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Americans for Limited Government
| Americans for Limited Government | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Fairfax, Virginia |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Top official: | Robert Romano |
| Year founded: | 1996 |
| Website: | Official website |
Americans for Limited Government (ALG) is a national libertarian political advocacy organization headquartered in Virginia. The group has had high-profile involvement in a number of ballot initiative campaigns, especially in 2006. The issues the group supports are eminent domain reform, property rights, tax and spending reform, school choice, judicial reform and government accountability.
Background
According to ALG's website, the organization's mission is "To reduce the size and scope of government to maximize individual freedom."[1] The organization's website also says it works "to reduce the size and scope of government, protecting individuals rights, promoting federalism, and rolling back the tyranny of the administrative state."[1]
Leadership
- Robert Romano, Executive Director
Work and activities
Electoral activities and influence
According to OpenSecrets.org, Americans for Limited Government spent the following in election cycles between 2012 and 2024:
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $2,599,750 |
| 2014 | $335,002 |
| 2016 | $272,890 |
| 2018 | $226,000 |
| 2020 | $170,986 |
| 2022 | $60,650 |
| 2024 | $87,789 |
Legislative and policy work
Property Rights
In 2006, ALG helped fund ballot initiatives to curtail the expanded scope of eminent domain following the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London decision in 2005. Some of these measures would also have required governments to either waive restrictions or compensate land owners when land use and environmental laws decreased the value of parcels of property. These initiatives were known as "Kelo-Plus" to indicate that they included a provision to reform regulatory takings policy in addition to eminent domain abuses.
In 2004, Oregon voters approved Measure 37, a regulatory takings reform initiative. ALG supported "Kelo-Plus" ballot initiatives in 2006 in Arizona, California, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Oklahoma.
ALG also supported I-933 in Washington, which would have required compensation when government regulation damages the use or value of private property.
The Missouri and Oklahoma petition drives did not collect sufficient signatures. A circuit judge removed the Montana initiative from the ballot, saying that signature collection fraud had occurred.
The Nevada Supreme Court, on single-subject grounds, removed the regulatory takings component of the ALG-sponsored Kelo-Plus initiative, leaving intact the measure's Kelo-reform provision.
Of the three states (Arizona, California, Idaho) where Kelo-Plus ballot initiatives appeared on the ballot in 2006, the measure passed only in Arizona.
Also in 2006, Washington voters defeated I-933, that state's takings reform proposal.
Taxpayer Bill of Rights
ALG also supports initiatives to enact Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) laws, which put a cap on how fast a state's spending can grow. The specific cap is based on an index that is a combination of inflation and population growth, sometimes known as a "popu-flation" index. These laws provide for emergency funds and allow voters to decide whether their representatives should spend revenue surpluses or refund them to taxpayers. Colorado voters passed the best-known example of a TABOR law in 1992 and later voted to temporarily suspend it via the 2005 Colorado Economic Recovery Act.[2]
In 2006, ALG assisted in successful efforts to place TABOR ballot initiatives on ballots in Maine, Nebraska and Oregon. All three measures were rejected.
In 2006, ALG also assisted in ultimately unsuccessful attempts to put TABOR initiatives on ballots in Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The Michigan and Missouri efforts were unsuccessful due to insufficient numbers of signatures in the petition drives. In Montana, after the secretary of state had certified the measure for the ballot, a private coalition successfully sued to have it removed from the ballot, saying that signature collection fraud had occurred. In Nevada, as a result of a private lawsuit that opponents filed after the Nevada Secretary of State had certified that the initiative was eligible to appear on the ballot, the Nevada Supreme Court removed the measure from the ballot because of a technical error in wording. In Oklahoma, the state supreme court refused to certify the TABOR measure for the ballot on the grounds that insufficient signatures were collected, and because the "evidence support[ed] substantial illegal participation of out-of-state circulators."[3]
Education
ALG supports school vouchers and expansion of charter schools, arguing that competition among schools will increase both the quality and the economic efficiency of public education.[4]
Judicial Accountability
In 2006, ALG was involved in efforts to pass Montana CI-98, a measure that would have allowed voters in that state to recall elected judges or justices for any reason. This would have changed Montana's pre-existing requirement that to recall a judge, incapacity, incompetence, misconduct or a felony must have occurred. The initiative, along with two others, was removed from the ballot after a series of legal challenges from opponents.[5][6]
Criticism
In 2006, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center established a website called "Howie Rich Exposed," which criticized Howard Rich, the president of ALG at the time.[7][8][9][10]
After ALG's decision in December 2006 to move its national office from Illinois to Virginia, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) reported that ALG was "forced out of Illinois in December 2006 for failing to comply with state charity laws."[11]
On December 21, 2006, CPI reported ALG "raised 99 percent of its $5.4 million in total contributions in 2005 from just three donors."[11][12] [13]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Affiliations
As of 2025, Americans for Limited Government had a related 501(c)(3) organization, Americans For Limited Government Research Foundation Inc.[14]
According to Americans For Limited Government Research Foundation Inc.'s 2023 Internal Revenue Service filings, the organizations mission is "to provide research and education on issues related to limited government."[14]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of Americans for Limited Government's revenues and expenses from 2010 to 2023, according to filings with the Internal Revenue Service compiled by ProPublica.[15]
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | $9.1 million | $8.6 million |
| 2011 | $827,000 | $1 million |
| 2012 | $6.8 million | $7 million |
| 2013 | $500,000 | $783,000 |
| 2014 | $710,000 | $1.1 million |
| 2015 | $847,000 | $801,000 |
| 2016 | $2.5 million | $2.7 million |
| 2017 | $808,000 | $887,000 |
| 2018 | $903,000 | $1.1 million |
| 2019 | $1.3 million | $1.2 million |
| 2020 | $15.6 million | $14.1 million |
| 2021 | $3.1 million | $3.1 million |
| 2022 | $4.0 million | $4.4 million |
| 2023 | $938,000 | $1.1 million |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Americans + for + Limited + Government"
- All stories may not be relevant to this organization due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- What is an influencer?
- PACs and Super PACS
- Political action committee
- Super PAC
- Federal Election Commission
External links
- Americans for Limited Government
- Human Events spotlight on ALG
- Takings Initiatives Accountability Project
- The Oregonian on ALG
- High Country News investigative report on ALG by Ray Ring
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Americans for Limited Government, "About," accessed October 21, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Economic Recovery Act
- ↑ Oklahoma state court network
- ↑ ALG's position on school choice
- ↑ Montana de-certified ballot issues
- ↑ ALG's statement on judicial reform
- ↑ Howie Rich Exposed
- ↑ Oregon live
- ↑ Sun Journal
- ↑ PBS Now
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Center for Public Integrity, "Organization That Bankrolled ‘Takings’ Initiatives Forced Out Of Illinois By Attorney General," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ Society of Environmental Journalists, "Winners: SEJ 7th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 ProPublica, "Americans For Limited Government Research Foundation Inc.," accessed October 21, 2025
- ↑ ProPublica, "Americans for Limited Government," accessed October 21, 2025
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