The Alabama Policy Institute is a nonprofit, conservative think tank located in Alabama. According to the organization's mission statement, it is "dedicated to influencing public policy in the interest of the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families." API is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
History
The Alabama Policy Institute was founded in 1989 as the Alabama Family Alliance. Alabama Supreme Court justice Tom Parker was the founding executive director. Gary Palmer, a co-founder of the Alabama Family Alliance, eventually became its president. In 2000, the Alabama Family Alliance was renamed the Alabama Policy Institute. After 25 years at the helm, Palmer stepped down from his role as the institute's president in order to make a 2014 run for Alabama's 6th congressional district. He was replaced by Caleb Crosby, who had served as API's vice president and CFO prior to becoming the group's president in September 2014. In September 2019 it was announced that Alabama Governor Kay Ivey's former communications director Josh Pendergrass had been named API's chief communications officer.
Policy positions
API researches policy issues and offers analysis and proposals through reports and publications to public servants, citizens, and the media. As a conservative think tank, API addresses a range of policy issues in the areas of economics, education, the environment, government, family and society. API has argued for what they consider to be fairer taxes in Alabama. In 2003, API was a staunch opponent of Republican Governor Bob Riley's $1.2 billion tax increase proposal. It commissioned a study by the Beacon Hill Institute about Riley's tax increase legislation. API has been a critic of proposals for an Alabama state lottery, labeling such proposals a regressive tax on the poor. API has championed charter schools in Alabama. It strongly supports the Alabama Accountability Act, which expanded school choice and school vouchers in the state. API was a proponent of both the Marriage Act, passed in 1998, and Alabama Amendment 774, which was approved by 81% of Alabama voters in 2006. In 2014, API released a report titled Alabama's Environment 2014: Six Critical Indicators. It covered energy, air quality, water quality, forests and land, toxic release inventory and climate change. It provided a positive outlook on the state of the environment, arguing that the nation's air quality and the environment in general are improving. In February 2015, the Alabama Policy Institute and the Alabama Citizens Action Program filed a lawsuit asking the Alabama Supreme Court to halt same-sex marriages in the state until the United States Supreme Court addresses the issue.
