Bill Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, will Chair American Legislative Exchange Council

Bill Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates,
will Chair American Legislative Exchange Council


(Washington, D.C.) — William J. Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, was named as the 2009 National Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) during its annual States & Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. held December 4-6, 2008. ALEC represents a network of 2,000 state legislators who are committed to the fundamental Jeffersonian principles of limited government, free enterprise, federalism, and individual liberty.

“I am honored by the confidence that the bipartisan members of ALEC have placed in me to lead this outstanding organization in 2009,” said Speaker Howell. “Exploring and learning from what other states are doing and recognizing the need to change, adapt, innovate and improve lie at the very heart of what ALEC is all about. It’s what has made ALEC such a powerful force against the status quo and for a more free and prosperous future. I look forward not only to building upon but strengthening ALEC’s reputation as a leader championing new ideas and practical solutions that deliver real results for the benefit of people, taxpayers and businesses across America.”

William J. Howell is the 54th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and has led the 100-member chamber since 2003. First elected a delegate in 1987, he represents the 28th House District, which includes parts of Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg. Under Howell’s leadership, Virginia has adopted fiscally responsible state budgets with forward-looking investments in K-12 and higher education, public safety, mental health and other core services while avoiding costly new programs. In 2007, Howell took the unprecedented step for a Virginia House Speaker of sponsoring and successfully enacting a comprehensive transportation plan with significant institutional reforms, historic land use changes and over $3 billion in statewide and regional funding for roads, rail and transit. He has championed improving health care access and the Medicaid program through greater choice, better quality and cost savings. A strong supporter of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, he also led the effort to enact Virginia’s national model program for open-spaces land preservation using free-market principles. Howell has been a member of ALEC’s Board of Directors since 2003. ALEC honored Howell as State Legislator of the Year in 2001.

During ALEC’s 2008 States & Nation Policy Summit, hundreds of state legislators from across the United States gathered for three days of intensive discussions on the critical issues facing the states and nation, to share their knowledge and experiences with each other, and to hear from national leaders.

ALEC is renowned for developing cutting edge legislative policy and garnering top policy speakers. This year’s speakers included: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels; former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich; syndicated columnist Amity Shlaes, author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression; U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin (OK); and U.S. Rep. Tom Price (GA).

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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators, with over 2,000 legislator members from all fifty states, and 85 former members serving in the U.S. Congress. www.alec.org