Mountain States Policy Center

Mountain States Policy Center
Basic facts
Location:	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Chris Cargill, President and Chief Executive Officer
Founder(s):	Chris Cargill
Year founded:	2022
Website:	Official website

The Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Idaho. The organization describes its purpose as "[championing] commonsense policy solutions in the public square while making the case for a dynamic and innovation-driven market economy to the public as a whole." The organization focuses on policy relevant to the states of Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.

Background

Chris Cargill founded the Mountain States Policy Center in 2022. Cargill earlier worked in television news and at the Washington Policy Center. As of September 2025, Cargill was a member of the city council of Liberty Lake, Washington.

As of September 2025, the Mountain States Policy Center had the following mission statement:

“

Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded in 2022 to empower individuals to succeed through non-partisan, quality research that promotes free enterprise, individual liberty and limited government. With a headquarters in Idaho and coverage in Washington state, Montana, and Wyoming, MSPC is the first multi-state think tank of its kind, working to educate key segments of society—including policymakers, the media, young leaders, and the rising generation of citizens— on the power of free markets and limited government to unleash prosperity and opportunity throughout the Mountain West and the nation. We do this because we believe “free markets are for everyone,” and offer the most compelling path for our country. We believe capitalism has a moral basis, because without economic freedom, there is no freedom at all.

”

Leadership

As of September 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Mountain States Policy Center:

• Chris Cargill, president and chief executive officer
• Jason Mercier, vice president and director of research

As of September 2025, the following individuals sat on the Mountain States Policy Center's board of directors:

• Julie Shiflett, chairwoman
• John S. Otter, vice chairman
• William Junkermier, treasurer
• Brittany Gautreau, secretary
• Chris Cargill, president
• Bill Baldwin
• Dean Haagenson
• Russ Stromberg
• Todd Cranney
• Aaron Klein
• Elaine Damschen
• Dave Denton
• Tim Hennessey
• Tom Power

Work and activities

Legislative and policy work

The Mountain States Policy Center publishes the Mountain States Policy Manual, a document outlining the organization's policy proposals across 10 issue areas. As of September 2025, the organization published the following summary of the issue areas and its policy recommendations:

Chapter 1: Fiscal policy

• Require a supermajority vote for state and local tax increases
• Use performance-based budgeting to focus on outcomes
• Adopt automatic tax rebates tied to revenue triggers
• Use revenue triggers to reduce income tax rates
• Move local tax levies and bonds to November general election
• Idaho’s controversial grocery tax
• Sugary beverage taxes are poor public policy
• Adopt a 30-day work requirement for income tax liability
• End taxpayer subsidies to government unions
• Support efforts to require federal balanced budget amendment
• Support efforts to call fiscally focused Convention of the states

Chapter 2: Tax transparency

• Create a Tax Transparency website
• Adopt Truth in Taxation to improve property tax accountability
• Use taxpayer receipt to provide snapshot of government spending
• End political messaging on taxpayer refund checks
• Prevent overcollection for school district bond payments

Chapter 3: Governance

• Provide at least 3-day notice of bills scheduled for public hearing
• Provide details of policies under consideration
• Authorize an open government ombudsman
• Require legislative oversight of emergency powers
• Prohibit secret negotiations with public sector unions
• Consider open primaries without imposing Ranked Choice Voting
• Authorize a statewide voters’ guide
• Do not join the National Popular Vote compact

Chapter 4: Education

• Spending more does not equal better outcomes
• Focus education funding on results
• Put the principal in charge of the school
• Provide students and families with Education Savings Accounts or education choice tax credits
• Adopt the Public School Transparency Act
• Increase the availability of public charter schools
• Adopt the College Career Transparency Act

Chapter 5: Economic & Business Climate

• Pillars of regulatory reform and oversight
• Adopt sunset provisions
• Embrace occupational licensing reform
• Use competition to reduce workers’ compensation costs
• Avoid costly minimum wage increases
• Reduce wait times for building permits
• Review impact fees for legal validity
• Advance market options to improve housing affordability
• Provide constitutional protections for the Right to Work

Chapter 6: Health care

• Require health care price transparency
• Make telemedicine permanent
• Don’t expand the Hospital 340B program without reforms first
• Reduce health insurance mandates, offer more insurance options
• Abolish certificate of need requirements
• Reject further Medicaid expansion
• Expand use and availability of Health Savings Accounts

Chapter 7: Technology & Innovation

• Use AI to improve government efficiency, save taxpayer money
• Protect the internet from misguided “net neutrality” efforts
• Expand broadband coverage in a responsible way
• Be wary of constitutionally suspect content filter policies

Chapter 8: Agriculture

• Minimize the regulatory burden imposed on farmers
• Protect agricultural water uses and water storage
• Balance land development, property rights with necessity of land for food production
• Agricultural labor needs to be accessible
• Taxes should not unfairly favor or punish farmers
• Protect the ability of small farms to thrive

Chapter 9: Land Use & the Environment

• Protect the numerous benefits of the Snake River dams
• Work to restore more state control over federal land
• Demand higher federal PILT reimbursements
• Support prescribed burns to help manage forests
• Avoid trendy policies that have little environmental benefit

Chapter 10: Transportation

• Three keys for responsible transportation spending
• The most efficient and effective mass transit options
• Adopt Truth in Labeling for gas taxes
• Avoid adopting a mileage tax
• Resist stifling rideshare regulations

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Affiliations

The Mountain States Policy Center was, as of September 2025, one of two Idaho affiliates of the State Policy Network.

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the Mountain States Policy Center's revenues and expenses from 2022 to 2023. The information comes from ProPublica.

Mountain States Policy Center financial data 2022-2023

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2022	$0.1 million	$0.2 million
2023	$1.1 million	$0.6 million

See also

• What is an influencer?
• State Policy Network
• 501(c)(3)

External links

• Mountain States Policy Center official website
• Mountain States Policy Center on X
• Mountain States Policy Center on Facebook
• Mountain States Policy Center on LinkedIn
• Mountain States Policy Center on YouTube
• Mountain States Policy Center on Instagram