American Legislative Exchange Council

716: 29: 1621:(CMD), filed a lawsuit under a Wisconsin open records law alleging five Republican lawmakers did not disclose whether they had used personal e-mail accounts for correspondence with ALEC. In one instance, a Wisconsin legislative representative had requested of ALEC in June 2012 that all correspondence be sent to his personal account. According to CMD, the legislators settled the suit in late October 2012, allowing their personal e-mails to be searched for such contacts and paying $ 2,500 in court costs as part of the settlement. 5535:... shows Nelson telling the private audience of activists and lawmakers: "Four or five years ago we had a session just like this, and out of that, there are a number of really good organizations. It's not our day job to fight that issue, but we have a new coalition called the Back to Neutral coalition that is really, really active. ... We are certainly a part of that." ... The Back to Neutral coalition brings together right-wing think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations and two anti-LGBTQ hate groups, ... 931:

made voting more difficult for students, the elderly, and the poor. According to research by Columbia University political scientist Alex Hertel-Fernandez, "Of the 62 ID laws states considered during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, more than half were proposed by lawmakers who... were all participants in the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. In exchange for their payments of $ 50 per year in membership dues, those legislators had access to a draft proposal for strict voter ID requirements".

734:. Membership statistics presented at an ALEC board meeting in 2013 indicated that the 1,810 members represented 24% of all state legislative seats across the U.S., and that ALEC members represented 100% of the legislative seats in Iowa and South Dakota. It also has approximately 300 corporate, foundation, and other private-sector members. The chairmanship of ALEC is a rotating position, with a new legislator appointed to the position each year. As of 2012, 28 out of 33 of its chairs had been Republicans. 795:, office by an executive director and a staff of approximately 30. ALEC's bylaws specify that "... full membership shall be open to persons dedicated to the preservation of individual liberty, basic American values and institutions, productive free enterprise, and limited representative government, who support the purposes of ALEC, and who serve, or formerly serve, as members of a state or territorial legislature, the United States Congress, or similar bodies outside the United States." 1740:

educational seminars or the executives who give presentations to those legislators. William Schluter, vice chairman of the New Jersey Ethics Commission and a former Republican state senator, said of ALEC's activities, "When you get right down to it, this is not different from lobbying. It is lobbying. ...Any kind of large organization that adds to public policy or has initiatives involving public policy should be disclosed—not only their name, but who is backing them." According to

1858: 944: 258:. Some of these bills dominate legislative agendas in states such as Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine. Approximately 200 model bills become law each year. ALEC also serves as a networking tool among certain state legislators, allowing them to research conservative policies implemented in other states. Many ALEC legislators say the organization converts campaign rhetoric and nascent policy ideas into legislative language. 1229:. A statement by Shell said "its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own...We have long recognized both the importance of the climate challenge and the critical role energy has in determining quality of life for people across the world." An ALEC spokesperson responded "Climate change activists have conflated our opposition to the government picking winners and losers as climate change denial." 1832:, ALEC faced a funding shortfall after "losing more than a third of its projected income" when some 400 state legislators left its membership, along with more than 60 corporate donors. The organization's 2013 tax return indicated a 13% drop in total revenue from $ 8.4 million to $ 7.3 million. On its 2016 tax return ALEC reported an increase in total revenue from $ 9.0 million the prior year to $ 10.3 million. 867:, then a Louisiana state representative and ALEC national chairman, said, "We are a very, very conservative organization... We're just espousing what we really believe in." Craig Horn, a North Carolina state representative and ALEC member, said of ALEC in 2013, "It's a lightning rod organization because it has a decidedly conservative bent—there’s no doubt about it." 884:, ALEC's agenda "seems to be dictated at almost every turn by multinational corporations. It's to clear the way for lower taxes, less regulation, a lot of protection against lawsuits, ALEC is very, very active in opening up of areas via privatization for corporations to make more money, particularly in places you might not usually expect like public education." 1407:, who said at the time that the cuts would pay for themselves and lead to increased growth. By fall 2014, however, the tax cuts had led to the depletion of a $ 700 million budget surplus, and although Kansas had experienced 6.6% job growth from 2010 to 2013, that figure lagged behind the nation's overall 8.8% job growth for the same period. 1278:. In February 2014, Senate Bill 304 in Kansas was introduced, "prohibiting cities and counties from building public broadband networks and providing internet service to businesses and citizens". The bill contains an "underserved area" exemption for public wi-fi, but the exemption criterion is not met anywhere in Kansas. The city of 1606:, to host these model bills. The leak has been credited with triggering critical coverage about ALEC in both left-wing and mainstream media outlets. ALEC subsequently published its model bills on its website, although the Brookings Institution wrote in 2013 that there was "reason to believe" its list was incomplete. 1812:'s foundation donated $ 30,000 to ALEC in both 2005 and 2006. Alan Jeffers, an ExxonMobil spokesman, said the company paid $ 39,000 in dues in 2010 and sponsored a reception at the annual meeting in San Diego for $ 25,000. In August 2011, Exxon spent $ 45,000 to sponsor a workshop on natural gas. According to the 456:, then a Democratic Iowa state representative and chairwoman of the ALEC board, ALEC became increasingly partisan during that period, with Roman once telling Mertz "she didn't like Democrats and she wasn't going to work with them." Ron Scheberle became executive director in 2010 after acting as a lobbyist for 1571:"WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council to advance Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty..." When the inclusion of the ALEC mission statement was discovered, the bill was withdrawn and resubmitted without the phrase. 1710:

reported in 2014 that ALEC had "no equal" in accessing conservative policymakers. Rosenthal said of ALEC, "You've had the interest groups having access and sitting on other task forces, but here you've really perfected it... You've not only got them gaining access and interacting with legislators but

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and ALEC member, said in 2002, "Just because business writes a bill doesn't make it bad. We get bills from all angles. And we still have to debate the issue." Whisnant, ALEC's Oregon co-chair, acknowledged in 2012 that corporations sometimes write model bills to promote their own interests and added,

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Prior to 2012, legislation based on ALEC model bills was introduced in many states to mandate or strengthen requirements that voters produce state-issued photographic identification. The bills were passed and signed into law in six states. Voter identification bills introduced in 34 states would have

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provide direct assistance to state legislators and firms eager to minimize any state government engagement in environmental protection. ALEC's membership base includes nearly one-third of all sitting state legislators and most of its resources are derived from corporations and trade associations. It

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Critics sometimes argue that by adopting ALEC model bills without disclosure, state officials are handing off the duty of doing their own work to a business-centered lobby. In early 2012, Democratic lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin introduced the "ALEC Accountability Act of 2012", which would have

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was turned away from the ALEC annual policy summit and told by spokesperson Bill Meierling that subcommittee meetings and task force meetings were closed-door. Meierling said ALEC was introducing transparency gradually, but it "can't just kick the doors open". Shortly after the Milbank incident, the

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laws outside the United States, including the UK and Australia. Karla Jones, a task force director for ALEC, said that the brands were the corporations' most valuable assets. ALEC stated that generic cigarette packaging increased cigarette consumption, rather than reduced it. ALEC's advocacy against

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According to research by Columbia University political scientist Alex Hertel-Fernandez, ALEC model legislation during the late 1970s focused primarily on social issues, such as abortion, drugs, gun laws, religious freedom and anti-busing. By the 1980s, the focus was primarily on criminal justice. By

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ALEC responded by releasing a statement describing efforts by its critics as a "campaign launched by a coalition of extreme liberal activists committed to silencing anyone who disagrees with their agenda". Doug Clopp of Common Cause credited ALEC Exposed for the successful campaign, saying that "for

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compared ALEC's work to that of lobbyists, noting, "part of ALEC's mission is to present industry-backed legislation as grass-roots work," and that being a nonprofit rather than a lobby group allows deductibility of membership dues and freedom from disclosing the names of legislators who attend its

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found that ALEC is part of a coalition of groups called Back to Neutral who oppose "'woke' corporations that act to diversify their leadership or take a public stance on social and democracy issues." According to the SPLC, the Back to the Neutral coalition includes "right-wing think tanks, advocacy

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In the 1980s, ALEC pushed anti-gay propaganda, and urged legislators to oppose attempts to "homosexualize society." ALEC said that homosexual relations were "probably some of the most destructive and degrading institutions in America today". ALEC claimed homosexuality caused psychological harm, led

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compacts. In 2013, their resolution stated "Alec is very concerned about the potential economic impact of greenhouse gas regulation on electricity prices and the harm EPA regulations may have on the economic recovery". ALEC also has promoted a model bill that would call on the federal government to

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ALEC legislative members generally deny being overly influenced by the organization or its model legislation, and argue that corporate input in the drafting process helps to promote business growth. "ALEC is unique in the sense that it puts legislators and companies together and they create policy

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reported in 2003 that ALEC meetings traditionally had been open to the public, news organizations have reported since then that many meetings are held in private. ALEC policy seminars are open to reporters and other nonmembers, but public conference agendas, unlike those distributed to members, do

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think-tanks. SPN is a member of ALEC, and ALEC is an associate member of the SPN. SPN encourages its members to join ALEC, and many members of SPN are also members of ALEC. Some of the think tanks in the SPN write model legislation, which then is introduced at ALEC private meetings. ALEC is "SPN's

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objecting to ALEC's tax status as a nonprofit organization and alleged that lobbying accounted for more than 60% of its expenditures. ALEC formally denied lobbying, although Delores Mertz, who had previously served as chairwoman of the ALEC board, said she was "concerned about the lobbying that's

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said in December 2011, "We're getting a lot of attention saying we're trying to destroy the earth and everything on it." ALEC staff and members promoted the organization as promoting public-private partnerships for the advancement of free market principles. ALEC senior director of membership and

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was "one of the more dominant practices within the homosexual world". ALEC spokesman Bill Meierling discussed the document in 2013 and said that ALEC does not draft model bills on social issues, and added, "I'm also sad that the critics would not acknowledge that organizations change over time."

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ALEC responded to the original Common Cause complaint by denying it engaged in lobbying, while saying that liberal groups were attacking ALEC because "they don't have a comparable group that is as effective as ALEC in enacting policies into law." As of 2015, the IRS investigation remained open.

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and found a pattern of similarities with ALEC model bills that was "too strong to be accidental". The connections were based "not on similarity of broad ideas, but on specific numbers, time frames, benchmarks and language". Legislative staffers in the Christie administration had "mined ALEC for

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In 1989, ALEC published the draft "HIV Assault Act", which made it a crime for someone who is knowingly infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) to have sex with a person who is not infected, without disclosing the HIV infection. The bill made having such sex without disclosure a criminal

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study of state legislation introduced in 2011–2012 found that ALEC model bills that became law were linked most often to controversial social and economic issues. The study concluded that this phenomenon has hurt ALEC because, "Dirtying its hands with social issues undermines ALEC's ability to

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As of 2011, corporation, think tank, and trade group members accounted for almost 99% of ALEC's $ 7 million budget. Legislators pay $ 100 in biennial membership dues, or $ 50 per year, while non-legislators pay $ 7,000 to $ 25,000 to join, and more to participate in the task forces. In 2010,

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bills are also similar to ALEC's model "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act", which would make it against the law to film, videotape, or take photographs on livestock farms in order to "defame the facility or its owner". People found to be in violation would be put in a "terrorist registry".

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By 2011, the number of ALEC legislative members had reached 2,000, including more than 25 percent of all state legislators nationwide. Approximately 1,000 bills based on ALEC language were being introduced in state legislatures every year, with approximately 20% of those bills being enacted.

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This sharp turn in American law—expanding the right to defend one's home from attack into a more general right to meet force with force in any public place—began in Florida in 2005 and has spread to more than 30 other states as a result of a campaign by the National Rifle Association and a

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Bills drafted by the task forces must be approved by the ALEC board of directors, composed exclusively of legislators, before they are designated as model bills. ALEC also has a Private Enterprise Advisory Council, which meets whenever the board of directors meets. Council members include

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professor and expert on state legislatures and lobbying, said in 2012, "Legislators don't sit down with a quill pen and draft legislation. I think legislators should have the right to turn to wherever they want to get the ideas they prefer... I have some confidence that they're not being

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In 2013, ALEC's North Carolina state chairman Jason Saine described the organization as "a resource for experts you can tap that follow a philosophy that you do from a less government viewpoint", and said, "It's not just some big secretive organization that it's been portrayed."

1666:, a Democratic Wisconsin state assemblyman who attended an ALEC conference in 2013, said, "In my observation, it was the corporations and the right-wing think tanks driving the agendas. Corporations have as big a say as the legislators in the model legislation that is adopted." 1531:

reported that ALEC's activities during its closed-door meetings are "still a mystery", and that "ALEC could have a tremendous influence over lawmaking in the American states, or it could have none at all—we just don't know." In 2014, Nebraska legislator and former ALEC member

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offense, even when HIV was not transmitted. Alan Smith, who worked on the draft, said the proposed law was a response to worries that people with AIDS were deliberately infecting others, "to make sure more people got it so more research money could be devoted to curing it".

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Duane Parde served as the executive director from December 1996 to January 2006. Lori Roman, who served in the same role from 2006 to 2008, had an imperious style that led to financial difficulties and the departure of two thirds of ALEC's staff. According to

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journalist Abby Rapoport wrote that the incident "seems to confirm what many have assumed was occurring in state legislatures—and while Burgin's bill was hardly a major piece of legislation, ALEC's reach in important policy areas seems hard to overestimate."

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magazine, ALEC legislators often have their travel expenses paid as "scholarships" and are "wined and dined and golf-coursed" by private sector members. In July 2013, Common Cause submitted a supplemental brief to the IRS complaining about these practices.

6176: 1282:, which has led broadband development since the 1980s, financed through its public electricity company, including free wi-fi in its college, hospital, and public spaces, and a 4g mobile data network, felt under attack by the bill. The bill failed. 1483:, said in 2012 that ALEC advises members, "'Don't just introduce a single piece of legislation, introduce 14.' That way people can't oppose any one bill." At one ALEC meeting, media experts gave messaging advice and taught legislators how to use 1560:, vice chairman of the New Jersey Ethics Commission and a former Republican state senator, said there was a "clear connection between ALEC and the proposed New Jersey legislation". A Christie spokesperson denied any connection between the two. 1715:

has said, "What makes ALEC different is its effectiveness in not just bringing the people together but selling a piece of legislation that was written by the industry and for the industry and selling it as a piece of mainstream legislation."

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also cut ties with ALEC. In response to the departure of Northrop Grumman, an ALEC spokesperson said, "Like any other membership group, membership in ALEC ebbs and flows, and in 2014 we gained far more private-sector members than we lost."

238:—draft legislation that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures. ALEC has produced model bills on a broad range of issues, such as reducing regulation and individual and corporate taxation, combating 1462:"plain packaging" of tobacco products was cited as partial motivation for an academic study on the effectiveness of plain packaging, which found that "plain packaging can reduce positive perceptions of smoking and dissuade tobacco use." 5134: 4024: 1687:, another former Virginia delegate and ALEC member, said of ALEC conferences, "You know before you go that the big-business view will prevail, and that's not necessarily bad. I still would like them to be a little more objective." 3672: 1504:

not include the names of presenters, the lists of legislative and private-sector board chairs, nor the corporate sponsors of the seminars. Task force meetings and bill-drafting sessions are held behind closed doors. Bloggers from

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wrote in 2012 that ALEC had "a special interest in privatization—that is, on turning the provision of public services, from schools to prisons, over to for-profit corporations," and as such played a significant role in the

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has called the bill a "sneak attack" on the ACA. Health insurance experts have predicted that if the bill were widely adopted by Republican-controlled states, it would seriously disrupt the exchange and threaten the ACA.

1074:, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, said that ALEC has played a major role in "liberating the private sector to employ penal labor and expand the privatization of corrections." Economist 336:

Conservative legislators felt the word "conservative" was unpopular with the public at the time, however, so the organization was renamed as, the American Legislative Exchange Council. In 1975, with the support of the

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The criticism among media outlets and political opponents was that ALEC was secretly subverting democratic institutions to further the aims of its corporate benefactors. Oregon state representative and ALEC member

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Collingwood, Loren; El-Khatib, Stephen Omar; Gonzalez O’Brien, Benjamin (November 28, 2018). "Sustained Organizational Influence: American Legislative Exchange Council and the Diffusion of Anti-Sanctuary Policy".

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development Chaz Cirame said, "The hook about some conspiracy or some secret organization is a lot better story than one about bringing state legislators together to talk about best practices around the country."

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described ALEC as an organization that gave corporate interests outsized influence. Resulting public pressure led to a number of legislators and corporations withdrawing from the organization. In 2022, however,

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of ACA if they accepted any subsidies under the system. Sean Riley, the head of the ALEC Health and Human Services task force, said the aim of the proposed legislation was to protect businesses from the ACA's

6565: 6168: 1068:, two of the largest for-profit prison companies in the U.S. (as of 2004), have been contributors to ALEC. ALEC also has worked to pass state laws to allow the creation of private-sector for-profit prisons. 6209: 4149: 2851: 1129:, in spite of the fact that the bill contained "loopholes that would allow energy companies to withhold the names of certain fluid contents, for reasons including that they have been deemed trade secrets". 3009: 1536:

described ALEC as a "faceless organization", saying, "It's allowing these corporate interests to just duck and cover, and hide from really stepping into the public square and putting their ideas forward."

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ALEC does not disclose its membership list nor the origins of its model bills. Lawmakers generally propose ALEC-drafted bills in their states without disclosing the ALEC authorship. For instance, in 2012

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In addition to providing a forum for the drafting of model legislation that may be adapted easily, ALEC also provides assistance and training to its legislative members. The Oregon co-chairman of ALEC,

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expanded to 30 states through the support of ALEC, after Florida passed its law in 2005. After the Florida law had been passed, ALEC adopted a model bill with the same wording. In the wake of the

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As of December 2013, ALEC had more than 85 members of Congress and 14 sitting or former governors who were considered "alumni". The majority of the ALEC legislative members belong to the

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and lowering the costs associated with the criminal justice system. At that time, ALEC promoted investing taxpayer money in alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic monitoring.

978:", an Arizona law commonly known as "SB 1070", was drafted during an ALEC meeting in December 2009 and became an ALEC model bill. Enacted in 2010, SB 1070 was described as the toughest 6650: 6500: 5351: 5298: 2333:

offers regular conferences and training sessions but is perhaps best known for drafting model bills that can easily be adopted by an individual state and introduced into a legislature.

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Several corporations have announced that their affiliations with ALEC will be allowed to lapse over disagreement with the group's opposition to action on climate change. These include

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in 2012, ALEC's support for Stand Your Ground laws ultimately led to the departure of high-profile corporate members such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Bank of America, and General Motors.

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Statutes in Colorado, South Carolina, and Indiana exempt ALEC, specifically by name, from having to register as a lobbyist and report lobbying expenditures. In 2013, ALEC created a

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After 50 Years, This Right-Wing Law Factory Is Crazier Than Ever: The American Legislative Exchange Council is where corporations and far-right groups go to buy government policy

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that ALEC had supported. Color of Change launched a new campaign in April to pressure ALEC corporate members to withdraw. More than sixty corporations and foundations, including

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ALEC has nine task forces that generate model bills that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures. Private sector members effectively have

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announced that they were ending their ties to ALEC. Multiple companies cited environmental concerns as a point of contention with the organization. Google Executive Chairman

1198:. ALEC responded by threatening legal action, denying that ALEC supports climate change denial, and saying it has more recently welcomed debate on the subject and supported 788:

said in 2011, "I really kind of think of us as one board," although he added, "It's certainly not our goal to sit there and do everything that business wants to have done."

5165: 3729: 3278: 6535: 2808: 2798: 710: 5051: 3084: 5778: 5727: 3409: 5693: 5496: 5106: 4638: 4599: 4494: 3607: 923:, ALEC's internal publication (which it provides to paying members) asserted, without evidence, that voter fraud contributed to his victory. ALEC said that groups like 6704: 6636: 4931: 4669: 1988: 4414: 2233: 4810: 3051: 1084: 6557: 4841: 2123: 372:'s Political Action Committee, also helped to found ALEC. Early members included a number of state and local politicians who went on to statewide office, including 6689: 6273: 6199: 5329: 4141: 2831: 5016: 3764: 3247: 2999: 6699: 2165: 1304: 4243: 4093: 5980: 4377: 3463: 975: 6589: 6467: 6099: 4180: 3115: 2053: 1775:

reported that tax records showed that corporations had collectively paid as much as $ 6 million a year to ALEC. ALEC's total revenue in 2011 was $ 9 million.

6331: 5395: 5268: 3567: 2887: 924: 285: 4552: 3632: 864: 5074: 4959: 4725: 2731: 2630: 2403: 5188: 1114:(EEI), resulted in EEI withdrawing its ALEC membership. Enron's position on the matter was adopted by ALEC and subsequently, by many state legislatures. 1044:

magazine, "ALEC has been a major force behind both privatizing state prison space and keeping prisons filled." ALEC has developed model bills advancing "

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The ALEC website states that its goal is to advance "the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government, and federalism". In 2003,

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Republicans' next big play is to 'scare the hell out of Washington' by rewriting the Constitution. And they're willing to play the long game to win

1690: 5888: 2459: 1236:(not an ALEC member) hosted an ALEC event in Washington, D.C., where ALEC promoted its "Energy Innovation Project", that was partly funded by the 1163:

In 2013, ALEC planned legislation that would weaken state clean energy regulations and penalize homeowners who install their own solar panels and

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One of ALEC's model bills is the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act", which classifies certain property destruction, acts of intimidation, and

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advice on budgetary matters, Medicaid changes and privatizing government services...beginning in the earliest days of Christie's governorship".

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Prior to 2011, ALEC's practices and its ties to specific pieces of legislation were little known outside of political circles. In July 2011,

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you have them shaping policy together. It seems to me that's a pretty major advance." Edwin Bender, executive director of the nonpartisan

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described the organization as a "bill laundry" that "offers companies substantial benefits that seem to have little to do with ideology."

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40 years you couldn't get the kind of accountability we're seeing now because ALEC, its members, its legislators, its bills were secret."

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has described ALEC as "a dating agency for Republican state legislators and big corporations," to set rightwing legislative agendas. The

6232: 4702: 2949: 2708: 2669: 2590: 1270:(PSTN). Names of its 172-member task force, the agenda of a December 2010 meeting, and its minutes that included a resolution regarding 6709: 6135: 5851: 5578: 5217: 4266: 3971: 3694: 2018: 1295: 1167:, whom ALEC has described as "freeriders" because they do not pay for the infrastructure costs of recirculating their generated power. 753: 6428: 4442: 3361: 1388:

ALEC has worked to privatize public education, frequently promoting model bills that expand public-private partnerships in education.

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The level of influence that the ALEC private-sector members hold over its public-sector members has been controversial. According to

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Prior to 2013, access to ALEC model bills was restricted, and its website required a password to access them. On July 13, 2011, the

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was uncertain, that man-made climate change could be "deleterious, neutral or possibly beneficial," and that the cost of regulating

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of the ACA. In 2011, ALEC published the "State Legislators Guide to Repealing ObamaCare", which has served as a road map for

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dropped support of ALEC in the ensuing weeks or let their memberships lapse. Thirty-four legislative members also left ALEC.

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State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation.

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