The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been a major force in pushing for the privatization of public services and assets. By connecting corporations with state legislators, ALEC has been able to actively promote laws that encourage government privatization, making it easier for corporations to profit off of public dollars.

This week, ALEC holds their annual conference in Salt Lake City, where corporate lobbyists from around the country will meet with our legislators behind closed doors. Alliance for a Better UTAH is hosting the ALEC EXPOSED Conference from July 25-27^th, just one block away from where ALEC is meeting. This meeting will highlight damaging policies that ALEC pursues in Utah and in states across the country, including the privatization of public structures.

In anticipation of the Wednesday ALEC Exposed workshop, In the Public Interest recently released a backgrounder brief that includes summary highlights from our forthcoming report, “Profiting from Public Dollars: How ALEC and its members promote privatization of government services and assets.” The report shows how ALEC’s corporate donors stand to benefit from ALEC model legislation that encourages handing off public services and infrastructure to the private sector. For example, ALEC has pushed model legislation that allows corporations to enhance their profits using public taxpayer dollars in the following areas:

“Virtual” Public Schools: Virtual school companies project market growth to increase 43% between 2010 and 2015 and expect industry revenues to reach $24.4 billion.
Private Prisons: Private prison operators expect the number of people incarcerated in prisons to increase, with sizable growth in federal immigration detention. At the end of 2010, 2.4 million people in the US were incarcerated in prisons.
Public Infrastructure: Public infrastructure privatization projects, including roads, bridges, and water systems, are estimated to be worth over $100 billion over the next few years.

We encourage you to check out our website in the coming weeks for a copy of the full report.

If you are in Salt Lake on Wednesday, we also encourage you to check out the free ALEC EXPOSED workshop. RSVP today!

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From the In The Public Interest Team

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