The American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization with significant influence on American policies, is holding its annual meeting this week at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver. 

Founded in 1973, the organization consists of state legislators and private sector representatives who collaborate to draft “model policies” based on the principles of free markets, limited government, and federalism. State legislatures often then tackle these model policies.    

Speakers at the annual meeting, which is taking place from July 24-26, include Gov. Jared Polis, as well as several other current and former governors and legislators.   

‘States are the laboratories of democracy’

As ALEC’s CEO for nearly a decade, Lisa Nelson said her goal is to expand the organization’s membership to include voices from all across the political spectrum. While the political landscape has changed significantly since ALEC’s founding, she said the organization’s core values remain unchanged. 

“I think our focus on the states 50 years ago was absolutely right in thinking that the states are the laboratories of democracy, and we’re going to figure out what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “My role is to try and make us more attractive to both Democrats, Republicans, and independents — all types of folks, as long as they agree with that mantra of limited government, free markets, and federalism.”

ALEC is often characterized as a conservative organization, but Nelson insisted that that it operates on a nonpartisan basis. While she is working to attract more legislators from across the political spectrum, ALEC’s foundational principles — limited government, free markets, and federalism — generally resonate more with members of the Republican Party.

ALEC has faced controversy over its influence on state legislation, with critics arguing that it values corporate interests over the public. Supporters, however, view the organization as a platform for fostering collaboration between legislators and the private sector. 

“It’s self-selecting in the sense of if you don’t believe in these policies, if you don’t want to give parents the right to choose where their kids go to school and if you think big government is better than small government, then you’re probably not gonna come to ALEC,” she said. “But we just think our policies are common sense. They’re not right-wing. Why wouldn’t you think as a mom that you should be able to decide where your kids go to school? And why wouldn’t you want to pay less taxes? We think that we’re advocating for policies that are better for the country.”

Sen. Ty Masterson of Kansas, who serves as ALEC’s National Chair, said, “I think why you see such a heavy Republican presence versus Democrats is that these are generally the same principles as the Republican party, but we don’t care what you have behind your name. We’re more interested in the principle.”

Masterson, a member of ALEC for nearly 20 years, acknowledged some of the controversy surrounding ALEC in recent years, but argued that criticisms about secrecy have been addressed through Nelson’s efforts to enhance transparency. 

“Everything’s just wide open, and that’s how I operate,” he said. “There’s no secrets, let’s just talk about the issues. We’re very policy-oriented and principle-oriented, so there’s nothing to hide.”

Model policies 

ALEC’s model policies serve as blueprints for bills that can be used by legislators from anywhere in the country. 

To get adopted by the organization, a model policy must first be reviewed by an ALEC task force and its board of directors. If approved, the model policy is then disseminated to legislators, along with resources to help them introduce and advocate for the bills. Model policies are also discussed and debated by legislators at ALEC meetings. 

Past model policies include the “Castle Doctrine Act,” which served as a model for the controversial “stand your ground” laws that expand the legal use of deadly force in self-defense. More recently, the group is pushing for the “Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act,” which adds instruction on social media safety to the curriculum and prohibits access to social media platforms through the school Internet.

Additionally, ALEC has developed budget transparency legislation, which has been adopted by all 50 states, according to Jonathan Williams, ALEC’s executive vice president of policy and chief economist. 

“Taxpayers all across the country have a much better handle on where their tax dollars are going, and what they’re getting for those tax dollars in terms of services,” he said. 

ALEC’s 2024 catalog includes over 300 model policies across a number of areas, including healthcare, education, the economy, and criminal justice reform. 

“A lot of the models are thinking about ways to take and devolve responsibility and power away from a central federal government and into responsible state-level legislators who are in it for the right reasons so they can try to put together freedom-enhancing policies across the board,” Williams said. “Whether they’re Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t matter to us.” 

All of the model policies are thoroughly vetted by subject matter experts before they become available to legislators, said Nelson and Masterson.

“We always try to move our policy through so that it brings in all viewpoints and all the stakeholders,” said Nelson.  

‘Education freedom’

Nelson said her favorite part of attending ALEC meetings is hearing from legislators about the most pressing issues in their states. She said these meetings can often be enlightening for legislators, as they come together and discover that other states are grappling with the same challenges they are.

Nelson is also excited about the sessions on what ALEC calls “education freedom” or school choice.

On Wednesday, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will be discussing his state’s legislative measures on school choice, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will address the topic on the final day of the conference.

“Our hope is that this momentum with education freedom is going to continue and more states will start to sign on,” said Nelson.

School choice has been one of ALEC’s primary focuses recently. Earlier this year, the group launched the Education Freedom Alliance, a coalition of organizations that support “the rights of parents to choose the option that best fits their child’s unique educational needs”.

The group plays a key role in ALEC’s “25 by ’25” initiative, which seeks to bring “education freedom” to 25 states by 2025.

So far, 12 states have enacted school choice-related legislation. While Colorado is not among those states, it ranks No. 13 on ALEC’s Index of State Education Freedom. The index evaluates states based on five categories: funding and financing programs, charter schools, homeschooling, virtual schooling, and open enrollment.

According to Williams, Colorado’s biggest hurdle is funding and financing — it tied with a number of other states for last place in that category.

Funding is one of the most crucial aspects of school choice, Masterson argued, because it levels the playing field for families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to send their children to the schools they choose.  

“When we talk about school choice, it really means for the moderate-to-low income, because wealthy people have choices,” he said. “They can go anywhere they want. It’s not an issue for them. So, when we talk broadly about school choice, it means for the low and moderate income people who need the financing mechanism for the money to follow their child.”

TABOR

Williams said ALEC is a huge fan of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

In fact, the group created an interactive tool on its website that allows users to see how much money their state could have saved if it had implemented TABOR in 1992. 

“We’ve adopted TABOR as ALEC model policy and it’s something we talk about everywhere around the country,” said Williams.

He argued that all states should be looking at some form of taxpayer protection legislation as federal funding from the pandemic begins to dry up. 

“These were some of the fattest times for state budgets that we’ve seen in our lifetimes because of all the federal funds and some of the natural growth coming out of the opening up of the economies,” he said. “If we don’t prioritize spending control now, we’re gonna very likely revisit the painful days of the financial crisis.”  

Masterson, who represents a state with a Republican-majority but a Democratic governor opposed to measures like TABOR, expressed hope that Colorado’s neighbor to the east would one day adopt TABOR when there is a change in governorship. 

“Having that constitutional limit, that directive from the people, it gives you a lot of relief when you’re battling with requests for funding,” he said. “When you have the people telling you you have to work within these limits, it’s a comforting place to be. I wish we had that.”

Concerns over immigration, reliable energy

Immigration is quickly becoming a top issue among ALEC members from all over the country, said Nelson. She added that the organization plans to distribute bumper stickers at the meeting that reads, “Every state is a border state.” 

In May, Nelson and Masterson visited the Texas border to attend an educational workshop. Masterson noted that he has witnessed how immigration has impacted even the smallest towns in Kansas.

“That’s been an issue for our southern states for a while, particularly Texas. But now you’re seeing people migrate into all of the states. And it’s not just the drugs, it’s the sex trafficking, labor trafficking even. I mean, it’s kind of a resurgence of slavery in some way, and it’s affecting every state in the nation,” Masterson said.   

Masterson claimed that South American countries like Venezuela are sending their prisoners to the United States. He didn’t offer any evidence. 

Regardless, immigration plays a large role in American politics, as it affects everything from healthcare to education to housing, said Nelson. 

Nelson said ALEC is also concerned about the number of Chinese citizens immigrating to the U.S., which she sees as a potential national security issue, as some are purchasing land next to U.S. military bases. 

“The influence of the Chinese is something that we’re still kind of learning about and talking about with all the legislators,” she said. 

Williams added that reliable energy is also a hot-button issue among ALEC members, especially as the U.S. continues to shut down coal-fired plants as  reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

“It gets into the national security issue vis-a-vis China as they’re building dozens of new coal-fired plants for reliable energy and for their national security,” said Williams. “We see here, with the expected increase in demand on our electricity grid through electrification, through EVs, and through AI, it’s gonna require a lot more reliable energy in the United States.”

“So, we’re discussing all sides of that issue, and we may not come to a consensus this meeting, but many of the times we get to these trusted policy solutions for ALEC’s model policy, it doesn’t happen in the first go-around. That’s the iterative process that gets us this really respected, trusted model policy,” Williams added.