ALEC’s plan for state legislators – mimicking Project 2025 – could impact wallets, schools, health, safety, rights, and democracy 

Democracy Forward’s Latest “People’s Guide” Is Focused On The States 

Washington, DC — The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annually publishes model policies for conservative state lawmakers to advance nationwide, and its current agenda is no exception. What is new, however, is that these proposals now echo–and further advance–priorities laid out in Project 2025, a systemic, ruthless plan to undermine the quality of life for millions of Americans, remove critical protections and dismantle programs for communities across the nation, while prioritizing special interests and ideological extremism over people. This is the central finding of a new report, The People’s Guide to ALEC’s Plan for the States, released today by Democracy Forward. 

ALEC’s policies include efforts to weaken protections for working people, cut the social safety net, defund public schools, deregulate polluters, and attack voting rights. 

“It is important that all of us as Americans understand who is influencing our government and the policies that govern our day to day lives,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Like our People’s Guide to Project 2025, which was accessed by millions of Americans, we hope that our People’s Guide to ALEC’s Plan for the States will shine a light on the policies that, if implemented, would make make life harder for working families, starve the social safety net, and harm our democracy. Americans have the power to stop this agenda by making their voices heard and holding those who seek to adopt these measures accountable.”

ALEC’s current agenda, 2025 Essential Policy Solutions, is an online guide to 137 model policies that the organization is highlighting for its members this year. 

These policies could:

  • Make it harder for the 41 million Americans working in the gig economy to access workplace protections.
  • Deepen the recruitment crisis for teachers, firefighters, and police officers.
  • Keep health insurance access from the 1.6 million adults in the “coverage gap.”
  • Undercut environmental protections by designating natural gas as “green energy.”
  • Discourage regulation of social media platforms used by 95% of teens.
  • Initiate voter purges that could threaten the rights of tens of thousands of eligible voters.
  • Drain resources from public schools that educate 49.6 million children and public universities that educate 13.6 million students.

Just as Project 2025 laid out a radical vision for federal policy in Trump’s second term, ALEC’s 2025 plan shows how corporate interests and far-right activists are hoping to remake American politics through the states. It isn’t a coincidence that there is significant overlap of the people behind both plans. ALEC was a member of Project 2025’s advisory board. ALEC also enjoys the backing of some of the same funders who support the Heritage Foundation, which coordinated Project 2025. 

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.