Civitas Institute

The Civitas Institute, Inc. (Civitas) is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based conservative think tank.[2][3][4]

John William Pope Civitas Institute
AbbreviationCivitas
Motto"North Carolina's Conservative Voice"
Formation9 March 2005 (2005-03-09)
FounderArt Pope
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
HeadquartersRaleigh, North Carolina
Location
  • 805 Spring Forest Road
    Raleigh, NC 27609
Region
North Carolina
MethodsPublic policy think tank
President & CEO
Donald Bryson
Budget
Revenue: $2,487,738.11
(June 2017)[1]
Websitewww.nccivitas.org

History

Civitas was incorporated on March 9, 2005.[5]

Initial members of the board of directors included the first president of the organization, R. Jack Hawke; businessman Robert Luddy; and Art Pope, a businessman, political figure and philanthropist.[6] Pope resigned from the Civitas board in December 2012 to serve as Deputy Budget Director in the administration of Governor Pat McCrory.[7]

The organization's name honors Art Pope's father, John William Pope, also a businessman and conservative philanthropist.[8]

Activities and advocacy

In late 2012, Civitas commissioned a study on the effects of lowering or eliminating state income taxes.[9] In July 2013, the legislature passed and the governor signed into law lower corporate and personal income tax rates.[10][11] The organization has also called for elimination of North Carolina's state corporate income tax.[12]

A Civitas study of the State Board of Elections led Civitas to call on top state officials for an investigation of the board and its ties to a lobbyist.[13]

In 2013, Civitas launched a website to attack the Affordable Care Act, portraying the health care reform legislation as an assault by elites against middle-class North Carolinians.[14]

Civitas has repeatedly sued the State of North Carolina over the same-day voter registration process, which Civitas opposes.[15][16] A suit filed by Civitas seeking to halt the final count of votes in the 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election[16] was dismissed in December 2016, but the organization subsequently renewed its litigation.[15]

Civitas commissions live-caller opinion polling of North Carolina voters.[17]

Civitas also advocates for increased school choice for students in North Carolina.[18][19]

Events

The annual Conservative Leadership Conference offers conservative speakers and workshops on relevant issues. CLC speakers have included Charles Krauthammer, Arthur C. Brooks, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Barnes, Stephen Moore, Elizabeth Dole, Michael Barone, Bob Novak, Grover Norquist, and others.[20] The 2013 CLC featured speakers such as U.S. Senator Ron Johnson,[21] Michelle Malkin,[22] former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, former U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, U.S. Reps. Renee Ellmers and George Holding, talk-show host Jason Lewis, Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner, and Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.[23]

Civitas hosts a monthly lunch series to announce poll findings and offer commentary on issues.[24]

Publications

The Civitas Institute publishes a monthly newspaper, the Civitas Capitol Connection, an internet magazine, the Civitas Review and the Civitas Blog.[25][26]

The Civitas Institute has published a number of pieces online critical of the Moral Mondays protests.[27] In one article, William Barber Rakes in Taxpayer Dollars Leads Moral (no it is) Money Mondays! the Civitas Institute criticized Rev. William Barber, head of the state's NAACP, because a non-profit overseen by Barber's church received federal support. Barber responded, stating "People know I'm a volunteer, even with the NAACP. Other work I do, I volunteer. I am a pastor."[28]

The Civitas Institute also released a web page which compiles data on protestors arrested in the course of the civil disobedience actions, which includes demographic information and comments on their voter registration status.[29]

gollark: ++help data list
gollark: Emergency shutdown executed.
gollark: Please hold on. This is being dealt with.
gollark: Wow, it cannot be stopped.
gollark: Oh memetic beeite.

See also

References
  1. "Civitas 2016 Annual Report". Civitas Institute. 2017-05-09.
  2. "North Carolina Secretary of State". Secretary.state.nc.us. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  3. J. Andrew Curliss, De Luca no longer on state Ethics Commission, News & Observer (May 19, 2015).
  4. Zachery Eanes, NC lawmakers want to boost the money state can offer to 'high-paying job creators', November 28, 2018.
  5. "North Carolina Secretary of State". Secretary.state.nc.us. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  6. artpope.com
  7. "McCrory picks 3 more cabinet members + 3 more staffers: Art Pope, Kieran Shanahan among them | Under The Dome". Projects.newsobserver.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  8. "John W. Pope". Free Enterprise Heroes. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  9. "North Carolina Republicans consider ending income tax". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  10. "Opinions vary on NC legislature". WSOC-TV. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  11. Jenkins, Dale (2013-06-14). "Berger's right move on NC tax reform | Other Views". NewsObserver.com. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  12. Donald Dryson & Brian Balfour, A better incentive? End NC's corporate income tax, News & Observer (January 12, 2019).
  13. "Civitas requests investigations of state elections agency | Under The Dome". Projects.newsobserver.com. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  14. John Murawski, Raleigh's Civitas Institute launches conservative website to attack the Affordable Care Act, News & Observer (October 22, 2013).
  15. Richard Craver, Civitas renews same-day registration challenge over NC election results, Winston-Salem Journal (January 1, 2017).
  16. Colin Campbell & Lynn Bonner, Civitas sues to stop final NC vote count, cites concerns about same-day registration, Charlotte Observer (November 23, 2016).
  17. "Civitas Poll: NC Voters Tell Washington: Hands off our Guns" (Press release). Civitas Institute. June 6, 2013.
  18. "New Civitas Poll shows North Carolina voters back school choice". Carolina Journal. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  19. "Fact checking Civitas Institute on school choice waitlists". @politifact. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  20. "Conservative Leadership Conference". Clc2014.com. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  21.  . "Hundreds gather for Conservative Leadership Conference - News14.com". Triad.news14.com. Retrieved 2013-07-03.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  22.  . "Web Exclusive: Michelle Malkin - News14.com". Coastal.news14.com. Retrieved 2013-07-03.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  23. "RALEIGH: N.C. conservatives gather to talk strategy | Politics | NewsObserver.com". newsobserver.com. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  24. "Civitas Institute meeting held to educate citizens | WWAY NewsChannel 3 | Wilmington NC News". Wwaytv3.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  25. "Civitas Review Archives - Civitas Institute". Nccivitas.org. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  26. Staff, Civitas. "North Carolina's Conservative Voice". Civitas Review. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  27. "RALEIGH: NC lawmakers go home, but 'Moral Monday' protesters will return". Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  28. "Does NAACP president profit from Moral Monday?". Archived from the original on 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  29. "The Moral Monday Protesters - Civitas Institute". Civitas Institute. Retrieved 2013-08-01.

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