Headlines
FL: Privatizing no sure thing Augusta leaders find
KS: Committee votes to stop use of state funds for legislators to participate in ALEC
NJ: Watchdog group wants AG to investigate ALEC
Vilsack v. Vilsack: Playing chicken
Senators call for contractor cuts to match DoD workforce cuts
US military-industrial giant KBR in bidding to privatize British police forces
FL: Privatizing no sure thing Augusta leaders find
Industry giant ADP says it will turn around Augusta’s HR. Department for two million dollars a year, but city leaders are not ready to jump into this privatization deal…Commissioners have been discussing the ADP proposal for months but voted again Tuesday to send it back to committee for further study. Last summer city leaders made the decision to turn the bus system over to a private company; Mobility, but city leaders are preparing to undo that decision by giving Mobility its ninety day notice to end the contact. “There have been things that have taken place since they have had the contract that do not mirror what we expected from them so we have to move in a different direction,” says Commissioner Corey Johnson…And even those who strongly supported privatizing the bus system now want to move in another direction. “Are the constituents getting the bus service they deserve I think in some cases no is there areas of improvement yes I think that’s for hearty discussion,” says Commissioner Joe Jackson. Commissioner Corey Johnson says based on the bus system it’s time to hit the brakes on privatizing city departments like HR. “Going with the cheapest and the lowest is not the best I think it’s evident now and they see a mistake was made,” says Johnson. WJBF
KS: Committee votes to stop use of state funds for legislators to participate in ALEC
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a budget provision that would prohibit state funds from being used for legislators to participate in several organizations, including the American Legislative Exchange Council. State Rep. Pete DeGraaf, R-Mulvane, proposed the ban on state funds for legislators who are members of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments. But state Rep. Doug Gatewood, D-Columbus, said ALEC should be part of that ban too. DeGraaf said he had no problem including ALEC, adding that he has attended ALEC meetings and his expenses have been paid through “scholarships” and not state funds. The Appropriations Committee approved adding the ban to its proposed budget bill that now goes to the full House. Since ALEC scholarships are funded by corporate interests, the proposed ban may have little impact on most ALEC members, although legislators said later that some state funds have been expended on registration for ALEC meetings but didn’t know exactly how much. LJWorld.com
NJ: Watchdog group wants AG to investigate ALEC
In a letter sent to Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa today, the nonprofit Common Cause accuses ALEC, a conservative bill-writing organization, of tax fraud. It says that although ALEC is registered as a charity in New Jersey, it is “primarily a lobbying organization and may therefore be in violation of its tax-exempt status.” “New Jerseyans shouldn’t have to subsidize ALEC’s agenda to limit voting rights, undermine our public schools, spread Stand Your Ground gun laws, and weaken laws protecting our environment,” said Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause who is a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania. The letter comes at a time when New Jersey lawmakers and lobbying watchdogs are debating whether ALEC fits the description of a typical lobbyist. Edgar said Common Cause has “compelling evidence” proving that it does, citing 4,000 pages of internal ALEC documents leaked by a whistleblower…ALEC is a group of state lawmakers and private companies that writes model legislation to advance fiscally conservative goals like loosening environmental rules and privatizing government services. Critics say ALEC’s activities amount to lobbying because the council is financed chiefly by the private companies, and because its model bills tend to boost those companies’ bottom lines. Lawmakers can introduce bills based on ALEC models, or identical to them, without disclosing the source…The Star-Ledger last month found that several pieces of legislation and executive-branch policies pushed by the Christie administration closely resembled ALEC models. The Star-Ledger
Vilsack v. Vilsack: Playing chicken
…There may be a serious political split brewing in the home of Iowa’s former governor — now Secretary of Agriculture Tom — and former first lady — now congressional candidate Christie — over the agency’s plan to privatize the country’s poultry inspection program. Tom Vilsack reportedly claimed budget cuts required replacing 800 food safety inspectors with company employees and Agriculture officials say the move won’t have adverse health effects on consumer of the fowl. (Seriously.) But Christie Vilsack, who’s running against Rep. Steve King (R), saw demonstrators from advocacy group Food & Water Watch and the American Federation of Government Employees in front of her office in Ames, Iowa. She issued a statement in response saying “ . . .we should not privatize jobs” and that she was concerned about “allowing companies to inspect themselves.” But she didn’t say, for now, whether she specifically opposed the rule. (And she didn’t sink to the fox and henhouse cliche.) “I won’t, now that I’ve made that statement, I will not ever talk to my husband about it again,” she told the Des Moines Register. “Or, I should say, he will not talk to me, ” she said. “He made it clear that we will not be talking about this again. But he certainly educated me on the department’s position.” Meanwhile, substantial national controversy over the rule — even outside the Vilsack residence — has caused the department to extend the public comment period to May 26. Washington Post
Senators call for contractor cuts to match DoD workforce cuts
Twenty-six Democratic senators are pressing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to cap the number of contract employees it relies on if the Defense Department decides to cap its civilian workforce at 2010 levels. Federal Times
US military-industrial giant KBR in bidding to privatize British police forces
Giant US military-industrial company Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) is in the running to win a slice of a controversial £1.5 billion (US$2.43 billion) contract to transform the West Midlands and Surrey police forces in Britain. Hailed as the largest police privatization scheme in the UK, it has been suggested the private companies who win the contract will be tasked to perform several police functions — including patrols, detention and criminal investigation. KBR, a former subsidiary of the Halliburton group, has attracted its share of criticism over the large contracts it won with the US government during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The corporation also helped to build the Guantanamo Bay detention facility…With police planning to hold a protest march next week against the push to privatize the force, KBR’s involvement in the bidding process will possibly add fuel to the fire. Fox