Citing Concerns of Compelled Speech, AG Cox Urges Chugach to Change Course

September 10, 2025

(Anchorage, AK) - Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox urged the Regulatory Commission of Alaska today to require Chugach Electric Association to redesign its new "Cents of Community" program, which automatically enrolls its 90,000 members across Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Whittier.

"This is a compelled-subsidy problem," said Attorney General Cox. "Because Chugach's members are captive customers, the automatic round-up requires them to fund speech they may not agree with. That raises serious First Amendment concerns. Alaskans should not be put in the position of supporting organizations or advocacy they disagree with just to keep the lights on."

Administration of these "Cents of Community" funds is entrusted to the newly created Chugach Electric Association Charitable Foundation. At this time, Chugach has not disclosed the identities of the volunteer trustees who will oversee distribution of the funds. Members, therefore, have no information about who will decide which nonprofits receive their money or what criteria will guide those decisions. This uncertainty means members could end up subsidizing causes they do not support.

The filing cites key U.S. Supreme Court precedents, including Janus v. AFSCME, which makes clear that compelled subsidies of private speech are inconsistent with the First Amendment and that opt-out mechanisms do not cure the problem.

"Protecting Alaskans' First Amendment rights is central here," AG Cox said. "Voluntary generosity is commendable, but giving should be a matter of choice. Opt-in programs like Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility's 'Coins Can Count' show that member donations can be encouraged without compromising individual rights."

The Attorney General's comments emphasize that fewer than ten percent of Chugach's members voted to authorize the program, yet all members would still be automatically enrolled and forced to take additional steps to withdraw. That design is not a constitutional substitute for each member's affirmative choice.

Chugach still has the opportunity to correct course by redesigning its program as opt-in, which would address the concerns identified in the Attorney General's filing. If it does not, the Attorney General has asked the RCA to require that safeguard. While some utilities may have experimented with similar opt-out approaches in the past, the filing underscores that such practices are not acceptable in light of the constitutional protections owed to Alaskans.

Chief Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Waller who leads LAW's Regulatory Affairs & Public Advocacy Section said RAPA has historically opposed default enrollment or "opt-out" programs by utilities. For Chugach, leaving the round-up program as opt-out could bring in several hundred thousands of dollars from Alaskans to be doled out to nonprofits.

Read the full Attorney General Comments to RCA here.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at [email protected] or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at [email protected] or (907) 269-6269.