has the appearance of independent action; in practice, all three are funded by the same donor network and coordinated toward the same policy outcomes. ## The Independence Fiction SPN affiliates present themselves as independent think tanks conducting objective policy research. Investigative reporting has shown this independence is substantially performative: - SPN and its affiliates "regularly coordinate priorities and strategy, launching multi-state campaigns" on labor, climate, voting, and education - The same studies and talking points appear simultaneously across multiple state affiliates - Funding flows from national donors (Koch, Bradley, DonorsTrust) to SPN to affiliates, creating financial dependency on the national network - SPN's annual meetings function as strategy sessions where national priorities are transmitted to state-level operators This is not to say SPN affiliates produce no original research — some are respected policy shops. But the network structure means that "independent state think tank" is often a better description of the branding than the funding or strategic coordination. ## Analytical Framework SPN is the Koch Network's answer to a structural problem in American politics: **federalism**. Because significant policy is made at the state level — labor law, education policy, environmental regulation, election administration, criminal justice — a national political operation that ignores state capitals is incomplete. SPN ensures that in every state legislature, there is a Koch-funded think tank producing research that supports Koch-aligned policy, an ALEC-drafted bill ready for introduction, and an AFP chapter pressuring legislators to vote yes. This 50-state coverage is SPN's most distinctive feature and the Koch Network's most underappreciated achievement. No progressive organization has built an equivalent — a structural asymmetry that gives conservatives a persistent advantage in the "laboratories of democracy" that state legislatures are supposed to be. ## See Also - [[Koch Network]] — Parent funding infrastructure - [[ALEC]] — Complementary model legislation factory - [[Charles Koch]] — Network architect - [[Bradley Foundation]] — Co-funder of SPN affiliates - [[DonorsTrust]] — Donor anonymization channel - [[Dark Money Ecosystem]] — Full dark money architecture