The Free State Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank. Its purpose is to promote, through research and educational activities, understanding of free market, limited government, and rule of law principles at the federal level and in Maryland.
FSF focuses on eliminating unnecessary and counterproductive regulatory mandates, especially those applicable to the communications and other high-tech industries, and on reducing overly burdensome taxes, protecting individual and economic liberty, and making government more effective, efficient, and accountable.
Who We Are
Led by Randolph J. May, FSF's President, the scholars of The Free State Foundation have decades of experience in the public policy arena and academic settings promoting free markets, secure property rights, and individual liberty. Mr. May is a nationally known legal and policy expert in the field of regulation, as well as a widely recognized expert in communications, administrative, and constitutional law. FSF's scholars combine solid academic expertise with professional and practical experience in a way that makes their research especially impactful in influencing both federal and state public policy.
New at FSF
Register now for the Free State Foundation’s Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference – Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at the National Press Club, 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. An outstanding line-up of leading experts from government, industry, academia, and think tanks will discuss and debate the most important communications policy issues of the day. This year's conference theme is: "The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?"
Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation, conducted a podcast with the Heartland Institute to discuss his new book, A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform, on January 12, 2012. Bruce Edward Walker, Managing Editor, Infotech and Telecom News for the Heartland Institute, conducted the interview with Mr. May, who addressed his various proposals for changing the Communications Act.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May announced the release of a new book, A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform. The book is a collection of eight of Mr. May's law review articles, with a Foreword that places the articles in the context of a free market-oriented communications policy reform framework that is consistent with fundamental constitutional principles. For those seriously interested in reforming communications law and policy, the book is an essential work. A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy can be ordered from Amazon here, and from Barnes & Noble here.
Randolph May, President of the Free State Foundation and a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), will participate in the ACUS 55th Plenary Session on December 8-9, 2011, in Washington, DC. ACUS is an independent federal agency dedicated to improving the administrative process through consensus-driven applied research, providing nonpartisan expert advice and recommendations for improvement of federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of federal officials and experts with diverse views and backgrounds from both the private sector and academia.
Deborah Taylor Tate, Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and former Federal Communications Commissioner, will participate on December 9, 2011, in the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Special Event on Cybersecurity and Development, organized jointly by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Telecommunication Union. Ms. Tate’s panel topic, “An International Framework to Combat Cybercrime and Improve Cybersecurity,” will include child pornography issues. She is the co-chair of the Healthy MEdia Commission and the first ITU Special Envoy for Child Online Protection.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May will participate on a panel discussion on November 17, 2011, at the American Bar Association's Section of Law and Regulatory Practice Fall Conference held at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, DC. The 10:45 a.m. panel, “The Government in the Sunshine Act: A Current Assessment,” will discuss the Sunshine Act’s impact on multi-member agencies, such as the FCC.
In her role as the Special Envoy for Child Online Protection, Deborah Taylor Tate, a Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation and a former Federal Communications Commissioner, has been invited by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a moderator, speaker, and participant in ITU Telecom World 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 24-27, 2011. She also served as a Judge for the "Young Innovators and Not for Profits challenge" which included projects from youth and undeveloped nations from around the world. The winners will be announced at Telecom World and will receive mentorships and scholarships for their projects. Tate will moderate and introduce the ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure at a special event dedicated to Global Child Online Protection activities following the Secretary General's Call to Action in 2009. Costa Rican President Laura Chincilla, Patron for the COP Initiative, will also participate. Tate was the first Special Envoy created by the ITU to recognize her international work regarding the education and empowerment of children online and internet/media literacy.
Here is the program brochure for tomorrow's, October 12, 2011, Free State Foundation's Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. If you have not registered and would like to attend, please click here for registration information.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, Chairman, House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, has joined the outstanding line-up of keynote speakers along with Sen. Jim DeMint, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Vice-Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, for the Free State Foundation's October 12, 2011, Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Our program – "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years" – includes a complimentary lunch, subject to space limitations and reservations. Register now!
At the Fifth Anniversary celebration of the Free State Foundation on October 12, 2011, at the Mayflower Hotel, five FSF Scholars will look to the future and speak on the following topics: Michelle Connolly, Duke University – spectrum policy; Ellen Goodman, Rutgers School of Law – Camden – public media; Daniel Lyons, Boston College Law School – USF reform; Steven Wildman, Michigan State University – media policy; and Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania Law School – Internet regulatory policy. A complimentary lunch will be served, subject to space limitations and confirmed reservations.
Members of the Free State Foundation's Board of Academic Advisors have been added to the lineup of speakers at FSF's October 12, 2011, Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch Seminar at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sen. Jim DeMint, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Vice-Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade (CMT), will deliver opening keynote remarks. Our program -- "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years" -- includes a complimentary lunch, subject to space limitations and reservations. Register now!
Free State Foundation President Randolph J. May will participate in an online privacy roundtable discussion hosted by Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Wednesday, September 14, 2011. Details about the event are here.
The Free State Foundation invites you to help celebrate its Fifth Anniversary of its founding at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on October 12, 2011. Senator Jim DeMint, Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, will deliver opening keynote remarks. We want you to celebrate with us, as we look back at the past five years, and, most importantly, ahead to the next five. Indeed, the theme of our program is: "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years." A complimentary lunch will be served, subject to space limitations and reservations. Register now!
In a Media Advisory statement, Free State Foundation President Randolph May called the USF Plan submitted on July 29, 2011, by six telecom providers a positive step forward on the road to reforming the universal service subsidy regime. Read the statement here.
Video Available -- A link to the video of the Free State Foundation's Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Reform Seminar, held Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at the National Press Club, is here.
Reminder! Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 13, 2011, is the Free State Foundation's Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Reform Seminar at the National Press Club. We have a great line up of experts who will explore all the controversial issues surrounding the FCC's USF/ICC reform proposals. A link to the speakers' bios is here.
Speakers have been announced for the Free State Foundation's July 13 Seminar on Universal Service/Intercarrier Compensation Reform. Register now to attend the Free State Foundation's Seminar on July 13, 2011, 8:45-11:00 a.m., at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. Expert industry and academic speakers will explore issues concerning the FCC's promise -- yet again -- to reform the uneconomic and inefficient legacy Universal Service and Intercarrier Compensation subsidy regimes. The FCC is promising to act this summer, so this seminar could not be more timely. And, with the current Universal Service surcharge at 15% for all long distance and international calls, the topic couldn't be more important for consumers confronting taxing times.
Free State Foundation President Randolph May testified at the June 22, 2011, hearing on "Reforming FCC Process" before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. In his testimony, May supported most of the reforms in the Committee's "Discussion Draft" and commended the Committee for its efforts. He suggested that, in addition to the proposals in the "Discussion Draft," the committee should consider amending the forbearance and regulatory review provisions of the Communications Act in line with his proposal to establish a deregulatory evidentiary presumption.
Job Opening for Senior Economic Policy Analyst: The Free State Foundation is seeking to hire an economist with experience regarding regulated industries. Some expertise regarding communications and Internet policy is a definite plus. The ability to analyze market structure and competition in dynamic markets characterized by rapid technological advances, as well as to perform cost-benefit analysis of regulatory proposals is required. Click here to view a full job description.
Randolph J. May, President of the Free State Foundation, participated on a panel at a "Focus on the First Amendment" program presented by the Federal Communications Bar Association Mass Media Committee in association with the Freedom Forum and the ABA Forum on Communications Law on May 5 at the Newseum in Washington, DC. May's panel addressed Is Net Neutrality the New Fairness Doctrine? Other First Amendment topics included the Future of Media proceeding and Supreme Court trends.
Senior Fellows
The Free State Foundation's Senior Fellows and Staff are acknowledged experts in their academic and professional fields, and their accomplishments have been widely recognized. They have held senior positions in academia, government, and business. Their expertise and experience on state and federal policy matters spans the disciplines of law, economics, business strategy, and organizational management.
March 20, 2012 FSF's Fourth Annual Telecom Policy Conference "The Internet World: Will It Remain Free From Public Utility Regulation?"
View the slideshow of The Free State Foundation’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch held on October 12, 2011, at the Mayflower Hotel here .
View the video of the Free State Foundation's October 12, 2011 Fifth Anniversary Celebration Lunch program, "Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years."
View C-SPAN's video of the Free State Foundation's April 12, 2011 Seminar, "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?"
View a slideshow of FSF's April 12, 2011, "Regulatory Reform at the FCC: Why Not Now?" Seminar here.
For more information, contact: info@freestatefoundation.org Mailing Address: The Free State Foundation, P. O. Box 60680, Potomac, MD 20859 Office Location: 6259 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852 Phone: 301-984-8253
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