About
Jonathan Williams is the senior policy advisor for the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) as well as a member of its national advisory board. He is also the chief economist and executive vice president of policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which he joined in 2007 before establishing its Center for State Fiscal Reform four years later.
Prior to joining ALEC, Williams served as staff economist at the Tax Foundation, a pro-business think tank founded in 1937 to monitor governmental tax and spending policies. In addition, he is an adjunct fellow at the Kansas Policy Institute, a member of the right-wing State Policy Network, and the writer behind the “State of the States” column for Tax Notes, a site that bills itself as offering “comprehensive and impartial coverage of tax news.” A native of Michigan, Williams graduated with a BBA from the state’s private, free-market-oriented Northwood University in 2005.
Actions
- Participated in a panel at the SFOF 2022 Fall National Meeting titled “Protecting Taxpayer Dollars from Inflationary Pressures Throughout the 2022 Recession” hosted by then Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick and featuring Steven Chiavarone, CFA of Federated Hermes, and Andy Puzder, a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation (11/14/22)
- Met with the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Interim Committee on Federalism, where he urged lawmakers to consider legislation in 2023 “aimed at keeping ESG out of public pension investments” (6/7/22)
- Drafted ALEC’s State Government Employee Retirement Protection Act with SFOF CEO Derek Kreifels and Heritage Visiting Fellow Andy Puzder (4/22/22)
- Discussed ALEC’s State Government Employee Retirement Protection Act and Resolution Urging Congress to Permanently Extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on an SFOF national call with members (4/18/22)
- Shared Competitive Enterprise Institute web memo on ESG with Pennsylvania Treasurer’s office (3/9/22)
- Gave a “legislative update” to SFOF’s Policy Committee (2/1/22)
- Moderated a Tax & Fiscal Policy Task Force Panel Discussion at the 2021 SFOF-ALEC Joint National Meeting that included Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder, North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, and West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore (7/29/21)