Media Federalism Scorecard

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 28, 2025, 6:36 PM

The Center for Practical Federalism is dedicated to helping state and community leaders protect and extend representative democracy and citizen self-governance. To contact an expert, book interviews, or for press inquiries, please contact us at federalism@spn.org. Tony Woodlief is a Senior Fellow in the Center for Practical Federalism. His essays appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Washington Post, and other publications, and he has appeared on Fox News, CSPAN, and radio programs across the country. An alumnus of the University of North Carolina, Tony holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan. He is the author of I, Citizen, a book about reclaiming American self-governance.

Steve is a Fellow at the Center for Practical Federalism. He just finished his third and final term in the Michigan House of Representatives where he represented the 72nd District in West Michigan. He most recently served as the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee as well as a member of the Judiciary, Tax Policy, and Elections and Ethics Committees. Prior to being elected in 2016, Steve was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. The Federal Shutdown's Other Casualty: The States - All Things with Kim Strassel - WSJ PodcastsTony Woodlief on WSJ Podcast | October 28, 2025

The Center for Practical Federalism at State Policy Network released the 2024 Federalism Scorecard —a report that reveals the vulnerability of states to influence by the federal government. Before we get into the details of the report, let’s first explore why federalism matters and how the balance of power in America has shifted away from states and toward Washington, DC Federalism is a system of government—America’s system—where some powers belong to the national government, and some powers belong to state governments. While the federal government plays an important role, the US Constitution reserves significant powers for states and communities—and ultimately, for the American people. This balance ensures that government remains close to those it serves. However, over the years, power has shifted away from the states and towards the federal government.

America’s federalist system, as it was designed, is no longer recognizable. Power has centralized in Washington DC primarily through federal agencies—or government organizations under the Executive Branch that were created to help the president enforce the laws. Think the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). While only a handful of agencies existed during America’s early days, that number has increased significantly. Today, there are over 400federal agencies with thousands of employees. The Center for Practical Federalism is dedicated to helping state and community leaders protect and extend representative democracy and citizen self-governance.

Media Inquiries or Interview Requests:Contact us at federalism@spn.org Preventing Concentration of Power in the Executive Branch, Center for Practical Federalism Interview The Federal Shutdown's Other Casualty: The States - All Things with Kim Strassel - WSJ PodcastsTony Woodlief on WSJ Podcasts | October 28, 2025 The One Big Beautiful Bill Is an Opportunity to Renew FederalismJennifer Butler in National Review | July 23, 2025 The State Policy Network has released an updated version of its “Federalism Scorecard.” Read more here. The Center for Practical Federalism has released a new scorecard ranking the states in their ability to push back against excessive federal agency influence and control.

“Rather than a rank ordering of “best” to “worst” states, therefore, our Federalism Scorecard is an index of vulnerability to federal pressure,” reads a line from the report. Tennessee and Utah are the top of list while Alabama and Montana are rated the most vulnerable states to federal pressure. More from the scorecard: “Our goal is not to cast blame on particular states, policymakers, or political parties. Instead, we are sounding the alarm for every citizen who believes states and communities should govern themselves, and that this governing ought to be done primarily by elected representatives of the people. Tennessee and Utah, both enacted a number of reforms identified in the Federalism Scorecard this past year. Tennessee, most notably, reformed the way it processes federal grants, requiring additional review by the Legislature.”

The Center for Practical Federalism is dedicated to helping state and community leaders protect and extend representative democracy and citizen self-governance. For press inquiries or to book interviews, please contact us at federalism@spn.org. Senior Director, Center for Practical Federalism SPN Senior Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow Tennessee legislators score a groundbreaking win for transparencySteve Johnson in The Hill | May 9, 2024 "For each campaign promise, our reporters research the issue and then rate it based on whether the promise was achieved: Promise Kept, Promise Broken, Compromise, Stalled, In the Works or Not Yet Rated.

We rate the promise not on the president's intentions or effort, but on verifiable outcomes." "This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions....The Tracker is part of the Collection: Just Security’s Coverage of the Trump Administration’s Executive Actions.... The Tracker was first published on Jan. 29, 2025 and is continually updated." "To keep up with the dizzying array of executive orders, directives, firings and policy changes, the Guardian will be tracking the major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, just like we... "Executive orders have limited staying power, as they can easily be reversed by the next president.

And that’s if they survive the legal challenges. U.S. News is tracking lawsuits challenging some of Trump’s biggest executive orders. The list will be updated as new lawsuits are filed." SPN Center for Practical Federalism's updated 2024 Federalism Scorecard highlights the need for states to oversee their agencies and resist federal influence. Is your state safeguarding self-governance?

Discover the rankings: https://lnkd.in/g6TSKmPP #Federalism #SelfGovernance Rensel Consulting’s Senior Policy Advisor Roger J. Cohen shares his insights in Route Fifty on how regional collaboration can help governments deliver services more efficiently and effectively. As public agencies face tighter budgets and complex challenges, regional approaches can bridge jurisdictions, improve coordination, and enhance community outcomes. Read the full article below 👇 We’d love to hear your thoughts: Where have you seen regionalism succeed (or fail) in service delivery? What barriers must be addressed for regional models to become more mainstream?

Public policy counsel. Transportation, Infrastructure, Mobility, Sustainability, Regional planning. The US government's chaotic withdrawal of support for vital public services has left our traditional notion of American #federalism in tatters, and we are at the tipping point of a devastating dam burst of... #Innovation and #efficiency will be critical as never before, and regional jurisidctions like Councils of Government (COGs) and Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations (M/RPOs) are an untapped source of opportunity for government #reinvention. My latest article in Route Fifty describes the moment and the possibilities. #regional_planning #states #local #government #public_administration https://lnkd.in/eYRa5Uzx

Brittany Panuccio's confirmation into the EEOC has restored the agency’s quorum, and changes to the PWFA are likely on the way. Don't miss this blog post from Tara Burke, Joseph Lynett and Katharine Weber for a deep dive into potential policy impacts. https://lnkd.in/e6uq9z6h This special report prepared by the Center for Practical Federalism at State Policy Network is derived from a 50-state analysis of multiple variables—our Federalism Scorecard—that reveal the vulnerability of states to influence by federal... States that perform well on this Scorecard place authority over internal state agency operations, as well as the state’s relationship with federal agencies, in the hands of elected officials rather than unelected administrators. We include the extent to which state agencies are accountable to legislators in our analysis (rather than simply looking at state–federal relations), because federal agencies often exert power through their state counterparts.

If elected officials don’t have visibility and oversight with regard to their own state’s agencies, in other words, they won’t be able to check federal influence over how their own laws and budgets are... The first set of variables assesses the extent to which elected representatives properly govern state agencies, and the second set assesses the extent to which those representatives have visibility and authority over their state’s... This report draws its reform recommendations from the best laws in “red” and “blue” states alike, consistent with the principle that citizens ought to be governed by people they elect. *Correction: A 5-point adjustment was made to South Carolina’s score due to a scoring error. This update did not affect the state’s overall ranking. Compare with the 2024 Federalism Scorecard

Media Federalism Scorecard

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