The Maryland Public Policy Institute is a right-of-center think tank that promotes the principles of free enterprise and limited government. Founded in 2001 and located in the city of Rockville, its programs include voter education initiatives and legislative reports.

About

Founded in 2001, the Maryland Public Policy Institute (MPPI) is a public policy think tank that promotes policy ideas based on principles of limited government and free enterprise. ¹ Policy topics include budget reform, education, government integrity and transparency, pension reform, and tax reform. ²

In 2006, MPPI received the Innovation in Promoting School Choice Award from the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. ³ The awarded was granted shortly after MPPI partnered with the Foundation to publish “A School Voucher Program for Baltimore City,” a paper that explored how Baltimore could enact a school voucher program like those of Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Washington, D.C. ⁴

MPPI is a member⁵ of the State Policy Network, an umbrella organization for right-leaning state-level think tanks. ⁶

Policy Issues

The Maryland Public Policy Institute conducts research on a wide variety of issues that affects the state of Maryland.  These issues include but are not limited to health care, government transparency, transportation, education, economic policy, and fiscal policy. ⁷

Health Care

MPPI supports health care policy changes that would give patients more responsibility managing health issues and increased consumer control over said health issues. MPPI does not believe in expanding entitlement programs or increased mandates for coverage. ⁸

Government Transparency and Taxation

The MPPI supports increasing government transparency at all levels through various means such as open meetings, online searchable databases of contracts, ethics forms, spending and legislation and other public information laws. To assist in achieving this end, the Institute created a tax estimator which granted citizens the ability to calculate full taxes county by county. ⁹

The organization recommends that Maryland should return to the tax rates it had in 2006 before the legislature increased sales, income, and corporate taxes. It also believes the state should start identifying funding sources for its programs before enacting them. ¹⁰

Transportation

MPPI supports private driving as the most popular mode of transportation in Maryland. It supports market-based reforms of transportation and roads management policy including peak-time pricing to reduce congestion. It does not believe that public transportation can solve the problem. ¹¹

Education Policy

MPPI supports school choice and the reforms that we be needed to reach that goal. These reforms include tax credits and vouchers. The Institute also supports giving more control over education and finances to the principals of public schools. The Institute created the website called School Choice For Maryland to support these efforts through education the public. ¹²

Programs

MPPI’s Voter Education Program aims to educate Maryland voters about suggested policy reforms as well as ethical and legislative updates from the state’s legislative session. As part of the Voter Education Program, MPPI hosts an annual Maryland Policy Orientation panel that discusses upcoming legislative priorities, organizes Maryland Policy Forums set in a town hall-style gathering, and publishes “Maryland: A Guide to the Issues” ahead of voting. ¹³

MPPI also produces “The Annapolis Report,” a comprehensive report that focuses on the actions of the entire General Assembly rather than only individual legislators. The report details various policy outcomes as well as grades the legislature on ethics and transparency. ¹⁴

In an effort to bring public awareness to how certain policy decisions affect businesses in Maryland, MPPI’s Center for Business and Economic Competitiveness, in partnership with faculty members from the University of Baltimore, surveys businesses across the state to produce the Maryland Business Climate Survey. ¹⁵

Finance

MPPI accepts philanthropic gifts from corporations, individuals, and foundations, but does not accept government funding or contract funding in an effort to protect its independence. ¹⁶

The organization’s tax returns for 2018 reported over $327,000 in total revenue and nearly $670,000 in total expenses. In 2017, the organization had more than $889,000 in total revenue and only about $406,000 in total expenses. ¹⁷ The organization saw steady revenue growth up until 2018, as it reported $276,000 and $383,000 in total revenue in 2015 and 2016, respectively. ¹⁸

The Maryland Public Policy Institute is associated with various organizations located across the United States. Donor organizations include The Roe Foundation, Donors Capital Fund, State Policy Network, Jaquelin Hume Foundation, Cato Institute, JM Foundation, EdChoice (Formerly Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice), the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation, and Castle Rock Foundation. ¹⁹

Leadership

Christopher Summers is the founder, president, and CEO of the Maryland Public Policy Institute. Prior to founding MPPI, he held positions on Capitol Hill and at right-of-center organizations such as the Capital Research Center and the Heritage Foundation. ²⁰

MPPI’s board of directors²¹ is comprised of Summers as well as Robert Cirincione, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon,²² and Thomas Skilton, an attorney at Cameron LLP who also serves as MPPI’s general counsel. ²³ Skilton has a history of supporting right-of-center political candidates. During the 2019-2020 election cycle, Skilton financially contributed to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Kean for Congress, and WinRed. He has also supported various political committees supporting the campaigns of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) with more than $3,500 in contributions since 2015. ²⁴

1. Lips, Dan. “A School Voucher Program for Baltimore City.” Education Resources Information Center. The Maryland Public Policy Institute, 2005. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED520203.pdf.
2. “About.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/about/.
3. “About.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/about/.
4. Lips, Dan. “A School Voucher Program for Baltimore City.” Education Resources Information Center. The Maryland Public Policy Institute, 2005. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED520203.pdf.
5. “Membership Program.” State Policy Network. Accessed January 26, 2021. https://spn.org/core_program/membership-program/.
6. “About State Policy Network.” State Policy Network. Accessed January 26, 2021. https://spn.org/state-policy-network-about/.
7. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
8. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
9. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
10. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
11. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
12. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Ballotpedia. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://ballotpedia.org/Maryland_Public_Policy_Institute.
13. “Voter Education Program.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/research/programs/voter-education-program.
14. “Voter Education Program.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/research/programs/voter-education-program.
15. “Center for Business and Economic Competitiveness.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/research/programs/center-for-business-economic-competitiveness.
16. “About.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/about/.
17. Maryland Public Policy Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018
18. Maryland Public Policy Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016
19. “Maryland Public Policy Institute.” Conservative Transparency. Accessed February 1, 2021. conservativetransparency.org/org/maryland-public-policy-institute/?order_by=year%20DESC.
20. “Christopher B. Summers.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/about/detail/christopher-b-summers.
21. “Board of Directors.” Maryland Public Policy Institute. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.mdpolicy.org/about/page/board-of-directors.
22. “Robert J. Cirincione, M.D.” The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.cfaortho.com/our-doctors/167/Robert_J._Cirincione,_M.D.
23. “Thomas E. Skilton.” Cameron LLP. Cameron LLP, December 19, 2019. https://cameronllp.com/team/thomas-e-skilton/.
24. “Thomas Skilton Individual Contributions.” FEC. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Thomas+Skilton&contributor_name=Tom+Skilton&two_year_transaction_period=2014&two_year_transaction_period=2016&two_year_transaction_period=2018&two_year_transaction_period=2020.