News from ALEC
December 20, 2011
by: Deborah Collier

Wastewatcher

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held its States and Nation Policy Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona from November 29, 2011 to December 2, 2011. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) staff was present during several meetings of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force. Topics included twenty-first century commerce and taxation, and different methods of simplifying current state sales tax models for online, telephone and catalog purchases. The Civil Justice Task Force also held a review of state workers’ compensation reform proposals in its newly formed Workers’ Compensation Subcommittee.

On the technology front, the Telecommunications & Information Technology Task Force focused its attention to municipal broadband issues, cyber security protection for state agencies and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ proposed plan to expand the Internet registry for top level domains in the next two years. The Telecom & IT Task Force also focused on online consumer privacy, covering initiatives to address concerns about protecting personal information in a digital world.

Staff also attended a workshop which featured state public utility commission officials, who reviewed their efforts to provide services to their customers. These efforts are not restricted to just providing electricity, gas, and water, but extend to include telephone services and now broadband. As the use of wireless devices increases, the supply of available spectrum is rapidly decreasing. As noted in the November Waste Watcher, proposed spectrum auctions will help the communications industry increase the capabilities they offer to consumers.

CAGW also participated in the summit as an exhibitor, putting into the hands of state legislators copies of Critical Waste Issues for the 112th Congress, the 2010 Pig Book Summary, the Prime Cuts Summary and the 2010 Congressional Ratings. Several state legislators, including those from Arizona and Illinois, expressed an interest in cloud computing as an option for saving valuable budget resources, as found in CAGW’s two issue briefs, Cloud 101: A Brief Introduction, and Cloud 201: Guidelines for Successful Cloud Investments. By utilizing these resources, state legislators across the country will be better equipped to make informed choices when seeking to save precious taxpayer dollars and reduce spending.