Gov. Rick Perry, Randall Stephenson, Greg Babe, John Fund, Scott Rasmussen, and Rep. Ed Royce to Speak in San Diego at ALEC's Annual Meeting

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Texas Governor Rick Perry and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson will speak before an audience of over 1,500 state legislators and business leaders at the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) Opening Luncheon at ALEC's 37th Annual Meeting in San Diego on Thursday, August 5.

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This event is just part of ALEC's Annual Meeting, held August 5 to 8, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego. Other speakers at the meeting include former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN); John Fund, columnist at The Wall Street Journal; Greg Babe, President and CEO of Bayer Corporation; Scott Rasmussen, President of Rasmussen Reports; Ed Royce, Representative from California; Lynn Salo, VP Allergan Medical US Breast Aesthetics Division; and Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist. Many other scholars, legislators, and business leaders will be speaking at various meetings throughout the event.  

"The Annual Meeting is a great place for the exchange of ideas and legislation between private businesses and lawmakers," said Michael Bowman, Senior Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives at ALEC. "It's where policy becomes a reality."

Most of the business conducted at ALEC occurs in one of its nine Task Forces:

• Civil Justice
• Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development
• Education
• Energy, Environment, and Agriculture
• Health and Human Services
• International Relations
• Public Safety and Elections
• Tax and Fiscal Policy
• Telecommunications and Information Technology.

These Task Forces have considered, written, and approved hundreds of model bills, offering real policy solutions for states on a wide range of issues—including some of the most hotly-debated issues of 2010. Each year, state legislatures consider close to 1,000 bills that are based, at least in part, on ALEC Model Legislation. Hundreds of these bills are enacted every year.

Each of ALEC's nine Task Forces will be hosting educational workshops. Featured workshops at this year's Annual Meeting include:

• Cutting Crime and Budgets
• Higher Education
• Energy and Economic Recovery
• Prescription Drug Abuse
• Budget Transparency in the States
• The 10th Amendment
• New Financial Regulations
• The Changing Face of Journalism

ALEC will also be giving out awards to recognize exemplary public and private sectors members. Governor Perry will be receiving the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, ALEC's highest honor. The other awards that will be given out at this year's Annual Meeting are the William J. Raggio Excellence in Leadership and Outstanding Service Award, Legislators of the Year, Private Sector Members of the Year, State Chairs of the Year, and Volunteers of the Year.

A full agenda with speaking times and locations is available at www.alec.org.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators. www.alec.org

SOURCE American Legislative Exchange Council