James Madison Institute

James Madison Institute (JMI) is a right-wing advocacy group that calls itself a "think tank" and describes its mission as "to keep the citizens of Florida informed about their government and to shape our state's future through the advancement of practical free-market ideas on public policy issues." It was founded in 1987 and is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a web of state pressure groups that denote themselves as "think tanks" and drive a right-wing agenda in statehouses nationwide. An August 2013 board document of the related group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) alleges that JMI is a "former SPN member," but the SPN website still lists JMI as a full member as of December 2013, and a July 2013 JMI fundraising proposal to Searle Freedom Trust was included in a packet of SPN proposals in August 2013.

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Questionable Campaign Contribution
JMI contributed $591 to the Republican Party of Florida in June 2006, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. The IRS prohibits 501(C)(3) nonprofits from engaging in any political activity and explicitly states that campaign contributions are a prohibited campaign activity. It is not clear if this contribution was a reimbursement of some kind or what the legal rationale was for this money flowing from a charity to a political party.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
JMI has ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It was listed as a member of ALEC's Education Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force until it terminated its membership on February 13, 2013 because "SPN did not renew [JMI's] membership," according to an August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by The Guardian. It has also had ties through a member of its Research Advisory Council, James M. Taylor, also of the Heartland Institute. Mr. Taylor is involved with the ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force as a frequent guest speaker.

JMI was listed as a new member of ALEC's Education Task Force as of April 2012.

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

Funding
The James Madison Institute has received more than $1 million from organizations funded by the Koch brothers and has consistently advocated for policies that protect the Kochs' bottom line rather than the best interests of Floridians, according to a November 2013 report by Progress Florida and the Center for Media and Democracy.

The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation contributed $83,479 to JMI between 2007 and 2011. However, as the report notes, "the Kochs are known to fund special interest groups in ways other than through the charities in their name. For example, it has been discovered that Koch Industries funds some of the SPN groups directly, and because that corporation is not publicly traded, its donations are not publicly reported. Similarly, it has been documented that the Koch brothers fund special interests through personal checks and trust account transfers (not from their charities) to other groups that are not required to publicly report their donations."

JMI received $963,742 from DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund between 2005 and 2011, "two funds that have been closely tied to the Kochs but which obscure the percentage of their grants coming from Koch money. In 2011, contributions from the Donors groups made up 10 percent of JMI's grants," according to the report.

In its 2006 annual report, the Cato Institute states that it gave a grant of $100,000 to the James Madison Institute.

Core Financials
 2011 :  2010 :  2009 :
 * Total Revenue: $1,966,419
 * Total Expenses: $1,297,246
 * Net Assets: $1,758,565
 * Total Revenue: $1,785,368
 * Total Expenses: $1,107,183
 * Net Assets: $1,089,392
 * Total Revenue: $909,458
 * Total Expenses: $874,987
 * Net Assets: $411,208

Personnel
As of November 2013:

Board of Directors

 * Allan G. Bense, Chairman (Former Florida House Speaker)
 * J. Stanley Marshall, Vice-Chairman (Founding Chairman of JMI)
 * J. Robert McClure III, Ex-Officio (President and CEO of JMI)


 * Glen Blauch
 * J.F. Bryan IV
 * Charles E. Cobb
 * Stan Connally (President and CEO, Gulf Power)
 * Rebecca Walter Dunn
 * George W. Gibbs III (Chairman and CEO, Atlantic Marine Holding Company)
 * Robert H. Gidel Sr.
 * L. Charles Hilton Jr., Chairman Emeritus (Chairman of the Board, Hilton, Inc.)
 * John Hrabusa (Senior VP, Human Resources, Publix Super Markets)
 * John F. Kirtley (Co-founder, FCP Investors)
 * Fred Leonhardt
 * Thomas K. Sittema
 * Jeffrey V. Swain (Owner, Performance Video)

Research Advisory Council

 * Dr. Susan Aud, Research Associate, Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation
 * Dr. Michael Bond, Senior Lecturer, Department of Finance, University of Arizona
 * Dr. Marshall DeRosa, Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic University
 * Dr. Thomas DiBacco, Professor Emeritus of History, [[American University
 * Dr. Dino Falaschetti, Executive Director, Property & Environment Research Center]]
 * Dr. James Gwartney, Professor of Economics, Florida State University
 * Dr. Bradley K. Hobbs, Professor of Free Enterprise, Florida Gulf Coast University
 * Dr. Randall Holcombe, Professor of Economics, Florida State University
 * Dr. Barry Poulson, Professor of Economics, University of Colorado
 * J.B. Ruhl, J.D., Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law
 * Peter Schweizer, Author and Speaker
 * James M. Taylor, J.D., Senior Fellow of Environmental Policy, Heartland Institute

Staff

 * J. Stanley Marshall, Founding Chairman
 * J. Robert McClure, III, President and CEO
 * Rebecca Liner, Executive Vice President
 * Valerie Wickboldt, Vice President of Communications
 * Francisco Gonzalez, Vice President of Advancement
 * William Mattox, Resident Fellow
 * Robert F. Sanchez, Director of Policy
 * Scott Sholl, Florida Verve Editor

Contact Details
The Columns 100 North Duval Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: (850) 386-3131 Toll-free (866) 340-3131 Fax: (850) 386-1807 Email: jmi AT jamesmadison.org Website: http://www.jamesmadison.org