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Exorbitant Costs Exposed in Los Angeles Juvenile Justice System
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the high annual expenditures associated with housing juvenile offenders in Los Angeles. According to a recent county audit, it costs over $230,000…
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California’s Golden Opportunity on Sentencing Reform
California Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a ballot initiative that aims to alleviate the state’s overcrowded prisons. Brown’s proposal will reduce the prison population by hastening prison release programs…
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Should State Legislators Embrace Bernie Sanders’ Policy?
Bernie Sanders supported reasonable lawsuit reform but is proving to be a fair-weather friend. State legislators can offer broader, more effective reforms.
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Encryption is Not Preventing Law Enforcement from Investigating Crime
Law enforcement officials need backdoors to thwart encryption or else they will not be able to keep the public safe from terrorist attacks or crime. At least, that seems to…
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KY Judge Rules Against 10th Amendment and Local Right Work
If local governments have been granted the power to pass local right-to-work by their respective states, the federal government has no say how those powers are delegated.
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Pew Notes a Number of States Are Examining Growing Prison Populations
The United States currently has the “highest incarceration rate in the world” and many states are examining ways in which to reduce their prison population. For example, Maryland,…
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Environmental Priorities Act
Intent The legislature finds that there are a variety of current and potential environmental restoration projects, regulations and programs that would benefit the health of the environment,…
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Parent Trigger Act
Section 1: {Short Title.} This act may be cited as the “Parent Empowerment and Choice Act” or the “Parent Trigger Act.” Section 2. {Definitions.} For purposes of this…
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Congress Passes Meaningful Lawsuit Reform
President Obama’s State of the Union tried to highlight bipartisan issues that Democrats and Republicans can solve together, but he missed an opportunity in omitting lawsuit reform. Eighty-nine percent…
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State of the State: Kansas
Kansas’ economy is primed for strong growth. To sustain its tax cuts and create greater economic opportunity, Kansas must implement stronger spending reforms, as other tax-cutting states like North Carolina have done.
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Supreme Court Set to Review Forced Union Contributions from Teachers
Teachers’ unions, like other unions, spend a great deal of money engaging in explicitly political activity like lobbying legislators and supporting candidates. Teachers’ unions have so far represented the strongest political challenge to transformative education reform, such as charter schools, voucher programs and education savings accounts. Unfortunately, that clout is built, at least in part, on the forced contributions of teachers who do not necessarily agree with the actions of the unions.
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An “Unconscionable Decision”: League of Women Voters et al., v. State of Washington
Late last Thursday, the Washington Supreme Court denied all motions to reconsider its decision in a case last month that sent shockwaves through the state’s charter schools. Just earlier…
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Criminal Justice
The American Legislative Exchange Council is proud to be a leader on criminal justice reform. For over a decade, the ALEC task force on criminal justice has brought state legislators…
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Students Win in Louisiana: U.S. Department of Justice Loses Case to Shut Down School Choice
A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Louisiana’s scholarship law, which some worried might have national implications for school choice – is officially dead after the Fifth Circuit…
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How States Can Serve Veterans in their Communities
As Veterans Day approaches, Americans reflect on how to serve those who have selflessly served this country. With the Pentagon enforcing dramatic force reductions, the best thing state governments can…
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American Legislative Exchange Council Members to meet in Scottsdale for three-day policy summit
Scottsdale, Arizona (November 9, 2015)—Hundreds of state legislators and stakeholders will come together in Scottsdale December 2-4 for the States and Nation Policy Summit of the American Legislative Exchange Council…
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Ban the Box
There are about 70 million adults with criminal records in America today. Because there are so many, lowering the recidivism rate has become one of the main goals in…
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Kasich Signs Ohio Bill Designed to Strengthen Public Charter School Accountability
On November 1, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 2, a measure intended to significantly strengthen the state’s charter school laws. This bill overwhelmingly passed the Ohio…
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Introducing Competition and Choice for Medicaid in North Carolina
On September 23, 2015, Governor Pat McCrory signed into law landmark reform legislation for the North Carolina Medicaid program. The legislation will transition the state from a fee-for-service to a…
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NAEP Scores Disappoint: American Public Education’s Expensive Regress
Students have become less proficient in math and reading, according to government data recently released. For the first time in 25 years, fourth-grade math and reading scores along with eighth-grade…