ALEC Exposed

Through ALEC, Global Corporations Are Scheming to Rewrite YOUR Rights and Boost THEIR Revenue

Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called "model bills" reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations. In ALEC's own words, corporations have "a VOICE and a VOTE" on specific changes to the law that are then proposed in your state. DO YOU? Numerous resources to help us expose ALEC are provided below. We have also created links to detailed discussions of key issues, which are available on the left.

Who Is Behind ALEC?
What Is ALEC? Who Funds ALEC? ALEC Corporations Corporations That Have Cut Ties to ALEC ALEC Politicians (all states) Legislators Who Have Cut Ties to ALEC ALEC Non-Profits and Think Tanks ALEC State Chairs ALEC "Scholars" ALEC Boards & Task Forces ALEC's Koch Connection Common Cause Trove of ALEC Task Force Docs

Essential ALEC Resources

Report on ALEC "Scholarships" (UPDATED!) CMD Fact Sheets on Key Topics ALEC Press by Date and State CMD's PRWatch Articles on ALEC CMD's SourceWatch Resources on ALEC The Nation Special Edition on ALEC Common Cause Trove of ALEC Task Force Docs DBA Press ALEC Archive Voter's Legislative Transparency Project (VLTP) ProPublica Database of ALEC Corporations' Election Spending Abolish ALEC (Daily Kos blog)

Hot Topics
Lobbying and Ethics Complaints ALEC & NCSL Comparison Democracy & Voting Privatizing Education Repealing Labor Rights Health & Tobacco Limiting Environmental Protections Changing Civil & Criminal Law Immigration Corporate Prisons PRWatch Articles on ALEC SourceWatch Resources on ALEC

ALEC's "Model Bills"

Worker and Consumer Rights bills here. Analysis here. Tort Reform and Injured Americans bills here. Analysis here. Privatizing Schools and Higher Education bills here. Analysis here. Health, Big Pharma, and Social Welfare bills here. Analysis here. Environment, Energy, and Agriculture bills here. Analysis here. Democracy, Voting, and Federal Relations bills here. Analysis here. Tax & Budget bills here. Analysis here. Guns, Prisons, Crime and Immigration bills here. Analysis here.

State Reports

Arizona (CMD) Colorado (Common Cause) Florida (Progress Florida/ PFAW/CMD/Florida Watch Action/CC) Georgia (Better Georgia) Iowa (Progress Iowa/ CMD/PFAW/CC/Progress Now) Louisiana (Common Cause) Maine (Maine's Majority Education Fund) Michigan (Progress Michigan/ Michigan Citizen Action/CMD/CC/PFAW) Minnesota (Common Cause) Missouri (Progress Missouri) Nebraska (Bold Nebraska) Nevada (Progress Now Nevada) New Hampshire (Granite State Progress) (supplemental on "Right to Work for Less") New Jersey (PFAW/CMD/CC/Progress Now) Ohio (CMD/Progress Ohio/PFAW/CC)] Pennsylvania (Keystone Progress) and PA Education Report (CMD) Texas (CC/CMD) Utah (PFAW/CC/Alliance for a Better Utah/CMD) Virginia (Progress VA) Wisconsin (Center for Media and Democracy) State Bill Comparisons

ALEC News

ALEC Holds Tutorial with Republican’s “Chief Authority on Redistricting” Amidst Pandemic ALEC which claims to be a "nonpartisan" charitable group, connects Republican legislators with Fair Lines America, the GOP's leading group for opposing voter-enacted redistricting reforms and crafting the party's 2020 redistricting strategy. Read the rest of this item here. ALEC Leading Right-Wing Campaign to Reopen the Economy Despite COVID-19 Documents obtained by CMD show the extent of the corporate lobby group’s role in pressuring the states to force a rapid reopening of the economy despite strong public resistance and health concerns. Read the rest of this item here. ALEC’s Post-Janus Wishlist Revealed in Policy Document A “labor reform” booklet of 50 “state factsheets” obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy reveals the ambitious agenda of the ALEC to further weaken public sector unions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in Janus v. AFSCME. Read the rest of this item here.

More ALEC News

ALEC’s Washington State Chair Engaged in Domestic Terrorism, Report Concludes ALEC quietly removes Rep. Matt Shea from its leadership list on its website, but has yet to denounce his violent white nationalist views. Read the rest of this item here. ALEC Influence in Ohio Greases Skids for Anti-Protest Bill The legislation, SB 33, is modeled after an ALEC proposal, and its corporate backers are big contributors to the Republican party and legislators in Ohio. Read the rest of this item here Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Makes Unscheduled Appearance at ALEC Conference in Arizona to Promote Costly School Voucher Program Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos held a roundtable on “education freedom” with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) yesterday at the ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit to promote her controversial and costly Education Freedom Scholarships proposal. Read the rest of this item here. Gerrymandering, Elections, School Privatization, and More on the Agenda as ALEC meets in Arizona The American Legislative Exchange Council returns to the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona for its annual States and Nation Policy Summit this week. Read the rest of this item here.

Join the Conversation!

Breaking News
Ghostwriting the Government Harvard Political Review Teachers aren't the only ones outraged by Matt Bevin's elitist education policies Courier Journal Koch Network Dominates SPN Annual Meeting Attendees ExposedbyCMD Hamilton: A policy proposal that upends the status quo The Journal Record John Nichols: It’s just wrong to help corporations penalize dissent The Cap Times Letter: The Monroe News is too far right The Monroe News Shut down Senate Bill 33 before it succeeds in muzzling Ohioans from rightful protest Cleveland.com States Are Making Protesting Oil Companies A Felony — Here’s Why That Matters UpRoxx The 'AOC effect' is real – and it's helping wean the Democrats off corporate donors The Guardian How One Conservative Group Plans To Maintain Republicans’ Grip On State Legislatures TalkingPointsMemo South Dakota Settles “Riot Boosting” Suit by Agreeing to Nonenforcement NonProfit Quarterly Conservatives cast their support behind an embattled Mick Mulvaney CBS News Ex-Police Chief’s Arrest Revives South Carolina Civil Asset Forfeiture Debate FITS News South Dakota Backs Off Harsh New Protest Law and ‘Riot-Boosting’ Penalties Inside Climate News Conservatives Fault Pick to Run Homeland Security Wall Street Journal Guest view: Ohio pipeline protest bill threatens to shut down free speech The Columbus Dispatch Denver Wage Plan Sign of Fight Over Ever-Wider State Preemptions Bloomberg Law Memphis Suffers Loss of Two Former Legislators Memphis Flyer Bills Target Energy Pipeline Protesters Wisconsin Examiner Revealed: rightwing push to ban criticism of Israel on US campuses The Guardian Report Exposes Right-Wing Effort to Ban Criticism of Israel in US Schools Common Dreams Editorial: Ohio State should not embrace new hire’s policy past at EPA The Columbus Dispatch CAPITOL REPORT: Lawmakers have spent nearly $77K so far on 2019 travel WisPolitics.com State preemption laws complicate Southern cities' affordable housing efforts Facing South AZ educators join Asarco strikers on picket line FightBack The world’s on fire from climate change. Pa. lawmakers want to make it a lot harder to protest Philadelphia Inquirer Idaho lawmaker touts his work for ALEC on federalism Idaho Press-Tribune ‘Rightwing push’ to ban criticism of Israel on US campuses, revelations show Middle East Monitor Texas Matters: How The GOP Plans To Survive Redistricting Texas Public Radio Chicago tenants continue to demand ‘rent control now’ Chicago Reader Local Officials: Bonnen’s Punitive Approach Toward Cities, Counties Sows Distrust Rivard Report Tribune runs propaganda on opinion page Great Bend Tribune The Koch network says it wants to remake public education. That means destroying it, says the author of a new book on the billionaire brothers. The Washington Post Hightower: Who’s behind suppressing your right to protest? The Ledger Activists, Physicists and Traffic Flow Uprise RI Bill to Criminalize Environmental Protests in Wisconsin Heads to the Assembly Floor ExposedbyCMD Commentary: A note on the discount rate Pensions & Investments Court documents show beef checkoff sends millions to cattle lobby Food & Environment Reporting Network North Carolina may have fairer congressional districts by 2020 Facing South The power of money Courier-Gazette & Camden Herald Democrats Impeach Joe Biden, Fiddle as the Planet Burns CounterPunch What the BLM Shake-Up Could Mean for Public Lands and Their Climate Impact Inside Climate News D.C. Digest: Sen. Jim Inhofe blasts Tinker housing contractor Tulsa World Revealed: ALEC’s Health and Human Services Task Force Legislative Members ExposedbyCMD Hightower: Who’s behind suppression of right to protest? Muskogee Phoenix DRAWING THE LINE: Bill to make it felony to trespass on construction sites Wisconsin Law Journal Activists Say New Laws To Protect Critical Infrastructure Aim To Silence Them WAMU 88.5 How the Koch brothers got us here Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists he BP CEO's case for staying in trade groups Axios Activists say new laws to protect critical infrastructure aim to silence them MPRNews US Lobby Groups Most Effective at Blocking Climate Action – Report DeSmog Blog HIKERS, TRUMP, AND THE CAPITALIST CONSPIRACY TO RUIN PUBLIC LANDS The Intercept Have Conservatives Transformed the States? Niskanen Center Journalist Sharon Lerner: “How the Plastics Industry Is Fighting to Keep Polluting the World” Democracy Now Wisconsin Lawmakers Seek to Criminalize Environmental Protests Truthout Most states earn a C in ALEC's choice-focused report card Education Drive
Click here to find archived news articles.

ALEC - The Backroom Where Laws Are Born

This is a glimpse into the world of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-funded charity that pays for lawmaker trips to resorts where they leave with ready-to-pass bills. Neither ALEC nor the Georgia legislature would show us where the money comes from, or who it goes to.

A Charity for Lawmakers? ALEC Legislator Resigns to Become Lobbyist

Rep. Ben Harbin resigned after two decades as a Georgia legislator the same day as 11ALive reporters asked him for an interview about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting where he was found behind closed doors with the top state lobbyist for the cell phone industry. Atlanta's 11Alive follows up on its behind-the-scenes investigation of ALEC.

ALEC Exposed is a project of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD does NOT accept donations from for-profit corporations or government agencies. More information about CMD is available here. You can reach CMD's Executive Director, Arn Pearson, via editor AT ALECexposed.org. Privacy policy: Other than material you post to this wiki in your name, our privacy policy is that we will not disclose private personally identifiable information or data about you, such as your name, email address, or other information, unless required by law. On copyright: ALEC Exposed considers contributions to this wiki to be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License or in accordance with law. Information on how to provide us with notice regarding copyright is available at this link. Notices regarding copyright or other matters should be sent to our designated agent, Arn Pearson, via email (editor AT ALECexposed.org).

Worker and Consumer Rights · Tort Reform and Injured Americans · Privatizing Schools and Higher Ed Policy · Health, Pharmaceuticals and Safety Net Programs · Environment, Energy and Agriculture · Democracy, Voter Rights and Federal Power · Taxes and Budgets · Guns, Prisons, Crime and Immigration