BOYCOTT ALEC!!! Conservative Nonprofit Acts as a Stealth Business Lobbyist
ALEC = American Legislative Exchange Council By MIKE McINTIRENYTimes Published: April 21, 2012 Jay LaPrete/Associated Press Bill Seitz, an Ohio state senator and ALEC member It was quickly flagged at the Washington headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a business-backed group that views such “false claims” laws as encouraging frivolous lawsuits. ALEC’s membership includes not only corporations, but nearly 2,000 state legislators across the country — including dozens who would vote on the Ohio bill. One of them, Bill Seitz, a prominent Republican state senator, wrote to a fellow senior lawmaker to relay ALEC’s concerns about “the recent upsurge” in false-claims legislation nationwide. “While this is understandable, as states are broke, the considered advice from our friends at ALEC was that such legislation is not well taken and should not be approved,” he said in a private memorandum. The legislation was reworked to ease some of ALEC’s concerns, making it one of many bills the group has influenced by mobilizing its lawmaker members, a vast majority of them Republicans. Despite its generally low profile, ALEC has drawn scrutiny recently for promoting gun rights policies like the Stand Your Ground law at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida, as well as bills to weaken labor unions and tighten voter identification rules. Amid the controversies, several companies, including Coca-Cola, Intuit and Kraft Foods, have left the group. Most of the attention has focused on ALEC’s role in creating model bills, drafted by lobbyists and lawmakers, that broadly advance a pro-business, socially conservative agenda. But a review of internal ALEC documents shows that this is only one facet of a sophisticated operation for shaping public policy at a state-by-state level. The records offer a glimpse of how special interests effectively turn ALEC’s lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists, providing them with talking points, signaling how they should vote and collaborating on bills affecting hundreds of issues like school vouchers and tobacco taxes. The documents — hundreds of pages of minutes of private meetings, member e-mail alerts and correspondence — were obtained by the watchdog group Common Cause and shared with The New York Times. Common Cause, which said it got some of the documents from a whistle-blower and others from public record requests in state legislatures, is using the files to support an Internal Revenue Service complaint asserting that ALEC has abused its tax-exempt status, something ALEC denies. “We know its mission is to bring together corporations and state legislators to draft profit-driven, anti-public-interest legislation, and then help those elected officials pass the bills in statehouses from coast to coast,” said the president of Common Cause, Bob Edgar. “If that’s not lobbying, what is?” ALEC argues that it provides a forum for lawmakers to network and to hear from constituencies that share an interest in promoting free-market, limited-government policies. Lobbying laws differ by state, and ALEC maintains that if any of its members’ interactions with one another happen to qualify as lobbying in a particular state, that does not mean ALEC, as an organization, lobbies. Mr. Seitz, who sits on ALEC’s governing board, said he believed that liberal groups like Common Cause are attacking the organization out of frustration that “they don’t have a comparable group that is as effective as ALEC in enacting policies into law.” He said that ALEC was not much different from other professional associations that represent state legislators, and that members were free to ignore or disagree with the group’s policy positions. “This concept that private companies are writing the bills and handing them to gullible legislators to trundle off and pass is false,” Mr. Seitz said. “There is nothing new, surprising or sinister about private-sector organizations coming together with legislators to share ideas and learn from each other.” Continued Here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/alec-a-tax-exempt-group-mixes-legislators-and-lobbyists.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120422 Wikipedia LIST of ALEC Members & Businesses American Legislative Exchange Council Abbreviation ALEC Motto "Limited Government, Free Markets, Federalism"[1] Formation 1973 Type Tax exempt, non-profit organization, 501(c)(3) Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Chairman Noble Ellington Website alec.org The ALEC board of directors is composed of the following:[7] 2012 ALEC National Chairman Rep. Dave Frizzell Indiana First Vice Chairman Rep. John Piscopo Connecticut Second Vice Chairman Rep. Linda Upmeyer Iowa Treasurer Sen. Chip Rogers Georgia Secretary Rep. Liston Barfield South Carolina Chairman Emeritus Rep. Noble Ellington Louisiana Sen. Owen Johnson New York Rep. Dolores Mertz Iowa Immediate Past Chairman Rep. Tom Craddick Texas Board Members Sen. Curt Bramble Utah Rep. Jon Brien Rhode Island Rep. Harold Brubaker North Carolina Sen. Bill Cadman Colorado Sen. Jim Buck Indiana Rep. Philip Gunn Mississippi Rep. Joe Harrison Louisiana Speaker William J. Howell Virginia Sen. Michael Lamoureux Arkansas Rep. Steve McDaniel Tennessee Sen. Ray Merrick Kansas Sen. Dean Rhoads Nevada Sen. William Seitz Ohio Rep. Fred Steen II North Carolina Rep. Curry Todd Tennessee Sen. Leah Vukmir Wisconsin Sen. Susan Wagle Kansas [edit] Private enterprise board The ALEC private enterprise board is composed of the following.[10] Person Company Title Sector Status Preston Baldwin Centerpoint360 Chairman Tobacco lobbyist Active Sandra Oliver Bayer Vice Chairman Pharmaceutical Active John Del Gorno GlaxoSmithKline Vice Chairman Pharmaceutical Active David Powers Reynolds American Treasurer Tobacco Active Maggie Sans Wal-Mart Stores Secretary Retail Active Jerry Watson Chairman Emeritus Bail Bonds Emeritus Lisa A. Sano Blocker Energy Future Holdings Board Member Energy/Oil Active Don Bohn Johnson & Johnson Board Member Pharmaceutical Active Jeffrey Bond PhRMA Board Member Pharmaceutical Active William Carmichael American Bail Coalition Board Member Bail Bonds Active Derek Crawford Kraft Foods, Inc. Board Member Food and Beverage Active Robert Jones Pfizer Inc. Board Member Pharmaceutical Active Teresa Jennings Reed Elsevier Board Member Publishing Resigned[11] Kenneth Lane Diageo Board Member Alcoholic Beverages Active Bill Leahy AT&T Board Member Telecommunications Active Richard McArdle United Parcel Service Board Member Shipping Active Kelly Mader Peabody Energy Board Member Energy/Oil Active Mike Morgon Koch Companies Public Sector,LLC Board Member Lobbyist Active Daniel Smith Altria Board Member Tobacco Active Randy Smith ExxonMobil Board Member Energy/Oil Active Russell Smoldon Salt River Project Board Member Energy/Water Active Roland Spies State Farm Board Member Insurance Active [edit] State chairmen ALEC chairmen from state legislatures are:[12] State Leaders (Party) Alabama Mary Sue McClurkin R Alaska Wes Keller R Arizona Debbie Lesko R Arkansas Linda Collins-Smith R Michael Lamoureux R California Joel Anderson R Colorado Bill Cadman R B.J. Nikkel R Connecticut Debra Lee Hovey R Kevin D. Witkos R Delaware Vacant Florida Jimmy Patronis R Georgia Calvin Hill, Jr. R Chip Rogers R Hawaii Gene Ward R Idaho Patti Anne Lodge R Illinois Kirk Dillard R Renée Kosel R Indiana Jim Buck R David Wolkins R Iowa Linda J. Miller R Kansas Ray Merrick R Kentucky Tom Buford R Mike Harmon R Louisiana Greg Cromer R Joe Harrison R State Leaders (Party) Maine Richard Rosen R Maryland Michael Hough R Christopher Shank R Massachusetts Nicholas Boldyga R Harriett Stanley D Michigan Tonya Schuitmaker R Minnesota Mary Kiffmeyer R Mississippi Jim Ellington R Missouri Tim Jones R Jason T. Smith R Montana Gary MacLaren R Scott Reichner R Nebraska Jim Smith Nevada Barbara Cegavske R New Hampshire Gary L. Daniel R Jordan G. Ulery R New Jersey Steve Oroho R Jay Webber R New Mexico Paul C. Bandy R William Payne R New York Owen H. Johnson R North Carolina Fred F. Steen II R North Dakota Alan H. Carlson R Bette Grande R Ohio John Adams R State Leaders (Party) Oklahoma Gary Banz R Cliff Aldridge R Oregon Gene Whisnant R Pennsylvania Vacant Rhode Island Francis T. Maher, Jr. R Jon Brien D South Carolina Liston Barfield R Thomas Alexander R South Dakota Deb Peters R Valentine B. Rausch R Tennessee Curry Todd R Texas Charles F. Howard R Jim Jackson R Kel Seliger R Utah Curtis S. Bramble R Wayne L. Niederhauser R Chris Herrod R Vermont Kevin J. Mullin R Virginia John A. Cosgrove, Jr. R Stephen H. Martin R Washington Jan Angel R Don Benton R West Virginia Eric Householder R Wisconsin Scott Suder R Robin J. Vos R Wyoming Peter S. Illoway R Controversies[edit] NPR National Public Radio, NPR, has aired several programs about ALEC and its influence in the drafting of legislation[17] and one program, Shaping State Laws with Little Scrutiny, aired on October 29, 2010.[18] After the later NPR report was aired, ALEC released a statement responding to some of the accusations in the NPR story.[19] [edit] William Cronon in the midst of protests surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's in March 2011 Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, William Cronon, a historian who teaches at the University of Wisconsin devoted the first post on his newly-established Scholar as Citizen blog to ALEC. He addressed the largely behind-the-scenes role of the ALEC in working for the passage of ideologically conservative legislation at the state level. William Cronon pointed out that neither the model legislation which ALEC produces, nor the list of elected officials who are members of ALEC are publicly available.[20][21] This resulted in the issuing of a FOIA request by the Wisconsin Republican Party to obtain all e-mail from Cronon's university account relating to Republican topics; Paul Krugman and the American Historical Association defended Cronon's right to conduct public political research. They decried the action as an apparent attempt at intimidation.[21][22] [edit] April 2011 protests On April 29, 2011, hundreds gathered in Cincinnati to protest ALEC for the first time outside the group's Spring Task Force Meeting, and to vocalize demands for legislation serving the public interest. Teach-ins, a rally, street theatre, and a march led to a second protest in New Orleans at ALEC's Annual Meeting, held on August 3–6, 2011.[23] [edit] Whistleblower and ALEC Exposed On July 13, 2011, the Center for Media and Democracy[24] and The Nation published a file leak which made available more than 800 pieces of ALEC's model legislation, brought to them by an organizer of the Cincinnati ALEC protest. The files were leaked to the organizer, Aliya Rahman, via a two-point connection to a source inside ALEC.[25] For ALEC Exposed, the Center for Media and Democracy made a new website [26] to house over 800 ALEC "model" bills which were previously unavailable to the public. It developed dozens of tools to enable citizens to track ALEC politicians,[27] ALEC corporations [28] and ALEC bills moving in their states.[29] Simultaneously, The Nation devoted a special edition [30] of its magazine to breaking the story on ALEC Exposed, featuring expert analysis by John Nichols,[31] Joel Rogers, Laura Dresser,[32] Wendell Potter,[33] Lisa Graves,[34] Julie Underwood,[35] Mike Elk, and Bob Sloan.[36] On July 14, 2011, the Los Angeles Times announced that government watchdog Common Cause would issue a challenge to ALEC's nonprofit status, on the grounds that ALEC "spends most of its resources lobbying, in violation of the rules governing nonprofit organizations."[37] On July 21, 2011, Terry Gross interviewed Louisiana Representative Noble Ellington, then the national chairman of ALEC, about the group's corporate members' role in drafting legislation. Gross, commenting on the fact that it is impossible for non-members to know whether pieces of legislation introduced in statehouses are based on ALEC models, asked if Ellington thought the process was transparent. Ellington responded saying, "[w]hile we may be discussing it, it may not be transparent, but before it's passed, legislators have to say, 'We approve this model legislation.' Not the corporations. They don't have a vote. Legislators say [what is introduced]. ... And then the legislators can introduce that legislation in [their] state. It goes through a committee, the public has input, they have an opportunity to talk to their legislators about the legislation — so I don't see how you can get more transparent than that." When asked if the public had a voice in the process Ellington responded that the "taxpaying public is represented there at the table because I'm there."[38] [edit] Boilerplate In November 2011, Florida State Representative Rachel Burgin (R), introduced legislation to call on the federal government to reduce corporate taxes. The text still included the boilerplate "WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council to advance..."[39] While the bill was quickly withdrawn and the phrase removed, returning as HM717,[40] Common Cause blogger Nick Surgey explained the greater significance: With some justification, you might ask why this really matters: even if this bill passed it wouldn’t force Congress to act. However, I think it matters because the states play a very significant role in setting the national agenda. Corporations know this, which is why they frequently use ALEC to secretly introduce their model bills, creating the impression of widespread popular uproar in the state houses. In recent years they have used this mechanism for both attacks on the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases (ALEC bill introduced in 22 states) and in pushing back against the Affordable Care Act (ALEC bill introduced in 44 states).[41] Surgey went on to comment: It matters who writes our laws and it matters who stands to benefit from them. When these are the very same entity, then we as citizens should have the right to know this.[41] [edit] Florida 'Stand Your Ground' law According to weblog Talking Points Memo, the Florida Stand-your-ground law was identical to a bill proposed by ALEC. The law has frequently been mentioned as the reason George Zimmerman was not immediately arrested in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.[42] However, the legislator who wrote the law, Dennis Baxley, wrote that the Stand Your Ground law does not seem to apply in this case and that authorities are still investigating the matter.[43] [edit] Boycott, loss of support, and task force disbanding On April 4, 2012 the political advocacy group Color of Change announced a call to boycott Coca-Cola due to its support of ALEC and their advocacy work that allegedly encourages voter suppression through voter ID laws.[44] Within hours, Coca-Cola announced it was ending its relationship with ALEC in apparent response to the threatened boycott. Kraft Foods and Intuit dropped support for the group under apparent pressure.[45][46] Additionally, Pepsi had quietly withdrawn its support of ALEC earlier in the year.[47] On April 9, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also withdrew their support for ALEC.[48] McDonald's severed ties with ALEC on April 10, 2012.[49] On April 12, Reed Elsevier dropped ALEC and Wendy's said that it had done so at the end of 2011.[50] Mars, Inc. has also dropped its memberships with ALEC.[51] On April 13, 2010, American Traffic Solutions announced that it would not renew membership with ALEC.[52] On April 17, Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that they would not renew its membership with ALEC.[53] On April 19 Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and other restaurants, announced that they had dropped their support of ALEC.[54] On April 17, 2012, ALEC announced that it was disbanding its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which provided model bills for voter ID requirements and “stand your ground” gun laws.[55] On April 18, the National Center for Public Policy Research announced the recreation of a voter ID task force in the wake of the ALEC boycott.[56][57] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council#History -- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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