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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Legislative members</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alabama</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Victor Gaston, R, Speaker Pro Tempore, Alabama House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cam Ward, R, Alabama House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jack Williams, R, Alabama House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alaska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wes Keller, R, Alaska House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bob Lynn, R, Alaska House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Arizona</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nancy Barto, R, Arizona House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Andy Biggs (politician), R, Majority leader Arizona Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rich Crandall, R, Arizona Senate[38]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Adam Driggs, R, Arizona Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eddie Farnsworth, R, Arizona House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Gowan, R, Arizona House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debbie Lesko, R, Majority Whip Arizona House of Representatives[9][27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John McComish, R, Arizona Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Shooter, R, Arizona Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Smith, R, Arizona Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kimberley Yee, R, Arizona House of Representatives[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arkansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Duncan Baird, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cecile Bledsoe, R, Arkansas Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Skip Carnine, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Davy Carter, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Clark, R, Arkansas State Senate[41]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Linda Collins-Smith, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ann Clemmer, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[25][39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jane English, R, Arkansas House of Representatives and Arkansas Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Eubanks, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ed Garner, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeremy Hutchinson, R, Arkansas Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jimmy Jeffress, D, Arkansas Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Johnny Key, R, Arkansas Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jason Rapert, R, Arkansas Senate[42]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Sample, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mary Lou Slinkard, R, Arkansas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jerry Taylor, D, Arkansas Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">California</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Joel Anderson, R, California State Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Dan Logue, R, California State Assembly</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Colorado</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Cindy Acree, R, Colorado House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Greg Brophy, R, Colorado Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Bill Cadman, R, Colorado House of Representatives[9][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Robert Gardner, R, Colorado House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">B.J. Nikkel, R, Colorado House of Representatives[9][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Nancy Spence, R, Colorado Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Mark Waller, R, Colorado House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Connecticut</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Aman, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christie Carpino, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[25][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debra Lee Hovey, R Connecticut House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Themis Klarides, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Labriola, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Miller, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rosa Rebimbas, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Shaban, R, Connecticut House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin D. Witkos, R Connecticut Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Delaware</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bradford Bennett, D, Delaware House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David McBride, D, Delaware Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James P. Neal, Delaware Senate[43]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rachel Burgin, R, Florida House of Representatives[44][45]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brad Drake, R, Florida House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matt Hudson, R, Florida House of Representatives[46]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dave Murzin, R, Florida House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jimmy Patronis, R, Florida House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Wood, R, Florida House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Georgia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Balfour, R, Georgia Senate[47]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charlice Byrd, R, Georgia House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Casas, R, Georgia House of Representatives[14]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Josh Clark, R, Georgia House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Doug Collins, R, Georgia House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin Cooke, R, Georgia House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sharon Cooper, R, Georgia House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Cowsert, R, Georgia Senate[48]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Johnny Grant, R, Georgia Senator[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Hamilton, R, Georgia House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Harmick, R, Georgia Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Calvin Hill Jr., R, Georgia House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bob Horne, R, Georgia House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Edward Lindsey, R, Georgia House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barry Loudermilk, R, Georgia House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Lunsford, R, Georgia House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Billy Maddox, R, Georgia House of Representatives[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Martin, R, Georgia House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Mills, R, Georgia House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jack Murphy, R, Georgia Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jay Neal, R, Georgia House of Representatives[48]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Price, R, U.S. Representative, Chairman, House Republican Policy Committee[49]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Rice, R, Georgia House of Representatives[29][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chip Rogers, R, Senate Majority Leader Georgia State Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mitch Seabaugh, R, resigned from Georgia Senate to become Deputy State Treasurer[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donna Sheldon, R, Georgia House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jesse Stone, R, Georgia Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renee Unterman, R, Georgia Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hawaii</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gene Ward, R, Hawaii House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Idaho</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Bedke, R, Idaho House of Representatives[50]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Darrell Bolz, R, Idaho House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dean Cameron, R, Idaho Senate[50]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Clark, R, Idaho House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Denton Darrington, R, Idaho Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frank Henderson, R, Idaho House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patti Anne Lodge, R, Idaho Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shirley McKague, R, Idaho House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Patrick, R, Idaho House of Representatives[27][50]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bert Stevenson, R, Idaho House of Representatives[50]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeff Thompson, R, Idaho House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Illinois</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Cross, R, Illinois House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kirk Dillard, R, Illinois Senate[9][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renée Kosel, R, Illinois House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dennis Reboletti, R, Illinois House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Reis, R, Illinois House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dale Risinger, R, Illinois Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chapin Rose, R, Illinois House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan Rutherford, R, Illinois Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian Bosma, R, Indiana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Timothy Brown, R, Indiana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Buck, R Indiana Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Davis, R, Indiana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Dodge, R, Indiana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Friend, R, Indiana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Frizzell, R, Indiana House of Representatives[7][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Douglas Gutwein, R, Indiana House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Koch, R, Indiana House of Representatives[27][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Turner, R, Indiana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackie Walorski, R, Indiana House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Iowa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Betty DeBoef, R, Iowa House of Representatives[25][39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sandra Greiner, R, Iowa Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Hagenow, R, Iowa House of Representatives[27][40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Kapucian, R, Iowa Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Doris Kelley, D, Iowa House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Linda J. Miller, R, Iowa House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kim Pearson, R, Iowa Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dawn Pettengill, R, Iowa House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Seymour, R, Iowa Senate[25][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Linda Upmeyer, Minority Whip Iowa House of Representatives[7][51]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pat Ward, R, Iowa Senate[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ralph Watts, R, Iowa House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Schneider, R, Iowa Senate President[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rob Taylor, R, Iowa House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Karen Brownlee, R, Kansas Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Terry Bruce, R, Kansas Senate[29][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rob Bruchman, R, Kansas House of Representatives[25][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Brunk, R, Kansas House of Representatives[53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Terry Calloway, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Carlson, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pete DeGraff, R, Kansas House of Representatives[53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mario Goico, R, Kansas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TerriLois Gregory, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amanda Grosserode, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary Hayzlett, R, Kansas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carl Holmes, R, Kansas House of Representatives[53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mitch Holmes, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Huebert, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Kelsey, R, Kansas Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lance Kinzer, R, Kansas House of Representatives[25][52][53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marvin Kleeb, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52][53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Forrest Knox, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37][52][53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Garret Love, R, Kansas Senate[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Julia Lynn, R, Kansas Senate[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peggy Mast, R, Assistant Majority Leader Kansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ty Masterson, R, Kansas Senate[53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kelly Meigs, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Raymond Merrick, R, Kansas Senate[9][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Mosier, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Myers, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ralph Ostmeyer, R, Kansas Senate[37][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joe Patton, R, Kansas House of Representatives[25][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Petersen, R, Kansas Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mary Pilcher-Cook, R, Iowa Senate[37][39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry Powell, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dennis Pyle, R, Kansas Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marc Rhodes, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37][39][53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Rubin, R, Kansas House of Representatives[29][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ronald Ryckman, R, Kansas House of Representatives[52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Schwab, R, Kansas House of Representatives[37][39][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sharon Schwartz, R, Kansas House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Steineger, R, Kansas Senate[27][52]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Wagle, R, Kansas Senate[53]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kentucky</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Walter Blevins, D, Kentucky Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Buford, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Julian Carroll, D, former governor of Kentucky, Kentucky Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ron Crimm, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[25][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Julie Denton, R, Kentucky Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joseph Fischer, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Harmon, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ray S. Jones, D, Kentucky Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alice Kerr, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sal Santoro, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan Seum, R, Republican Caucus chair Kentucky Senate[27][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robert Stivers, R, Majority Leader Kentucky Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Johnny Ray Turner, D, Democratic Caucus chair Kentucky Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jackie Westwood, R, Kentucky House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jack Donahue, R, Louisiana State Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Franklin Foil, R, Louisiana House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frank A. Hoffmann, R, Louisiana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel Martiny, R, Louisiana Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fred Mills, R, Louisiana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Neil Riser, R, Louisiana State Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Fletcher, R, Maine House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debra Plowman, R, Maine Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Rosen, R, Maine Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Thibodeau, R, Maine Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maryland</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gail Bates, R, Maryland House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Dwyer, R, Maryland House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Adelaide Eckardt, R, Maryland Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joseph Getty, R, Maryland House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeannie Haddaway, R, Maryland House of Delegates[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Hough, R, Maryland House of Delegates[9][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Krebs, R, Maryland House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan McComas, R, Maryland House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Neil Parrott, R, Maryland House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher Shank, R, Maryland Senate[9][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tanya Shewell, R, Maryland House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nancy Stocksdale, R, Maryland House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Massachusetts</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nicholas Boldyga, R, Massachusetts House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harriett Stanley, D, Massachusetts House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Caswell, R, Michigan House of Representatives[54]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan Cropsey[55]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kenneth Horn, R, Michigan House of Representatives[25][27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kenneth Kurtz, R, Michigan House of Representatives[54]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matthew Lori, R, Michigan House of Representatives[54]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tonya Schuitmaker, R, Michigan Senate[9][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Minnesota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Anderson, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Anderson, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">King Banaian, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Beard, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Benson, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Roger Chamberlain, R, Minnesota Senate[29][56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matt Dean, R, Majority Leader, Minnesota House of Representatives[37][56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Connie Doepke, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Drazkowski, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[25][37][56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sondra Erickson, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pat Garofalo, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Gerlach, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gretchen Hoffman, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Jungbauer, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Warren Limmer, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carol McFarlane, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Myhra, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[57]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gen Olson, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Parry, R, Minnesota Senate[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joyce Peppin, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Linda Runbeck, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ron Shimanski, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[29][56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dean Urdahl, R, Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kurt Zellers, R, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives[56]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mississippi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Baker, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Jim Beckett, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nickey Reed Browning, R, Mississippi State Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lester Carpenter, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lydia Chassaniol, R, Mississippi State Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Becky Currie, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Denny Jr., R, Mississippi House of Representatives[25][40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Ellington, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harvey Fillingane, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joey Fillingane, R, Mississippi State Senate[25][40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeffrey Guice, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Philip Gunn, R, Speaker Mississippi House of Representatives[27][49]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Briggs Hopson, R, Mississippi State Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin McGee, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Walter Michel, R, Mississippi State Senate[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Margaret Ellis Rogers, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Elton Gregory Snowden, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary Staples, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[27][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jerry Turner, R, Mississippi State Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tommy Woods, R, Mississippi House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Missouri</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sue Allen, R, Missouri House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jane Cunningham, R, Missouri Senate[58]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stanley Cox, R, Missouri House of Representatives[25][40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Dieckhaus, R, Missouri House of Representatives[58]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Diehl, R, Missouri House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tony Dugger, R, Missouri of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sue Entlicher, R, Missouri of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dave Hinson, R, Missouri of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Jones, R, Majority Leader, Missouri House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rob Mayer, R, President Pro Tempore, Missouri Senate[25][34]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cole McNary, R, Missouri House of Representatives, current candidate for Missouri State Treasurer[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kathleen Meiners, R, Missouri House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian Munzlinger, R, Missouri Senate[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian Nieves, R, Missouri Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Parson, R, Missouri Governor[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Therese Sander, R, Missouri House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rodney Schad, R, Missouri House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vicki Schneider, R, Missouri House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jason T. Smith, R, Missouri House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Tilley, R, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives[29][34]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Billy Pat Wright, R, Missouri House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Montana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dee L. Brown, R, Montana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kris Hansen, R, Montana House of Representatives[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dennis Himmelberger, R, Montana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Howard, R, Montana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Llewelyn Jones, R, Montana House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Lavin, R, MontanaHouse of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary MacLaren, R, Montana House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom McGillvray, R, Montana House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Miller, R, Montana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael More, R, Montana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amy Stasia Perkins, R, Montana Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Perkins, R, Montana Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Peterson, R, Montana House of Representatives[25][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Reichner, R, Montana House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cary Smith, R, Montana House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nebraska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Brown, Nebraska Legislature[59]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Deb Fischer, Nebraska Legislature, elected to United States Senate as a Republican[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Haar, Nebraska Legislature[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeremiah Nordquist, Nebraska Legislature[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Smith, Nebraska Legislature[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barbara Cegavske, R, Nevada Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Gustavson, R, Nevada Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dean Rhodes, R, Nevada Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Settelmeyer, R, Nevada Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Hampshire</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mary M. Allen, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary L. Daniels, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William L. O'Brien, R, Speaker, New Hampshire House of Representatives[49]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Elaine Swinford, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joseph Thomas, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jordan G. Ulery, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maurice Villeneuve, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Francine Wendelboe, R, New Hampshire House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Jersey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mary Pat Angelini, R, New Jersey General Assembly[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher "Kip" Bateman, R, New Jersey Senate[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anthony Bucco, R, New Jersey Senate[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gerald Cardinale, R, New Jersey Senate[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steven Oroho, R, New Jersey Senate[9][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jay Webber, R, New Jersey General Assembly[9][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Mexico</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rod Adair, R, no longer in New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Janice Arnold-Jones, R, no longer in New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vernon Asbill, R, no longer in New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Bandy, R, New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Boitano, R, no longer in New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kent Cravens, R, no longer in New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anna Marie Crook, R, New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stuart Ingle, R, Minority leader New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dennis Kintigh, R, no longer in New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Payne, R, Minority Whip New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Rehm, R, New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Sharer, R, New Mexico Senate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas C. Taylor, R, New Mexico House of Representatives</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New York</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Owen H. Johnson, R, New York State Senate[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hugh Blackwell, R, North Carolina General Assembly[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Justin Burr, R, North Carolina General Assembly[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debbie Clary, R, North Carolina Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">George Cleveland, R, North Carolina General Assembly[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel McComas, R, North Carolina General Assembly[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Moore, R, North Carolina General Assembly[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Stam, R, North Carolina General Assembly[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Andrist, R, North Dakota Senate[29][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Randy Boehning, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alan H. Carlson, R, Majority Leader North Dakota House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bette Grande, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Hatlestad, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Craig Headland, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Klemin, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kim Koppelman, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Karen Krebsbach, R, North Dakota Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Nething, R, North Dakota Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blair Thoreson, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dwight Wrangham, R, North Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Adams, R, Ohio House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Danny Bubp, R, Ohio House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ron Amstutz, R, Ohio House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peter Beck, R, Ohio House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louis Blessing, R, Ohio House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Boehner, R, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives[60]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Coley, R, Ohio House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Derickson, R, Ohio House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matt Huffman, R, Ohio House of Representatives[25][39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Casey Kozlowski, R, Ohio House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frank LaRose, R, Ohio Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ronald Maag, R, Ohio House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jarrod Martin, R, Ohio House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barbara Sears, R, Ohio House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Seitz, R, Ohio Senate[7][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Andrew Thompson, R, Ohio House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joe Uecker, R, Ohio House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lynn Wachtmann, R, Ohio House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary Banz, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Brown, R, Oklahoma Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lisa Johnson-Billy, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sally Kern, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen C. Martin, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[27][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Mazzei, R, Oklahoma Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark McCullough, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pam Peterson, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gary Stanislawski, R, Oklahoma Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">G. Harold Wright, R, Oklahoma House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oregon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin Cameron, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jason Conger, R, Oregon House of Representatives[25][61][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sal Esquivel, R, Oregon House of Representatives[37][61][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ted Ferrioli, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Freeman, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry George, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fred Girod, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Hanna, R, Co-Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives[37][61][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wally Hicks, R, Oregon House of Representatives[25][61][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Huffman, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Johnson, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Kennemer, R, Oregon House of Representatives[37][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shawn Lindsay, R, Oregon House of Representatives[29][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike McLane, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sherrie Sprenger, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kim Thatcher, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61][62][63]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Thompson, R, Oregon House of Representatives[61]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matthew Wand, R, Oregon House of Representatives[25][61][62]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gene Whisnant, R, Oregon House of Representatives[9][37][61][62][63]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pennsylvania</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matthew Baker, R, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[64]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian L. Ellis, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John R. Evans, R, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Krieger, R, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ronald Marisco, R, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bob Mensch, R, Pennsylvania Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ron Miller, R, Pennsylvania House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rhode Island</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Brien, D, Rhode Island House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Jabour, D, Rhode Island Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Francis T. Maher Jr., R, Rhode Island Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robert A. Watson, R, Rhode Island House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas Alexander, R, South Carolina Senate[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jimmy Bales, R, South Carolina House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Liston Barfield, R, South Carolina House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joan Brady, R, South Carolina House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chip Campsen, R, South Carolina Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harry Cato, R, Speaker Pro Tempore South Carolina House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bobby Harrell, R, Speaker, South Carolina House of Representatives[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry A. Martin, R, South Carolina Senate[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harvey S. Peeler Jr., R, Majority Leader, South Carolina Senate[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Rose, R, South Carolina Senate[40]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Garry Smith, R, South Carolina House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thad Viers, R, South Carolina House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kent M. Williams, D, South Carolina Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kristin Conzet, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bob Deelstra, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian Gosch, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Hansen, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Hansen, R, South Dakota Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Roger Hunt, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Phil Jensen, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stacey Nelson, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Novstrup, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[27][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Betty Olson, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Russell Olson, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Deb Peters, R, South Dakota Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Valentine B. Rausch, R, South Dakota House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tennessee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joe C. Carr, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vince Dean, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vance Dennis, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jimmy Eldridge, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joshua Evans, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[29][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dale Ford, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kelly Keisling, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brian Kelsey, R, Tennessee Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Lundberg, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Lynn, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gerald McCormick, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve McDaniel, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Montgomery, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Norris, R, Majority Leader Tennessee Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Barrett Rich, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Sargent, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tony Shipley, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Curry Todd, R, Tennessee House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Callegari, R, Texas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Byron Cook, R, Texas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Allen Fletcher, R, Texas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan Flynn, R, Texas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Hamilton, R, Texas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kelly Hancock, R, Texas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patricia Harless, R, Texas House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Harris, R, Texas Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Glenn Hegar, R, Texas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Harvey Hilderbran, R, Texas House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles F. Howard, R, Texas House of Representatives[9][27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Todd Hunter, R, Texas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Jackson, R, Texas House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Johnson, R, Texas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jodie Anne Laubenberg, R, Texas House of Representatives,[37] Texas chapter president in 2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jerry Madden, R, Texas House of Representatives[29][65]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rob Orr, R, Texas House of Representatives[66]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Otto, R, Texas House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry Phillips, R, Texas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kel Seliger, R, Texas Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Todd Smith, R, Texas House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Smith, R, Texas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry Taylor, R, Texas House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Curtis S. Bramble, R, Utah Senate[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne Harper, R, Utah House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Herrod, R, Utah House of Representatives[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Todd Kiser, R, Utah House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne L. Niederhauser, R, Utah Senate[9][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen Urquhart, R, Utah Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Waddoups, R, Utah Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carl Wimmer, R, Utah House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vermont</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patrick Brennan, R, Vermont House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Margaret Flory, R, Vermont Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kathleen Keenan, R, Vermont House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kevin J. Mullin, R, Assistant Minority Leader Vermont Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Albo, R, Virginia House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kathy Byron, R, Virginia House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Benjamin Cline, R, Virginia House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Cole, R, Virginia House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John A. Cosgrove Jr., R, Virginia House of Delegates[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Howell, R, Virginia House of Delegates[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Janis, R, Virginia House of Delegates[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Terry Kilgore, R, Virginia House of Delegates[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">L. Scott Lingamfelter, R, Virginia House of Delegates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Massie, R, Virginia House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen H. Martin, R, Virginia House of Delegates[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas Norment, R, Virginia Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher Peace, R, Virginia House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lacey Putney, Independent (caucuses with R), Virginia House of Delegates[25][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frederick Quayle, R, Virginia Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frank Ruff, R, Virginia Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Tata, R, Virginia House of Delegates[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jan Angel, R, Washington Senate[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Benton, R, Washington Senate, retired[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Linda Evans Parlette, R, Washington Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Hinkle, R, Washington House of Representatives, retired[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Troy Kelly, D, former Washington State Auditor[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Ross, R, Washington House of Representatives, retired[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Matt Shea, R, Washington House of Representatives[25][37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Val Stevens, R, Washington Senate, retired[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">West Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Householder, R, West Virginia House of Delegates[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Larry Kump, R, West Virginia House of Delegates[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kathy Bernier, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alberta Darling, R, Wisconsin State Senate[67]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Endsley, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Fitzgerald, R, Wisconsin State Senate, Majority Leader[29][67][68]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Kapenga, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Klenke, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Krug, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Kuglitsch, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Frank Lasee, R, Wisconsin State Senate[67]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mary Lazich, R, Wisconsin State Senate[67]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Terry Moulton, R, Wisconsin State Senate[67]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Nygren, R, Wisconsin State Senate[69]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Patricia Strachota, R, Majority Leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly[68]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Taylor, D, Wisconsin State Assembly [70]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Travis Tranel – no longer a member. Left Dec 2012, R, Wisconsin State Assembly[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robin J. Vos, R, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wyoming</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon Botten, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bruce Burns, R, Wyoming Senate[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Cannady, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cale Case, R, Wyoming Senate[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amy Edmonds, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Hastert, R, Wyoming Senate[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peter S. Illoway, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Allen Jaggi, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Grant Larson, R, Wyoming Senate[39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Carl Loucks, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Curt Meier, R, Wyoming Senate[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lorraine Quarberg, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[29][39]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lisa Shepperson, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Stubson, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Clarence Vranish, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sue Wallis, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[37]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel Zwonitzer, R, Wyoming House of Representatives[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See also</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">List of former members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">15 tags 819 caPT BAK/421</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7/17 six mos into age of trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">alec 5 // trump and koch!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">recall alec warning from cronon</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">aha: note pattern, any time mod kicks in ctr-attack]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">speed date for corps and pols, but also promote COI cf utah state rep coleman? charter schools</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Common Cause Northern California Organizer Helen Grieco, right, speaks up about ALEC's actions towards climate change at Google headquarters, on Feb. 18, 2014. They are protesting Google's financial funding of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) because of ALEC's actions toward climate change</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why Did Google Support ALEC, One of the Most Controversial ...https://www.businessinsider.com › Tech Insider › Politics</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sep 22, 2014 — Last October, Google (and Facebook, too) joined ALEC, a group that has initiatives to give tax cuts to tobacco companies, privatize schools and ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google Leaves ALEC - IAFFhttps://www.iaff.org › blog › google-leaves-alec</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google Leaves ALEC ... After coming under fire for its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Google announced this week it has ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>5 Tech Companies That NO LONGER Fund ALEC</b>https://www.commoncause.org › democracy-wire › 5-te...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sep 23, 2014 — In the last month, tech giants <b>Google and Microsoft have cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)</b>, a secretive corporate ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BP and Google leave Alec: are companies finally taking ...https://www.theguardian.com › mar › bp-google-alec-e...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mar 25, 2015 — BP and Google have both cut ties with Alec. Does this exodus mean climate change is finally a top business priority?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google Chairman: Giving Money To ALEC Was A 'Mistake ...https://www.huffpost.com › entry › google-alec-fundin...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sep 22, 2014 — Google Chairman: Giving Money To ALEC Was A 'Mistake' [UPDATED] ... Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said on Monday that his ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Legislative Exchange Council - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › American_Legislative_...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Multiple companies cited environmental concerns as a point of contention with the organization. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt remarked that ALEC ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">List of members of the American Legislative Exchange ...https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_members_of_t...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC's vision statement is "A nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google v. Oracle - American Legislative Exchange Councilhttps://www.alec.org › tag › google-v-oracle</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Files Amicus Brief in Google v. Oracle Supreme Court Case. Earlier today, the American Legislative Exchange Council filed a brief, amicus curiae, in the ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Legislators Send Letter to Google - American Legislative ...https://www.alec.org › press-release › google-letter</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sep 24, 2014 — 234 Legislators Send Letter to Google: “Your calculated departure from ALEC is based on misinformation from climate activists”. See Full Letter ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Google: Take the Dump ALEC Challenge! | Forecast the Factshttps://act.forecastthefacts.org › sign › google_stop_fun...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sign the Petition. The following petition will be delivered to Google CEO Larry Page: Immediately cease financing the American Legislative Exchange Council ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1220 alec watch</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Until CMD obtained secret audio and blew the whistle, the far-Right Council for National Policy was working with the Trump campaign and White House on a plan to parade pro-Trump doctors on TV to paper over Trump’s incompetent handling of the pandemic and push for a fast reopening.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Additionally, documents obtained by CMD showed how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate lobby front group, played a leading role in the right-wing campaign to force a rapid reopening of the economy last summer against the advice of public health experts—with disastrous consequences. CMD even unearthed an ALEC sign-on letter praising Florida Gov. Ron Desantis for reopening Florida early—but they pulled it when Florida became the worst pandemic hot spot in the country as a result of the early reopening.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">aLEC’s Pennsylvania Leaders Lobby to Overturn 2020 Election Results in Last-Minute Effort</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By David Armiak and Arn Pearson | December 8th, 2020 at 8:18 AM (CST)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Pennsylvania state chairs of the American Legislative Exchange Council are leading a GOP effort to overturn the state’s presidential election results when Congress convenes in January to certify the Electoral College’s election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2020/07/23/alec-2020-annual-meeting-attendees-sponsors-revealed</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">daVE a</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>the American Legislative Exchange Council‘s (ALEC) annual meeting</b> continues this week online with workshops on rewriting the U.S. Constitution, reopening schools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and school privatization. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Orlando, but was moved online with cases of COVID-19 surging in the Sunshine State.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC does not disclose its members and donors and keeps the attendees to its meetings secret. A list of the 2020 Annual Meeting attendees and sponsors was obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and is being made publicly available below.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The list was missing some titles and institutions so CMD staff added them where possible. In addition, location information was added so that researchers can pull out state attendees. The list is likely not complete, as some speakers such as Rep. Phil King (R-TX) and Fair Lines America‘s Adam Kincaid are not listed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also, ALEC is offering a $50 workshop pass for this week, according to an email from ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson reviewed by CMD, so those taking up her offer will not be on this list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In all, the list shows just 50 state lawmakers and their staff as in attendance, meaning legislators are outnumbered four to one by lobbyists and representatives of right-wing groups.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charles Koch’s political network is well represented at the Annual Meeting with 20 staffers identified. Nine attended from Koch’s astroturf group Americans for Prosperity, eight from the Koch-founded and funded Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and one each from the Charles Koch Institute, the Cato Institute, and “Yes. Every Kid.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump and the federal government again sent attendees to the Annual Meeting. In addition to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and Brooke Rollins, Assistant to the U.S. President for Strategic Initiatives, Justin Faulb, Legal Advisor for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); Sayre Swarztrauber, Policy Advisor for the FCC; Lynn Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and Steven Winberg, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Fuel Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Below is the full list of attendees in searchable form.: list doc shook [&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Name Title Institution Location</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lautigar, Rachel&nbsp; Turning Point USA Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Rogers, Mackenzie&nbsp; Turning Point USA </b>Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">VandenNieuwenhof, Nicholas Enterprise Director Turning Point USA Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Young, Logan&nbsp; Turning Point USA Arizona]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Murphy, John<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Senior Vice President for International Policy<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>U.S. Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Washington, D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Myers, Dr. Currie<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Senior Visiting Fellow<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Texas Public Policy Foundation<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Armstrong, Sara<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vice President and Managing Director<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>U.S. Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Washington, D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brown, Kristine<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Senior Government Affairs Director<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Kansas Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Murphy, John<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Senior Vice President for International Policy<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>U.S. Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Washington, D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Skelo, Lana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Senior Director of State Legislative Affairs<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>U.S. Chamber of Commerce<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Washington, D.C.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2020 Annual Meeting Sponsors</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The sponsors of ALEC’s 2020 Annual Meeting are disclosed below according to funding level with “Chairman” being the top and “Trustee” the lowest.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Chairman Level</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">First Rule</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NetChoice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rubin, Turnbull, and Associates</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vice Chairman Level</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cigar Association of America</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>EdChoice</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Foundation for Government Accountability</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>K12, Inc.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Mackinac Center</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Pacific Legal Foundation</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>PhRMA</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Director Level</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Federation for Children</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Lilly</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trustee Level</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida East Coast Industries</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">421 grab, out of date?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Legislative Exchange Council, otherwise known by the acronym ALEC, is a non-profit 501(c) political organization established in 1973 in Chicago.[1] The legislative members are state and federal legislators. It is a forum to allow the members to write model laws and discuss legislative language with other members. ALEC meetings are an opportunity for the corporate and non-profit leaders to meet and provide feedback to legislators. Member legislators can then use these model bills as templates for their own bills.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC's vision statement is "A nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty. Their vision and initiative resulted in the creation of a voluntary membership association for people who believed that government closest to the people was fundamentally more effective, more just, and a better guarantor of freedom than the distant, bloated federal government in Washington, D.C."[2]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC keeps its membership, activities and communications confidential.[3] This list includes members whose identity primarily has become known through internal documents revealed to Common Cause and by research by members of the press.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board of Scholars</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board of directors</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Private enterprise board</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">4<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>State chairs</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Task force members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Contributing authors</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">7<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Corporate and non-profit members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">8<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Legislative members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">9<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>See also</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">10<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>References</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">11<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>External links</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board of Scholars</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC Board of Scholars is composed of the following:[4]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Arthur Laffer, founder and chairman of Laffer Associates, an economic research and consulting firm</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Victor Schwartz, partner in the Washington office of the Kansas City-based law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, and chair of its Public Policy Group.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Richard Vedder,</b> Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bob Williams, founder and senior fellow of the Freedom Foundation (Washington), a public policy organization in Olympia, Washington.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board of directors</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As of December 2017, the ALEC board of directors is composed of the following:[5]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Name<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Party affiliation<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>State</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>ALEC National Chair</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>State Senator. Jim Buck[6]<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Indiana</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board Members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Wayne Niederhauser<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Jason Saine<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>North Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>State Sen. Debbie Lesko<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Arizona</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>State Sen. Leah Vukmir<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Wisconsin</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">State Sen. Joel C. Anderson<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>California</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Del. Kathy Byron<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Alan Clemmons<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Andre E. Cushing, III<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Maine</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Gary L. Daniels<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>New Hampshire</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. David Frizzell<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Philip Gunn<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mississippi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Yvette Herrell<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>New Mexico</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Bill Howell<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Brian Kelsey<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tennessee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Phil King<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Dawn Pettengill<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Iowa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. John Piscopo<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Connecticut</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. David Reis<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Illinois</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Bill Seitz<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Jim Smith<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican/Non-Partisan<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Nebraska</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Susan Wagle<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Linda Upmeyer<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Iowa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board in 2013</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC board of directors is composed of the following:[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Name<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Party affiliation<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>State</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>2013 ALEC National Chair</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>State Rep. John Piscopo<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Connecticut</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">First Vice Chair</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Linda Upmeyer<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Iowa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Second Vice Chair</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Phil King<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Treasurer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen.<b> Leah Vukmir</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Wisconsin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secretary</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Liston Barfield<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>South Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chairs Emeritus</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Harold Brubaker<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>North Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Tom Craddick<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Noble Ellington<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Steve Faris<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Democratic<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Arkansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Bobby Hogue<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Democratic<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Arkansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Owen Johnson<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>New York</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Dolores Mertz<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Democratic<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Iowa</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Immediate Past Chair</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. David Frizzell<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Indiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Name<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Party affiliation<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>State</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Board Members</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Gary Banz<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Oklahoma</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>State Sen. Jim Buck<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Indiana</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Bill Cadman<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Colorado</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Barbara Cegavske<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Nevada</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Joe Harrison<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker William J. Howell<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Virginia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Michael Lamoureux<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Arkansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Steve McDaniel<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tennessee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Raymond Merrick<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Tim Moffitt<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>North Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Wayne Neiderhauser<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Utah</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Bill Seitz<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ohio</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Blair Thoreson<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>North Dakota</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaker Thom Tillis<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>North Carolina</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Rep. Curry Todd<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tennessee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Sen. Susan Wagle<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Republican<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Kansas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Private enterprise board[</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The ALEC private enterprise board is composed of the following corporate leaders:[8]</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Person<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Company<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Title<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Sector<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Status</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Carmichael<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>American Bail Coalition<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vice Chair<span style="white-space:pre"> </span><b>Bail Bonds</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sandra Oliver<b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Bayer<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vice Chairman<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pharmaceutical<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>John Del Giorno<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>GlaxoSmithKline</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vice Chairman<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pharmaceutical<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Powers<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Reynolds American<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Treasurer<span style="white-space:pre"> </span><b>Tobacco</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lisa A. Sano Blocker<span style="white-space:pre"> </span><b>Energy Future Holdings</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Energy/Oil<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jeffrey Bond<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>PhRMA<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pharmaceutical</b><span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robert Jones<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pfizer Inc.<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pharmaceutical<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kenneth Lane<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Diageo<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Alcoholic Beverages<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pat Thomas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>United Parcel Service<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Shipping<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Kelly Mader<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Peabody Energy<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Energy/Oil<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Mike Morgan<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Koch Companies Public Sector</span>, LLC<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Timber/Oil/Chemicals<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Daniel Smith<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Altria<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tobacco<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cynthia Bergman<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>ExxonMobil<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Energy/Oil<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Roland Spies<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>State Farm Insurance<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board Member<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Insurance<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Active</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State chairs[edit]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC state chairs from state legislatures are:[9]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Leaders (Party)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alabama<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Terri Collins (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greg Reed (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alaska<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Wes Keller (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arizona<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Debbie Lesko (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arkansas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Eddie Joe Williams (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nate Bell (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>California<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Joel Anderson (R)</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Bill Cadman (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lori Saine (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Connecticut<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Whit Betts (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Delaware<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Colin Bonini (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>John Wood (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kelli Stargel (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Georgia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Bruce Williamson (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Judson Hill (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hawaii<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gene Ward (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Idaho<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jeff Thompson (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Steve Vick (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Patrick (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Illinois<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>David Reis (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Indiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jim Buck (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Wolkins (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Iowa<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Charles Schneider (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rob Taylor (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kansas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Raymond Merrick (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kentucky<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tom Buford (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim DeCesare (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ray Garofalo (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Leaders (Party)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maine<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Andre Cushing III (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maryland<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Susan W. Krebs (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher Shank (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Massachusetts<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Vacant</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michigan<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mike Green (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Aric Nesbitt (R)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Minnesota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Mary Kiffmeyer R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mississippi<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jim Ellington R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Missouri<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Tim Jones R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jason T. Smith R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Montana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gary MacLaren R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Reichner R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nebraska<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jim Smith R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Barbara Cegavske R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Hampshire<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gary L. Daniels R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jordan G. Ulery R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Jersey<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Steve Oroho R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jay Webber R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Mexico<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Paul C. Bandy R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">William Payne R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New York<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Owen H. Johnson R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Carolina<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Fred F. Steen II R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North Dakota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Alan H. Carlson R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bette Grande R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>John Adams R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Leaders (Party)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gary Banz R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cliff Aldridge R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oregon<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Gene Whisnant R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pennsylvania<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Brian L. Ellis R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rhode Island<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Francis T. Maher Jr. R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jon D. Brien D</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Carolina<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Liston Barfield R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas Alexander R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Dakota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Deb Peters R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Valentine B. Rausch R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tennessee<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Curry Todd R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Texas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Charles F. Howard R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jim Jackson R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kel Seliger R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Utah<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Curtis S. Bramble R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wayne L. Niederhauser R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chris Herrod R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vermont<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Kevin J. Mullin R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Virginia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>John A. Cosgrove Jr. R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen H. Martin R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washington<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jan Angel R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Benton R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">West Virginia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Eric Householder R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robin J. Vos R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wyoming<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Peter S. Illoway R</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Task force members[edit]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC presently has 9 task forces to "commission research, publish papers, convene workshops, issue alerts, and serve as clearinghouses of information on free market policies in the states." Each task force is co-chaired by one state legislator (termed "public") and one corporate representative(termed "private"), but Private Co-Chairs have veto power over final decisions of their task force. The primary goal of these task forces is to develop model policies for the country. "The centerpiece to the Task Forces is ALEC's model legislation. To date, ALEC has considered, written, and approved hundreds of model bills, resolutions, and policy statements."[10]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Civil Justice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lance Kinzer, R, Kansas representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Victor Schwartz, representing Shook, Hardy & Bacon[11]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dawn Pettengill, R, Iowa representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emory Wilkerson, representing State Farm Insurance[12]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Communications and Technology</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blair Thoreson, R, North Dakota representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bartlett Cleland, representing the Institute for Policy Innovation[13]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Education and Workforce Development</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Howard Stephenson, R, Utah senator</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jonathan Butcher, representing Goldwater Institute[14]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy, Environment, and Agriculture</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas Lockhart, R, Wyoming representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Paul Loeffelman, representing American Electric Power[15]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Health and Human Services</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Judson Hill, R, Georgia senator</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marianne Eterno, representing Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company[16]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">International Relations</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tim Moffitt, R, North Carolina representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brandie Davis, representing Philip Morris International[17]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">International Delegates</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senator Cory Bernardi, Australia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Adam Bielan, Poland</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Martin Callanan, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Philip Claeys, Belgium</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MP David Darchiashvili, Georgia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Niranjan Deva, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Christofer Fjellner, Sweden</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Daniel Hannan, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MP Chris Heaton-Harris, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Roger Helmer, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Assemblywoman Ayesha Javed, Pakistan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Syed Kamall, United Kingdom</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Michal Kaminski, Poland</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Miroslaw Piotrowski, Poland</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Ivo Strejcek, Czech Republic</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MEP Konrad Szymanski, Poland[18]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Justice Performance Project</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher B. Shank, R, Maryland senator</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stacie Rumenap, representing Stop Child Predators[19]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tax and Fiscal Policy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ken Weyler, R, New Hampshire representative</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amanda Klump, representing Altria[20]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributing authors[edit]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Matthew Ladner, Nevada Policy Research Institute[21]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dan Lips, Goldwater Institute[21]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Vicki E. (Murray) Alger, Vicki Murray & Associates LLC[22]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corporate and non-profit members[edit]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Allergan[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris)[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Bail Coalition[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Bankers Association[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Council of Life Insurers[24]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Insurance Association[24]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Legal Financial Association[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Petroleum Institute[26]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Tort Reform Association[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans for Tax Reform[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amoco[26]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anheuser-Busch[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Association for Competitive Technology[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AstraZeneca[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bayer[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BNSF Railway[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bristol-Myers Squibb[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cato Institute [27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Celgene[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Competitive Politics[28][29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Center for Digital Media Freedom[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Centerpoint360[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CenturyLink[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Charter Communications[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cintra[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citizens in Charge Foundation[28]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Civil Justice Reform Group[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Community Financial Services Association[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Con-way[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ConocoPhillips[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corrections Corporation of America[30]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coventry Health Care[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Crown Cork and Seal Company[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CTIA – The Wireless Association[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DCI Group[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Diageo[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DirecTV[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dow Chemical[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DuPont[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eli Lilly[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Enterprise Holdings</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Entertainment Software Association[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Entergy[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ExxonMobil[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fadem & Associates[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Federalist Society[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FedEx[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Foundation for Excellence in Education[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Free State Foundation[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Genentech[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Geo Group (formerly known as Wackenhut)[30]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Georgia Pacific[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GlaxoSmithKline[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heartland Institute[32][33]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Higher Education Research/Policy Center</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Institute for Justice[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Institute for Legal Reform[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Institute for Policy Innovation[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">International Franchise Association[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">James Madison Institute[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Justice Fellowship[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kansas City Power and Light[34]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries[7][23][25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawyers for Civil Justice[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Macquarie Capital[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Management and Training Corporation[30]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McLeod County Farmers Union[29][failed verification]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MV VeriSol[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Beer Wholesalers Association[28]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Cable and Telecommunications Association[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Coalition for Safer Roads[29][failed verification]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Federation of Independent Business[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Pawnbrokers Association[28]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Popular Vote[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Rifle Association[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NetChoice[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">News Corporation (parent company of Twentieth Century Fox, Wall Street Journal and Fox News)[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Novartis[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Orchid Cellmark[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pacific Research Institute[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfizer[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PhRMA[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pickle Consulting Group[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pioneer Institute[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Progress and Freedom Foundation[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Property Casualty Insurers[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reason Foundation[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals[29]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sanofi Aventis[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Schering Plough[23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Serlin Hale[29][failed verification]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sprint Nextel[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Farm Insurance[7]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Policy Network[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stop Child Predators[28]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Taser International[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomson Reuters[35]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Time Warner[35]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">United Health[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">United Parcel Service[7][23]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">US Chamber of Commerce[25]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">VISA USA[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wine Institute[citation needed]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wireless Generation[31]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wise Carter Child & Caraway[27]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Xcel Energy[31][36]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Legislative members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">american Legislative Exchange Council Backs Trump on Confederate Monuments, Policing</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">by Don Wiener | July 16th, 2020</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The corporate lobby group has reentered the culture wars by siding with Trump on race issues eight years after retreating because of public backlash against its “Stand Your Ground” and voter ID bills.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2020/07/02/koch-backed-groups-fight-to-block-ohio-covid-19-bailouts-despite-crushing-pandemic-deficits</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In early May, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced $775 million in state budget cuts, including $210 million from Medicaid and $355 million from education programs. The state amassed a large deficit as tax revenues took a nose dive because of the coronavirus’s effects on Ohioans’ economic activity. Ohio’s 2020-21 projected budget shortfall is at $2.4 billion.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio municipalities are also struggling, and mayors say they need federal aid. A Brookings Institution report published on March 31 predicted that, due to reliance on tax revenue, the region hit the hardest economically by the COVID-19 crisis would be the Heartland, and four out of the five hardest-hit cities in the U.S. would be in Ohio—Columbus (hit the worst), Cincinnati, Toledo, and Cleveland.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Columbus is $41.5 million short of its 2020 budget and has cut $26 million worth of expenses. Cincinnati has budget shortfalls of $15 million in 2020 and an estimated $91 million in 2021, one-quarter of the city’s budget that year. The city furloughed 1,700 workers in March. Toledo could face a shortfall of up to $50 million, and it put 300 city employees on temporary emergency leave starting in April. Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, faces a $76 million loss in revenue.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But despite the mounting pandemic-induced fiscal crisis, Koch-funded groups like Americans for Prosperity Ohio and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are lobbying hard to block any relief from the federal government. Americans for Prosperity wants state and local governments to sort out their huge budget deficits on their own, citing “chronic structural fiscal problems” and claiming that officials have “spent lavishly, borrowed excessively, and ignored looming pension debt.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch-backed groups appear to be taking advantage of the crisis to advance their ideological goals and further undermine public education and public employee unions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Collectively, U.S. state budgets will endure budget shortfalls totaling $615 billion over the 2020-22 fiscal years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and local government deficits will total billions more. States possess only $75 billion in their rainy day funds.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Congress is considering a new relief package, which may include funds to bail out struggling state and local governments. But the Ohio branch of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), not satisfied with the significant state cuts, wants to prevent federal aid from helping the state or its local governments from squaring their budgets.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch-funded advocacy group, which has always fought against government spending, taxes, and regulation, has been campaigning against a provision of the HEROES Act, which passed the House on May 15 and includes nearly $1 trillion to help state and local governments close budget holes. The bill is stalled in the Senate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The national AFP has run ads on Facebook and Instagram decrying the state and local bailout provisions of the HEROES Act and urging people to sign an anti-bailout letter. AFP Ohio has posted a number of videos of Ohioans opposing the bailouts, is urging people to contact Ohio’s senators to urge them to vote against a bailout, and has also posted a link to an anti-bailout letter.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As of April 29, the mayor of Lancaster, Ohio had laid off 18 firefighters and 15 police officers because of a budget crunch. But a letter written by AFP encourages people to “tell the state governors and local communities to STOP exploiting their firefighters, teachers and other state workers to justify these bailouts.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said budget cuts will be steep if the city doesn’t get federal help. Basic city services will face “drastic” cuts, she said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gov. DeWine’s cuts include a $300 million loss for Ohio’s K-12 public schools, and 20 school districts are losing $304 per pupil. Franklin County, home to Columbus, will lose $32.6 million in school funding, or 4 percent of its budget.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to AFP, state and local governments have made irresponsible spending decisions in the past, so, during a once-in-a-century economic crisis, taxpayers shouldn’t bail them out.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The group’s “Federal Budget Assistance for State and Local Government” report says that instead of receiving bailouts, state and local governments should use their so-called “rainy day” funds and cut spending.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans for Prosperity is largely funded by the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, a dark-money trade group founded by Charles Koch and his political network. Koch’s enormous wealth—his current net worth is $50.7 billion—comes from Koch Industries, his private, industrial conglomerate. According to its website, Koch Industries employs 860 people in Ohio through its companies Georgia-Pacific, Infor, Koch, and Koch Engineered Solutions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over the years, Koch Industries has received $527 million in state and local subsidies, including in Ohio, where pulp and paper product company Georgia-Pacific received over $1 million in 1994, according to Good Jobs First. That’s on top of $9 million in federal grants and tax credits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AFP isn’t the only Koch-backed group campaigning against a federal bailout of state and local governments.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In May 12 letter, the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a pay-to-play operation that writes model state legislation with the help of corporate lobbyists, urged federal politicians not to bail out the states, claiming that such a bailout “would be harmful to taxpayers, federalism, and ultimately the states themselves.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Three Ohio legislators—Reps. George Lang (R-West Chester), Thomas Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), and Scott Wiggam (R-Wayne County)—signed the ALEC letter along with AFP Ohio’s director, Micah Derry.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2002, the Cincinnati Post dubbed Brinkman, who represents parts of Cincinnati, “Dr. No,” meaning “no taxes for men and no rights for women,” according to a Wikipedia citation. In 2018, Brinkman was the only dissenter in a House vote to end the tax on women’s hygiene products.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Leaders from dozens of right-wing groups, including a number directly funded by the Charles Koch Foundation, signed a May 8 letter from the Conservative Action Project that urged Congress to reject state and local bailouts. The Conservative Action Project is an arm of the secretive, right-wing Council for National Policy, which helped coordinate protests of the coronavirus-caused lockdowns.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Signatories include former Ohio Congressman Bob McEwen, who is executive director of the Council for National Policy; Khadine Ritter, President of the Eagle Forum of Ohio; Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America; Lisa Nelson, CEO of ALEC; James Martin, founder of the 60 Plus Association; Charlie Copeland, president of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute; and Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Economist Denies Red State Coronavirus Surge Just Hours Before Texas Governor Warns About Spike in Hospitalization</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Arn Pearson and Don Wiener | June 23rd, 2020 at 3:57 PM (CDT)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen Moore, the leading economist for the corporate lobby front group that has pushed for a rapid reopening of the economy and COVID-19 immunity for employers, denied there’s a growing health crisis in the South and West as the same day Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference to deal with spiking cases and hospitalizations in Texas.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more>></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://hightowerlowdown.org/article/new-corporate-protection-laws-are-stomping-on-our-most-basic-rights/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New corporate-protection laws are stomping on our most basic rights</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">as British playwright and political agitator George Bernard Shaw noted, “You don’t make progress by standing on guard, but by attacking, and getting well-hammered yourself.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That certainly has been true of US progressives. We never could advance our people’s “small-d” democratic goals by idly hoping the established powers will do it for us. After all, they’re the ones doing it to us–imposing plutocratic rule to increase their fortunes at our expense. Rather, it is audacious American rebels who’ve incrementally advanced our democratic possibilities by defying the repressive laws of the authoritarian order.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In fact, Protest is us! And it ain’t beanbag. The history of US democracy is the story of fed-up, gutsy people engaged in wave after wave of confrontation with haughty corporate, political, and social powers that forcibly suppress our democratic will. Because of that suppression, effective public protest is not for the meek. By its nature, it is disobedient, passionate, aggressive, disruptive, and sometimes bloody. That’s the price of progress.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Indeed, there would be no USA if outraged colonials had merely sent missives to King George saying, Please stop doing these bad things to us. Consider a historic protest we now celebrate as a glorious, seminal moment in our opposition to British autocracy: the Boston Tea Party. In 1773, Sam Adams and an audacious band of Massachusetts rebels clambered aboard three British East India Company trading ships moored in Boston Harbor. Rebelling against an English decree giving that corporation monopoly power over tea imports to America, Adams and other “Sons of Liberty” illegally trespassed on the corporate property, seized its cargo of 342 chests of tea, and hurled them into the harbor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It was an act of constructive destruction and iconic defiance of plutocratic authority, which rallied public support and helped spark the American Revolution. Most significantly, it set an ethical standard for legitimate protest in our country that for generations since has guided abolitionists, suffragists, unionists, populists, immigrants, feminists, environmentalists, and other democracy activists. Protest is fully ingrained in the American character.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Suspending the right to protest</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">["Two wrongs don't make a right, but three left turns do." --Jim Hightower]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Add to America’s panorama of momentous protests another dramatic action: On September 12, 2019, a team of bold environmental advocates literally put their lives on the line to confront the global crisis of industrially induced climate change. You might not have heard about it, for their protest was barely noticed by the purveyors of mass media, who were busy chasing the latest nonsensical tweets of the artful dodger in the White House. Yet it certainly ranks as a captivating, and still unfolding, story of principled dissent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The action involved 22 Greenpeace USA activists from 13 states and the District of Columbia. Using static lines attached to a huge bridge, 11 of the activists suspended themselves 150 feet above the Houston Ship Channel and shut down Big Oil’s largest US outlet for climate-destroying petrochemicals. The dangling protesters closed the channel, halting oil tankers owned by the likes of the Exxon and Shell et al. that move 700,000 barrels of oil every day from the second-largest refinery complex in the US. Some 18 hours passed before, as reported by KHOU-TV news, an over-the-top cluster of police power–including riot-clad sheriff officers, FBI agents, members of the Coast Guard, local fire departments, and the Texas Department of Transportation–was able to arrest the activists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is an even deeper story, however, for the action brought to light an especially devious effort by establishment autocrats to repress our people’s fundamental freedom to dissent against corporate abuse. Soon after their arrests, the intrepid climate defenders found themselves suspended in an even more precarious way: Their First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly were subverted by a new, little-known law passed at the behest of the very same corporate powers they had dared to protest.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC attacks</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Unbeknownst to the general public (and still largely undiscovered by national media), oil giants and other multinational corporations have quietly colluded with the legislators and governors they’ve purchased. Together, they’ve rammed through a series of autocratic state laws criminalizing our right to protest at sites they imperiously designated “critical infrastructure.” Encompassed in the sweeping lockdown inherent in this often-specious designation are public demonstrations that the sneaky new laws defined as “criminal interference.” In fact, the thing they interfere with is the hallowed pursuit of profits by myriad corporate scoundrels including frackers, mine operators, pipeline builders, chemical plants, refineries, electrical utilities, TV facilities, and factory farms. (Yes, a corporate hog factory is now designated “critical infrastructure”!)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Legalized thuggery</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s bad enough that corporate giants can buy laws that suppress our democratic rights, but now they’re doubling down on their assertion of autocratic authority by literally renting public police forces to rough up and arrest protesters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You could’ve seen corporatized police in action last fall in Louisiana. Earlier that year, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) had pushed Pelican State lawmakers to enact ALEC’s corporate infrastructure protections scheme. Turning protest into a felony crime was of urgent interest to ETP, for it had planned to ram a huge crude-oil pipeline through the fragile ecosystem of Atchafalaya Basin, over objections by environmentalists and residents.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sure enough, when protest happened, St. Martin Parish sheriff’s officers moved in to attack, pepper spray, and choke the demonstrators. But, in fact, they weren’t actually functioning as public authorities. Yes, they came from the sheriff’s office, but they were among 58 deputies who’d been leased out to Energy Transfer Partners to enforce corporate law. They wore official law-enforcement uniforms, used taxpayer-issued weapons and tech equipment, presented themselves as public officers of the law, and arrested and jailed legitimate protestors in the name of the state. But, far from serving as agents of The People, these corrupted officers (a fourth of the sheriff’s entire force of deputies) were paid and directed by the corporation. They were taking ETP payments and perverting their public responsibilities into the private enforcement interests of the pipeline profiteer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As rebels showed at the founding of our nation, when corporate powers autocratically twist the law to subvert the people’s basic rights, they can expect righteous revolution from the majorities they oppress.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The new laws punish such protest harshly. The Greenpeace activists, along with 20 others also arrested, now face felony charges, years in prison, and a permanent criminal record for violating Texas law by “interrupting” Big Oil’s operations–peacefully, for a few hours. So rather than protecting our fragile environment and Constitutional rights, America’s power elites are fabricating “property right” laws to protect corporate profiteers … from us!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These protest prohibitions have already been enacted by corporate-hugging politicos in Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas–and they’re presently being pushed in Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, with more expected in state legislatures during the 2020 sessions. When did We The People–in those states or anywhere else–vote to outlaw peaceful public protest against corporate excesses? When did we demand that lawmakers make it a felony crime for you and me to assemble at corporate sites to object boisterously, creatively, and effectively against profiteers who’re running roughshod over our values, livelihoods, environment, and … well, our lives? Of course, the answer is: Never. This is lawmaking by sneak attack, with craven, for-sale governors and legislators repressing The People’s rights without informing us, much less seeking our consent. King George III would be proud.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Who initiated these anti-democratic laws? Corporate lobbyists, that’s who. They’ve been working through ALEC, the secretive American Legislative Exchange Council that convenes closed-door tete-a-tete sessions conjoining its corporate members in a nationwide network of whorish state lawmakers willing to turn tricks for them. In January 2018, one of ALEC’s mating sessions produced a model bill called the “Critical Infrastructure Protection Act,” which would effectively sledgehammer peaceful protestors accused of corporate wrongdoing as though they were terrorists. Suddenly, virtually identical versions of ALEC’s pre-fab bill were introduced by its bawdy house legislators across the country.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To give cover to this self-serving repression, the corporate crowd has cooked up a public safety hoax. Colluding with the Trump regime, the FBI, unscrupulous media players like Sean Hannity, and ALEC itself, they’ve been running a fear-mongering campaign, claiming with hyperbolic fervor that hordes of eco-radicals are roving the land, intent on destroying America’s corporate infrastructure. This alliance cites–as a prime example of “destructive trespassers” interfering with corporate operations–the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s courageous standoff last year against the Dakota Access Pipeline that was being shoved through their sacred lands. Never mind that the pipeline corporation was the actual trespasser, the plutocratic screechers insist the poor profiteers must be protected by extraordinary anti-protest measures.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch brothers even wrapped themselves in the cynical claim that they are concerned about “the safety of those exercising their right to demonstrate.” Because the protesters could get hurt, clucked a Koch lobbyist, criminal laws are needed to keep them from protesting. And, as ALEC was shopping its bill from state to state, it issued a bogeyman letter from fossil fuel giants urging lawmakers around the country to curtail the “growing and disturbing trend” of enviro-extremists attacking infrastructure. To buff its case, ALEC listed five such assaults. One involved a mild-mannered guy who merely cranked shut a pipeline valve in North Dakota, temporarily stopping the flow of toxic tar sands oil through the Keystone Pipeline. The other four cases were simply examples of incompetent vandalism by individuals who had mental health issues or were company insiders with workplace grievances.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">["The issue isn't just jobs. Even slaves had jobs. The issue is wages." --Jim Hightower]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These corporate protection laws are nothing but fraudulent scare tactics. Their backers say they’re necessary to prevent violence and vandalism. But wait! Stiff laws are already on the books against those crimes. And wait again! Those arrested in September’s Greenpeace protest committed no violence or vandalism.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Texas hustle</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the last 25 years, the Lone Star State has become a protracted experiment in bad government, with top officials routinely kowtowing to corporate money–the people be damned. Thus, for a clear example of how today’s swarm of anti-democratic “critical infrastructure” laws came to infest our nation, look to Texas.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Note that no gubernatorial or legislative candidates in Texas have run on, or even mentioned, the absurd notion that We The People should be forced to surrender any of our Constitutional rights in deference to corporate supremacy. Nonetheless, shortly after the 2019 legislative session convened–BAM!–two ALEC acolytes, a GOP state senator named Brian Birdwell and a state rep named Chris Paddie, dropped that group’s corporate-written anti-protest bomb on both houses of the Texas Lege.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[?? DO SOMETHING ??</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As right-wing state legislatures attempt to shred our Constitutional right to peacefully protest, we citizens have a duty to resist. For more about these anti-democratic trends and how to fight back, check out:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Greenpeace is a leader in the global struggle to reverse climate insanity. One of its projects, Polluter Watch, monitors the latest egregious actions of the fossil fuel industry.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Justice Collaborative works to “reform the components of our criminal justice system that are costly, counterproductive, and cruel.” Sign up for its info-packed email newsletter at theappeal.org.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The good folks at The Center for Media and Democracy do us all a great service by tracking the insidious corporate dirty work of the American Legislative Exchange Council. CMD’s website, ALEC Exposed, reveals the “model bills” pushed by ALEC to advance corporate interests at the expense of the common good.]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then came Greg Abbott, the notorious corporate-coddling governor, pushing the bill with a vengeance. And why not? Greg’s top donors are–surprise!–oil and gas corporations that pumped more than $10 million into his 2018 election bid. His 2019 legislative push was made in cahoots with Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Shell, Valero, and other petro-powers that unleashed a lobbying barrage on legislators, successfully pressuring them (and effectively bribing many with the implied promise of future donations) to put corporate interest over the public interest.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The repressive Texas law took effect on September 1, 2019. Just 11 days later it was used to slap harsh felony charges on the Greenpeace protesters and others arrested for “interfering” with the movement of oil tankers. One politician who’s already getting grief from constituents for her despicable rush to lash the petrochemical protesters with severe felony charges is Houston district attorney, Kim Ogg. Elected in 2016 as a “bold” criminal justice reformer, she promised to reduce harsh, unfair sentencing and stop excessive bail for minor offenders.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In this case, Ogg violated both pledges. She grabbed Abbott’s brand-spanking-new “Save Big Oil” law to brand the participants as dangerous criminals. The DA is now demanding that all 31protesters be punished by lengthy state imprisonment for what clearly was a non-violent, peaceful exercise of their rights. She also asked that the court set bail for at least one of the defendants at the unconscionable level of “no lower than $100,000,” citing unsubstantiated “millions of dollars” in losses to the oil economy. Her claim of economic impact is wholly inappropriate to the bail process–intended simply to make sure defendants show up for trial. Rather, it is an outrageous attempt to impose punishment without a trial.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And here’s yet another twist: Early this year, following several oil refinery fires and spills of industry waste into the ship channel, DA Ogg was granted county funding to hire four new prosecutors and four support staffers specifically to handle crimes of environmental pollution. Now she’s prosecuting people who protest the polluters. What might be behind Ogg’s prosecutorial zealotry? Call me cynical, but I’m guessing that $70,000 in campaign cash from major oil industry donors–and her reasonable expectation of more to come for her re-election bid next year–could be persuasive motivators.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This story, however, is far bigger than one wayward DA and one bunch of right-wing state officials cracking down on public dissent. The lesson here is that repressive laws don’t just sit there on the books, they metastasize. Bad actors disseminate and use them to perpetrate enormous harm to good people and to democracy itself. This bad new law–written in the dark by self-serving, destructive corporate elites and hastily enacted by corrupt officials funded by those elites–is rapidly spreading across the country, with little public awareness. Overly ambitious and/or unscrupulous lawmakers and prosecutors everywhere are seizing it to imprison legitimate protesters and chill everyone’s willingness to assert our First Amendment rights. It is a direct assault on democracy by a voracious corporate plutocracy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Going all in</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And yet, I’m betting on democracy–because of the American people’s innate, Sam-Adams-style rebelliousness. I think of champions like Cherri Foytlin down in southwest Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin swamp, along the final leg of the Dakota Access Pipeline that carries oil fracked in North Dakota to a Louisiana refinery and then shipment, primarily, to China. Last year, Foytlin and others tried to stop Energy Transfer Partners–a notorious, out-of-state profiteer–from crisscrossing this beautiful and life-sustaining wetland with the polluting pipeline. She and other activists spent weeks in “sky pod” platforms they had built 35 feet in the air, tied to native cypress trees. Even though the private landowner had OKed the pods, authorities arrested the protesters in August and September for “trespassing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It was the first use in the nation of ALEC’s democracy-repressing ban on interfering with “critical infrastructure.” A Dine (Navajo) and Latinx who is part of the Indigenous Women’s Council of L’eau Est La Vie, Foytlin, a could face five years in prison. But don’t think that’s going to intimidate her. As she says, “They think that by upping the punishment they’re going to keep people from protesting. But what will happen is we’re going to do things that are more worth getting the felony [charge]. Because now, if we’re going to jail, then damn it, we’re going to go all in.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.alternet.org/2020/01/project-blitz-is-producing-model-legislation-for-christian-nationalists</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Project Blitz is producing model legislation for Christian Nationalists</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Written by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly January 24, 2020</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You may have heard about legislation passed recently in Tennessee and other states which allows adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples or families with whom they have religious objections. The fact that bills like that are being considered and passed by red states is no coincidence. They are the product of an organized effort being led by Project Blitz.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The first thing to know about Project Blitz is that it was launched in 2015 by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, the National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders. The latter is an organization founded by David Barton, the Republican operative and discredited historian who rejects the separation of church and state, claiming that the United States was founded as a Christian nation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This project seems to have maintained a low profile until Fred Clarkson, who has been studying the Christian right for decades, came across their 116-page manual of model legislation in early 2018. As Clarkson explains, Project Blitz is to Christian nationalists what the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was to big business.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many of the bills on [the Christian right] agenda are making news; some have passed key legislative committees or whole state legislative chambers, and some have already been signed into law. But what reporters, activists, and most legislators don’t realize is that many of these bills draw from an unusual package of 20 model bills included in a report assembled by a coalition of Christian Right groups for an initiative they call “Project Blitz.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bills are seemingly unrelated and range widely in content—from requiring public schools to display the national motto, “In God We Trust” (IGWT); to legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ people; to religious exemptions regarding women’s reproductive health. The model bills, the legislative strategy and the talking points reflect the theocratic vision that’s animated a meaningful portion of the Christian Right for some time. In the context of Project Blitz’s 116-page playbook, however, they also reveal a sophisticated level of coordination and strategizing that echoes the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which infamously networks probusiness state legislators, drafts sample legislation, and shares legislative ideas and strategies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to an analysis by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, state legislatures considered 74 bills that echoed model legislation from the Project Blitz handbook in 2018.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The strategy for this effort is built on dividing model legislation into three categories, depending on how much opposition each bill is expected to receive.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The first category, intended to appear the most innocuous, included bills to promote “In God We Trust” license plates (now offered in at least 20 states) and the display of the “In God We Trust” motto in public schools. (Some version of the display legislation has passed in at least 10 states.) The next batch of bills centered on emphasizing “Christian heritage” and “the importance of the Bible in history” to promote the notion that the U.S. is a Christian nation. The third category, which organizers noted might be “the most hotly contested,” sought to empower licensed professionals to deny health care and other services based on religious beliefs and to enable adoption agencies to reject adoptive families on religious grounds. (At least 10 states have laws that allow discrimination by child welfare agencies, most of which have been passed since Project Blitz launched in 2015.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That is a veritable “slippery slope” approach to undermining the separation of church and state. Most people wouldn’t find it terribly objectionable to display the national motto in public schools—even though it wasn’t adopted until 1956 in response to the “red scare” of “godless communism.” But doing so opens the door to promoting religion in public institutions and paving the way for legislation in the second category.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Of course, the ultimate aim of these efforts is to arrive at legislation in the third category. Knowing that the courts will reject arguments based on “biblical principles,” Project Blitz advises a strategy that is even more offensive.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To this end, they claim that their model public policy resolutions “rely heavily on the research that demonstrates the deleterious physical and mental health effects of same-sex intercourse and gender identity ‘transformation’.”… In support of this, Project Blitz offers data they suggest shows that LGBTQ people tend to be diseased, dysfunctional or both—and that they pose a threat to children and to society.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Given that any so-called “data” they present is bogus, we need to name that kind of thing for what it is: unadulterated homophobia.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As we saw with ALEC, the best disinfectant against an initiative like this is to shine a spotlight on what is happening. Unfortunately, there still 12 states with GOP trifectas—where the Republicans control both houses of the legislature and the governorship. That is where this initiative is likely to be the most effective.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ed&nbsp; Secretary Betsy DeVos Makes Unscheduled Appearance at ALEC Conference in Arizona to Promote Costly School Voucher Program</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gerrymandering, Elections, School Privatization, and More on the Agenda as ALEC meets in Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1219</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC to Host “Free Speech Dinner” with Anti-LGBT Group in Arizona</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/new-report-details-impact-secretive-american-legislative-exchange</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Report Details Impact of Secretive American Legislative Exchange Council on Communities of Color</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contact: press@ccrjustice.org</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">December 3, 2019, Phoenix, Arizona – Today, a coalition of human rights organizations released an in-depth report about the role of the secretive American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the adoption of state laws that disproportionately harm communities of color. “ALEC Attacks: How evangelicals and corporations captured state lawmaking to safeguard white supremacy and corporate power” traces the establishment of the organization by evangelical conservative activists in the 1970s to counter advances made by the civil rights movement, through to the transformation of ALEC in the early 1990s to be a more stridently pro-corporate lobbying organization.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The report details how ALEC’s corporate, conservative, and state lawmaker members have come together to promote the adoption of some of the most infamous state laws of the past two decades, which continue to affect communities of color today. In particular, the report includes in-depth discussions of Stand Your Ground laws, Voter ID laws, laws that punish participation in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement for Palestinian rights, and laws that punish protests against so-called “critical infrastructure” such as oil and gas pipelines. ALEC will hold its annual States and Nation Policy Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, beginning tomorrow and running through Friday.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC is a leading example of how corporations and conservatives capture lawmaking processes to undertake the everyday maintenance of America’s racist and pro-corporate political system,” said Dominic Renfrey, Advocacy Program Manager at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Far from being content with 46 years of circumventing democracy by providing pay-to-play private access to lawmakers for its corporate and conservative members, ALEC is still brazenly attacking the movements that dare to advance human rights and protect the environment.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC Attacks” describes the process by which corporate executives and conservative activists pay membership fees to meet regularly in private with conservative lawmakers to develop draft laws that serve the interests of ALEC’s members, which are then introduced in state legislatures around the country. The negative impacts arising from these laws are often felt by people of color. For example, through ALEC, lawmakers worked closely with members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to enact Stand Your Ground laws in several states. The report discusses the infamous case of 17-year-old Black teenager Trayvon Martin, killed in Florida gated community by George Zimmerman—who was then acquitted of the murder because of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. The report cites studies indicating that the rates of homicide by firearm have increased in states with Stand Your Ground laws, and that acquittal rates on the basis of those laws exacerbate racial disparities in findings of “justifiable” homicide.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Similarly, “ALEC Attacks” documents how ALEC has been instrumental in enacting strict Voter ID laws, that tighten voting requirements and disproportionately impact Black and Latinx people. In one case a North Carolina court found its state Voter ID law was enacted with discriminatory intent and “target(s) African Americans with almost surgical precision.”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The story of ALEC is the story of a white supremacist political and economic elite harnessing their control of the means of government to perpetuate their own power,” said Rachel Gilmer, Co-Executive Director of Dream Defenders, which is based in Florida. “Maintaining this system by necessity requires maintaining economic and political control over the lives of Black, brown, immigrant, and poor people, and the murder of Trayvon and many others like him is a symptom of this situation.”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC members have referred to the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement in support of Palestinian rights as “economic terrorism” and supported the proliferation of state laws that prohibit public entities from doing business with entities that boycott Israel. The report describes Palestinian-Americans who have been unable to continue job contracts or participate in school events because of the anti-boycott laws.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC's legislative attacks on advocacy for Palestinian rights are one part of its racist, reactionary agenda, and should concern all who are working for social justice in the U.S.” said Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal. “But the movement for Palestinian rights continues to grow, in part because of the connections it is building with other communities targeted by ALEC's legislative repression.”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The report also documents ALEC’s role in the adoption of a spate of “critical infrastructure” laws in several states that have been enacted by conservative lawmakers in response to protests by Indigenous water protectors, and their allies, against the Dakota Access Pipeline that was built through Standing Rock Sioux territory in North Dakota. “Critical infrastructure” laws heighten criminal penalties for water protectors protesting against oil and gas infrastructure development. Indigenous and non-indigenous activists, as well as at least one journalist, have been arrested under critical infrastructure laws and face lengthy prison terms if they are convicted.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“While Indigenous Water Protectors and Land Defenders have been organizing to prepare for the struggle to stop fossil fuel infrastructure development on the ground, so have energy corporations been hard at work passing ALEC-sponsored critical infrastructure legislation to criminalize our people,” said Melanie Yazzie, a founding member of The Red Nation. “The Red Nation calls upon all people of good conscience to take action and stop ALEC-sponsored critical infrastructure bills in your state. Indigenous people will not be the only casualty of these laws. So, too, will the water we drink and the air we breathe. Dismantling ALEC is a crucial step. Start by reading this report.”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) brings together corporate executives, conservative activists, and state lawmakers to craft model legislation that ALEC lawmakers then introduce in state legislatures around the country. Hundreds of corporations and conservative think tanks with non-profit charitable status are members, along with thousands of politicians. The organization’s membership list is secret. Corporate executives reportedly pay tens of thousands of dollars to ALEC for private access to lawmakers at ALEC meetings. Each year hundreds of ALEC model bills become state law.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC Attacks: How evangelicals and corporations captured state lawmaking to safeguard white supremacy and corporate power” was authored by Center for Constitutional Rights, Dream Defenders, The Red Nation, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Palestine Legal.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read the report at www.alecattacks.org/.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DEM!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Criminalizing Pipeline Protesters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers has signed a bill making it a felony to trespass on the grounds of an oil or gas pipeline. Critics say the bill was inspired by ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — and pushed through the Wisconsin legislature by the American Petroleum Institute. Opponents of the law include members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose reservation is crossed by the Enbridge Line 5 tar sands oil pipeline. The tribe’s chair, Mike Wiggins, said, “Over and over, we’ve seen peaceful, nonviolent protests met with militarization, threats of violence and actual violence from some of these corporate mechanisms.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TOPICS:Natural Gas & Oil DrillingWisconsinPipelineProtests</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cmd 919</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Election Manipulators Use ALEC To Push Their Partisan Power Grabs Against Voters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is up to it again: promoting new ways to restrict political representation and under one of the central foundations of American democracy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">by Jay Riestenberg | Aug 20, 2019</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cmd grab 819</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Fails to Denounce Dangerous and Racist Views of Its Leaders and Members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Scott Zimmerman —&nbsp; White nationalist statements and ties draw fire from many within GOP, but not ALEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It has been a banner week for extremist politicians linked to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s Washington State Chair, Rep. Matt Shea, promoted and maintained close ties to an extremist group training children and young men for battle in a “Biblical warfare” while schooling them in the “biblical teachings” of racist preacher John Weaver, according to a new exposé lnx ] published by The Guardian. The revelations come just weeks after the Washington House hired an outside firm to investigate whether Shea has engaged in, planned, or promoted political violence.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And ALEC alumni and Iowa congressman Steve King pondered Wednesday whether there would “be any population of the world left” without rape and incest. Rep. King was stripped of his committee posts in Congress earlier this year after questioning why white supremacy should be considered offensive.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Despite ALEC’s claim that it “does not condone hate speech of any kind,” the pay-to-play influence group has ignored calls for it to remove Shea from his ALEC leadership position, and has done nothing to repudiate the extremist statements of Shea, King, or other radical right-wing ALEC legislators.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Leader Repeatedly Echoes White Supremacists</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC does not disclose how its “State Chairs” are selected, but according to its 46th annual meeting agenda, they serve as leaders to their state’s delegation, receive special training, and are invited to exclusive events. Rep. Shea (R-Spokane) has been listed as an ALEC State Chair since July 29, 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In November of 2018, The Seattle Times reported that Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich had referred Shea to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for circulating a manifesto advocating a U.S. holy war that Knezovich described as a “‘how to’ manual consistent with the ideology and operating philosophy of the Christian Identity/Aryan Nations movement and the Redoubt movement of the 1990s.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shea’s “Biblical Basis for War” calls for the killing of all males who do not agree to “obey” biblical law. The radical agenda Shea circulated included a stop to all abortions, an end to same sex marriage, an end to idolatry, an end to communism, and replacing America’s current justice system with Biblical law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As a result, Shea lost his leadership role within the Washington state Republican Caucus, and many donors cut ties with him. ALEC, however, kept him in his position as State Chair.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to the “Biblical Basis for War,” The Guardian reported in April of 2019 that Shea had engaged in conversationsabout “carrying out surveillance, ‘psyops’ and even violent attacks against his perceived political enemies.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shea also authored legislation to create “a separate and independent state” in “the eastern portion of Washington” called “Liberty.” A presentation Shea gave titled “Protecting our Christian Culture and Heritage” is displayed as justification for the new state, in which he calls Christianity the United States’ religion.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to Dave Neiwert, author of the book “Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in Trump’s America,” there has been a dedicated effort to try to get white supremacists to move to the Northwest to create an all-white ethnostate there. The demographics of the proposed State of Liberty would have significantly less racial diversity than the rest of the state.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Legislator of the Week Led Dangerous White Supremacist Group</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When the Corvallis Advocate reported that Oregon Rep. Mike Nearman was listed as the vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Control (OFIC), he denied it. OFIC has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and local news organizations as a hate group that “has links to influential white nationalist eugenicist John Tanton.” The Daily Beast later confirmed that Nearman was “very definitely” the vice president of the organization “some time after early March 2017.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An ALEC member, Nearman was selected as the “ALEC-FreedomWorks Legislator of the Week” in July of 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nearman may not work for OFIC any longer, but he still participates in the group’s events, including an OFIC lunch on March 26, 2019. Nearman now has a position as “the state director of the anti-union Freedom Foundation,” according to the Salem Reporter. The Freedom Foundation is an affiliate of ALEC’s sister organization, the State Policy Network, a right-wing web of “think tanks” in 49 states that is often called upon to provide the academic legitimacy for ALEC model bills as they are introduced.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Registered ALEC Member Opined that There Aren’t “Enough White Kids”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Former Arizona representative and ALEC member David Stringer stirred controversy last year when he gave a speech complaining that “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” to integrate Arizona’s schools and that immigration is an “existential threat” to Arizona.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Josselyn Berry, of ProgressNow Arizona, said that Stringer’s comments were “racist and paranoid” as well as “fear mongering and hateful.” Furthermore, a local news outlet reported that Stringer “had a hard time apologizing and providing a ‘yes or no’ answer about whether he is a white nationalist.” According to Arizona House Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, Stringer’s rhetoric “echoes fervent racists and white nationalists like David Duke.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Arizona Republican Party Chairman at the time, Jonathan Lines, and ALEC-tied Gov. Doug Ducey both called for Stringer to resign in response to his statements, but ALEC made no comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In November 2018, Stringer was back at it, telling a group of university students that, unlike European immigrants, “African-Americans and other racial groups don’t … blend in.” That prompted the Arizona Anti-Defamation League to question Stringer’s fitness for office, and the incoming Minority Whip, Reginald Bolding, said censure and removal should be on the table.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stringer was ultimately forced to resign from office by Republican leaders in March 2019 after his undisclosed 1983 conviction for child sex abuse came to light.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dues-Paying ALEC Member Blamed Mass Shootings on Minority Group and Democrats</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Earlier this month, ALEC member Ohio Rep. Candice Keller blamed mass shootings on transgender people, “drag queen advocates,” “homosexual marriage,” immigration policies, and “disrespect to law enforcement,” for which she credited former President Barack Obama.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken denounced Keller’s comments as “shocking and utterly unjustifiable” and called for her to resign, as did Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. Jones tweeted “Candice Keller should resign at once. Shame shame.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has not spoken out on the controversy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2017, Keller spoke on a “white power advocate’s” radio show. Her appearance can be found on the ‘Resolution Radio’ website, where images for the show state, “Our white culture is beautiful!” “‘Diversity’ is a code word for white genocide,” and David Lane’s infamous white supremacist slogan, “We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children. Because the beauty of the Aryan women must not perish from the earth.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Keller paid ALEC for a two-year legislative membership in 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s Uncomfortable Relationship with Hate Speech</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and a broad coalition of 78 organizations urged ALEC’s corporate funders to cut ties with the bill mill following inflammatory comments by hatemonger David Horowitz at last year’s Annual Meeting, ALEC took steps to distance itself from his radical views. ALEC stated that it does “not share the perspective” Horowitz expressed at its 45th annual meeting, despite the fact that Horowitz received a glowing introduction and called ALEC’s CEO Lisa Nelson “my old friend.” Among other things, Horowitz proclaimed that public education “had been turned over to racist organizations like Black Lives Matter and terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Telecom giants and longtime ALEC backers Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast ultimately quit ALEC over Horowitz’s statements.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nonetheless, ALEC has remained conspicuously silent about the dangerous and racist statements and ties of its legislative leaders and members Shea, King, Nearman, Stringer, and Keller.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arn Pearson contributed to this report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">About Scott Zimmerman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Doubles Down on Trump, Corporate Agenda at Annual Meeting in Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By David Armiak — The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meets this week in Austin, the capital of the Lone Star State, for its 46th Annual Meeting at the posh JW Marriott hotel.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...Texas seems a logical and timely venue choice for ALEC to build those networks, as it has a supersized influence in the state, according to a new report by Common Cause and the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), and the largest delegation of politicians with ALEC ties. Plus, it’s just a Chinook helicopter ride away from the Mexican border, where ALEC public sector board members got a “confidential” tour on Monday.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is keeping conference speakers secret this time around, but here is what they have disclosed for their Austin agenda so far.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gearing up for Gerrymandering</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now that the Supreme Court has kicked the door wide open for partisan gerrymandering, ALEC will also make sure its GOP legislative members are prepared to redraw their districts in the most favorable way come 2021.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In its June decision in Rucho v. Common Cause, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 conservative majority held that partisan redistricting, no matter how extreme, cannot be controlled by the courts. “Of all the times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one,” lamented Justice Elena Kagan in an emotional dissent from the bench, noting that the ruling imperils “free and fair elections.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">However, the ruling fits nicely with ALEC’s Resolution Reaffirming the Right of State Legislatures to Determine Electoral Districts, adopted in September 2018, which called on the courts to stay out of the way and give state legislatures a free hand to set district lines.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is offering two workshops on the practice at its Austin summit: What is Redistricting and Why Must We Do It? and How to Survive Redistricting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By “survive,” ALEC apparently means hold on to power despite a changing electorate. ALEC will bring in attorneys and legislators with “extensive experience” in past gerrymandering efforts and litigation to coach attendees on the process.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the last redistricting cycle, Republicans led by political strategists like Karl Rove executed their REDMAP gerrymandering plan to lock in control of three quarters of state legislative chambers and the U.S. House despite a close split between Democratic and Republican voters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“What’s scary is not that ALEC is holding these panels for redistricting but they are likely gearing up for the next round of gerrymandering unbound by any fear that the Supreme Court would rein in partisan gerrymandering,” said Kathay Feng, Common Cause’s national redistricting director.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protecting the Electoral College…and Trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Never a big fan of the popular vote, ALEC adopted a resolution last year calling for repeal of the 17th Amendment allowing voters to choose their U.S. senators and handing that power back to gerrymandered legislatures.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This year, ALEC members will consider a Draft Statement of Principles for Presidential Elections defending the electoral college system that got Trump elected in 2016 despite losing the popular contest to Hillary Clinton by almost three million votes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC was hesitant to back candidate Donald Trump that year, but jumped to embrace him once elected. ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson wrote in a letter to funders and members after the 2016 election that the Trump administration had “the potential to be an ALEC administration. It is full of the people and ideas we have advanced since 1973…. Now is our time. And ALEC is ready.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s draft policy statement opposes the National Popular Vote (NPV) campaign which, if successful, would award electoral college votes to the winner of the popular vote. The group will host a workshop at its Austin summit, National Popular Vote Interstate Compact – An Act of Federalism or the End of States as We Know Them, to debate whether it poses “an existential threat to federalism.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sixteen states possessing 196 electoral votes have passed NPV bills to date, but they will not go into effect until states totaling 270 electoral votes (a majority of the 538 total electoral votes) have adopted similar measures.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s draft statement argues that “the current Electoral College system best preserves our two-party system and prevents the fracture of America’s political structure.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Union Busting</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC continues its all-out assault on public sector unions with its proposed Prohibition on Paid Union Activity (Release Time) by Public Employees Ordinance. The model ordinance from ALEC’s local government offshoot, the American City County Exchange (ACCE), would make it difficult to investigate potential grievances, meet with employers for collective bargaining, or enforce a collective bargaining agreement because union members would lose pay for doing so during work hours.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Earlier this year, CMD uncovered ALEC’s Public Sector Union Legislative Toolkit, which provides a menu of bills aimed at further weakening unions in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Janus v. AFSCME decision in 2018.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC corporations and legislators will discuss undisclosed “Public Sector Union Policy” at its Task Force on Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development meeting on Thursday, and members will hear a talk on anti-union “Litigation and Opt-Out” developments in the misnamed Worker Freedom Reform Meeting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Privatizing Education</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It is no secret that ALEC and Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are fond of each other. After assuming office on a 50-50 confirmation vote in the Senate, with the tie broken by Vice President Mike Pence, DeVos was the featured speaker at the 2017 ALEC Annual Meeting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The DeVos groups American Federation for Children (AFC) and Alliance for School Choice, along with private sector board member K12 Inc., have long been the drivers of ALEC’s school privatization agenda in the states, and now DeVos wants to create a national “scholarship” to fund private and religious schools.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s Task Force on Education and Workforce Development will meet behind closed doors on Thursday to consider a draft Resolution Supporting the Principle of Education Freedom Scholarships to support DeVos’ controversial plan to expand vouchers at the federal level. Although DeVos has said that the scholarships will not take money from public schools, the plan resembles many of the voucher systems rolled out in states across the country, which have resulted in decreased funding for public education. If adopted, taxpayers will be on the hook for the $5 billion in lost revenue from the new tax credits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For those meeting attendees feeling jaded about school privatization efforts spun as “school choice,” ALEC will also hold a workshop to win them back, called Do Conservatives Really Support School Choice? The workshop features privatization advocates Robert Enlow, the president of EdChoice, Leah Vukmir, ALEC’s 2016 National Chair and current vice president of state affairs for the National Taxpayers Union, and Carlin Yoder, a former Indiana state senator and Christian school headmaster turned lobbyist.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vukmir tried to privatize virtually all facets of education in Wisconsin, and education issues became a big factor in her 2018 U.S. Senate race against Tammy Baldwin. Vukmir lost that race to Baldwin by more than 11 points.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Favoring Fossil Fuels, Opposing a Green New Deal</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With Peabody Energy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Koch Industries still sitting on ALEC’s Private Enterprise Advisory Council, the Resolution Supporting Freedom in Energy Policy rejecting U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal should not come as a surprise.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Markey and Ocasio-Cortez introduced the bold plan to address the climate crisis by transitioning the U.S. to 100 percent renewable, zero-emission energy sources within 10 years, and it does not sit well with ALEC’s fossil fuel industry backers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s proposed resolution, which will be discussed in a closed-door session on Friday, denounces the Green New Deal as “socialist” and “un-American,” and calls instead for an “American Clean Energy policy” that is “technology neutral” and “doesn’t pick winners and losers in the economy.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">However, ALEC seems to pick fossil fuel producers over renewables with its proposed Motor Fuel Tax Reduction Act. The model bill raises registration fees “on passenger cars, noncommercial motor vehicles, and commercial cars and trucks,” and then gives drivers a prepaid card that effectively exempts them from motor fuel taxes. This will have the intended consequence of lowering overall taxes for gas guzzling vehicles, while raising taxes on electric and hybrid vehicles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s Energy Subcommittee will also meet to discuss the Economic and Societal Impact of Fracking and the Environment Subcommittee will discuss Federal and State Chemical Regulation: PFAS. Fracking and PFAS have both been implicated as major health hazards and threats to our nation’s groundwater supply.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC members also have the option of attending workshops on Sunshine Showdown: The Net Metering Debate across America and Federal Energy and Environmental Regulations Impacting the States.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Takes on Border Crisis</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Trump administration has faced strong public backlash for calling the flood of Latin American refugees at the southern boarder an “invasion,” separating immigrant families, and the inhumane conditions inside immigrant detention camps.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After taking its legislative board members on a “confidential border tour” on Monday, August 12 by Chinook helicopter and boat, ALEC’s Task Force on Homeland Security Session will have three discussions on border security behind closed doors: “What Is the Problem, How Does it Impact States?”; “Updated from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; What States Can Do to Help the Federal Government Measure the Impact of the Border Security Crisis”; and “What Makes Good State Policy?”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ACCE, will also take up the issue of sanctuary cities in the workshop Federalism v. Local Control: Localities that Defy Federal Law. Here members will discuss the legality of the “surge of localities refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement agencies.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Taking on Female Genital Mutilation and Cannabis</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">,...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Including ALEC’s Influence</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Scott Zimmerman — Texas tops chart for number of ALEC legislators, with 59 politicians tied to corporate bill mill, the local delegation might be the largest delegation at this week’s meeting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Report Documents Pervasive Influence of ALEC in Texas</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By ExposedByCMD Admin — As corporate lobbyists and legislators prepare to gather in Austin, CMD and Common Cause release a report detailing the pay-to-play group’s firm grip on Texas politics.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BREAKING: ALEC Plans “Confidential” Helicopter Border Tour in Texas for Board Members</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By ExposedByCMD Admin — Two biggest private prison companies backing ALEC get millions in ICE contracts to run controversial immigrant detention camps, raising questions about who is paying for the tour and why.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp;=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">519</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Comcast Is Latest Telecommunications Company to Drop ALEC</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By David Armiak — The news of Comcast’s departure was made public in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing calling for increased lobbying disclosure by Comcast.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">new 519</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Teams up with Anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom to Promote So-Called “Campus Free Speech” Bills</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By David Armiak — The noted hate group is also a dues-paying member of ALEC, CMD has found.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more >></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cmd</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stephen Moore, Trump’s recent appointment to the Federal Reserve Board, has served as the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) leading voice for austerity and anti-labor policies for over a decade.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is a pay-to-play operation where legislators and corporate lobbyists meet behind closed doors to establish policies on issues that affect our lives, such as the environment, energy policy, and workers’ issues. Moore currently serves on ALEC’s “Private Enterprise Advisory Council” and the Board of Scholars. Since at least 2009, Moore has regularly attended the meetings where corporations script state policy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore’s most well-known work with ALEC, “Rich States, Poor States” (RSPS), is one of the flagship documents supporting a conservative agenda in the states. For twelve years, Moore has co-authored the report, which serves as ALEC’s state scorecard for Koch-backed policies aimed at reducing taxes on the wealthy and corporations and suppressing wages.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s RSPS report “provides a recipe for economic inequality, wage suppression, and stagnant incomes,” as well as for austerity for public infrastructure and education systems which “are the true foundations of long term economic growth and shared prosperity,” wrote economist Peter Fisher in a joint Good Jobs First and Iowa Policy Project report.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore now faces confirmation by the US Senate, which is expected to be a turbulent process, as he is widely considered unqualified to hold a position that would make him one of America’s most powerful officials for economic policy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ties to The American Legislative Exchange Council</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore has spoken at ALEC conferences every year since at least 2013. He was a featured speaker at ALEC’s 40th Annual Meeting; a keynote speaker at the 2014 ALEC Annual Meeting; he “talked ideas and policy” at the 2015 ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit; he had a “terrific time with dedicated state legislators” at an ALEC event in 2016; was on an ALEC panel in 2017 and promoted coal at the 2018 ALEC conference and answered questions about RSPS on a panel.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC claims Moore is one of the “most well-respected free-market economists in America,” while Moore states “it is a great privilege” to be associated with ALEC. “Don’t you just know we are doing the right thing at ALEC, when we have these lunatics protesting against what we are doing?” Moore once said, presumably speaking of the multiple workers’ rights and environmental rights groups that protested the 2015 States and Nation Policy Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore’s speaking engagements have predominantly focused on RSPS, which ALEC calls its “economic outlook of states.” Moore is frequently called to ALEC meetings to discuss the yearly report he and his co-authors — ALEC Chief Economist Jonathan Williams and Reagan-alum economist Dr. Arthur B. Laffer — research together.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Expert Reviews of Rich States, Poor States</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s flagship report has been derided by experts as “silly,” “highly misleading,” and the “gold standard in bogus economic policy claims.” As the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reported in 2015, RSPC “slaps a fresh coat of paint on the flawed fiscal and economic austerity policies favored by the group and its corporate patrons.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Menzie Chinn, an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reviewed ALEC’s RSPS reports and concluded that the data did not back-up ALEC’s claims. The “bottom line,” according to Chinn’s findings, is that the ALEC rankings are “not correlated with real [gross state product] growth, either short term or media term.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chinn told CMD that the conclusions of the 2015 econometric assessment are still likely true today and that he agrees with the conclusions of Good Jobs First and the Iowa Policy Project in their 2012 report on ALEC’s deeply flawed methodology. According to that report, “Selling Snake Oil to the States,” ALEC’s RSPS “consistently ignores decades of published research making broad, unsubstantiated claims and often using anecdotes or spurious two-factor correlations that fail to control for obviously relevant factors.” RSPS relies on a “methodologically primitive analysis that any student taking Statistics 101 would be taught to avoid,” the report concluded.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore often uses migration numbers as people “voting with their feet” as evidence for their economic policy preferences. But Chinn says that this method of analysis is fraught as it does not control for many factors at play. Marshall Steinbaum, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, called Moore’s premise of people moving from blue states to red states “some sort of fantasy.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RSPS “embodies the policy agenda that ALEC pushes to state legislators” according to the Iowa Policy Project’s “Grading of the States.” That site was created by Fisher, an economist who is currently the Research Director at Iowa Policy Project, to cover business climate rankings. Grading of the States says despite ALEC’s claims that “these policies promote economic growth and prosperity, the evidence shows otherwise.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kansas is one data point of the evidence Grading of the States mentions. As CMD reported in 2016, ALEC-backed policies in Kansas have resulted in a widening of the income inequality gap “by shifting income to the state’s wealthiest taxpayers and corporations, while suppressing wages and cutting services for the middle class, low-income children, and veterans.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore’s Background</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Despite praise from ALEC claiming “no one is more qualified than Stephen Moore for this position,” Stephen Moore would be alone on the Federal Reserve Board as the only member without a doctorate degree. Moore has never worked within academia. And, as pointed out by Chinn, Moore has never been published in a peer-reviewed journal.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Instead, Moore has climbed the ranks within conservative think-tanks and political groups. He founded Club for Growth, and has worked as a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a senior economic contributor at FreedomWorks, a board member of the Donors Capital Fund, a research director for President Ronald Reagan’s Commission on Privatization, and with many other right-wing organizations.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Stephen Moore is little more than a fairly inept polemicist. I’ve never seen anything written by him that could be construed as ‘research’ in an academic/policy sense,” Chinn told CMD. Pointing at his lack of a doctorate in the field, Chinn opined, “perhaps he has an excuse, given his limited economics training,” but Moore’s “use of incorrect or outdated data suggests deeper issues.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Economists Say Moore Is Not Qualified</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore “is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad pick. He hasn’t gotten a thing right in twenty years,” Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, tweeted.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wolfers is not alone. Greg Mankiw, a Harvard professor who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under George W. Bush and is considered a “leading Republican economist,” said Moore “does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Moore himself said, “I’m kind of new to this game, frankly, so I’m going to be on a steep learning curve myself about how the Fed operates, how the Federal Reserve makes its decisions,” according to Bloomberg. “It’s hard for me to say even what my role will be there, assuming I get confirmed.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump also recently appointed “former pizza magnate turned failed Republican presidential candidate” Herman Cain to the Fed. However, according to ABC News, Cain is expected to withdraw his name from consideration in the coming days after four GOP senators indicated they would not vote to confirm him. The next step in the confirmation process is vetting from the Senate Committee on Banking, chaired by Idaho Republican Mike Crapo.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2019/03/18/cmd-continues-throw-spotlight-legislators-heralded-secret-group/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) seems to have stopped recognizing its rising stars with its “Legislator of the Week” award, switching instead to a monthly award.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC meetings provide venues for global corporations and state politicians to 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.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Started a few years ago, the “Legislator of the Week” award recognized the group’s leaders on right-wing legislation written with corporate representatives, and affecting health care, environment, education and many other issues.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Legislator of the Week” Recognition Did Not Go Well</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD has frequently found ALEC’s award recipients notable for their extreme positions, questionable ethics, or poor judgment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Consider the ALEC state legislator of the week the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) wrote about who likened homosexual behavior to psychopathic behavior. Or read about the ALEC female legislator who opposes gender pay equality in her state, despite that state having the largest gender earnings gap of all states.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another honoree, and ALEC’s 2018 national chair, was shown to take the “pay” in a “pay-to-play” scheme to buy almost $20,000 of personal clothing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In late 2017, CMD wrote about ALEC’s Legislator of the Year award going to a legislator who tried to carry a gun onto an airplane.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Tries “Legislator of the Month”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After a five-month hiatus in recognizing its leaders, ALEC’s first honoree of the month is Utah’s ALEC state chair: Representative Kim Coleman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC gave the award on March 8, 2019, just ten days after KUTV’s investigative report on February 26, 2019 exposed state legislators with ties to charter schools, who also regulate charter schools.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kim Coleman is the founder of Monticello Academies, a charter in West Valley City, Utah. CMD found that her husband, Joel, is also a trustee of the school and serves as its board secretary. The latest IRS filings publicly available of the charter school do not show Joel Coleman drawing a salary from Monticello.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC again has given its award to a legislator of some renown in their own state. Coleman has unsuccessfully brought lawsuits against the state board that regulates charters for removing her as executive director of the school.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“During Coleman’s tenure as the school’s director, parents complained she did not provide required special education services at the school … and had created an environment in which special education services were not provided as required by law.” Coleman lost in the lower court and the verdict was upheld by a Utah state appeals court. The charter school, meaning the Utah taxpayer, covered some of Coleman’s legal expenses.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Still Tied to Charter</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kim Coleman, though no longer on the board of the charter school along with her husband, is now executive director of Monticello Academy Properties, the non-profit entity that provides management services.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">She was appointed to that board as executive director, presumably by, among others, her husband who is the principal officer, between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, according to the group’s latest available tax filing. She is not on earlier tax filingsof this non-profit.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That same tax return shows her claiming she works 20 hours a week but does not receive a salary. CMD is not suggesting any wrongdoing but the Utah State Charter School Board, in removing her as executive director of the school, may not know that Coleman became the executive director of the property management company connected to the school.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD will make sure the Utah State Charter School Board is made aware that Representative Coleman is still involved in the school, even if she no longer determines the curriculum. Without ALEC naming Coleman as its “Legislator of the Month,” CMD would have never known of the controversy surrounding not only an ALEC legislator, but ALEC’s state chair for Utah.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD looks forward to next month’s award.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28032019/pipeline-protest-crackdown-state-law-legislation-south-dakota-conspirators-riot-boosting</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This story was updated with a lawsuit filed March 28 over the South Dakota law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bills to clamp down on pipeline protests have spread to at least nine new states this year, part of an industry-backed push that began two years ago to heighten penalties for activists who try to block fossil fuel infrastructure projects.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several of the bills also allow prosecutors to go after people or organizations as "conspirators" or "riot boosters" for merely supporting or coordinating with others who violate the law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Civil liberties advocates argue that these vague and far-reaching provisions risk violating free speech protections under the First Amendment, and they have already started launching legal challenges.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The latest government move came on Wednesday in South Dakota—one of the states the planned Keystone XL pipeline is slated to cross—when Republican Gov. Kristi Noem signed a law that enables state and local governments, as well as "third parties," to seek civil damages from people or organizations that engage in "riot boosting."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawmakers in North Dakota, a hub of oil and gas development, also passed a bill this week that stiffens penalties for anyone who interferes with the construction or operation of pipelines and other "critical infrastructure." Once the Senate approves some minor changes, it heads to Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, who has not said whether he will sign it.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The North Dakota bill was based on a law that was enacted in Oklahoma in 2017 and then circulated by the industry-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Versions of that legislation have now been introduced in at least 15 states, three of which have enacted it: Oklahoma, Louisiana and Iowa. A version of the bill passed the Indiana legislature this week, too, though the Senate there must also approve some amendments before sending it to the governor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While the details vary from state to state, the bills generally increase penalties for trespassing on or tampering with a range of facilities, including pipelines, oil storage tanks, railroads and utility infrastructure. Several of them, including North Dakota's, also include language assigning higher penalties—up to $1 million in some cases—for any group found to be a conspirator in violating the law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The South Dakota law is different. Rather than imposing new penalties for interfering in pipeline construction, the bill enables state or local governments—or a third party working with government—to seek compensation from anyone who engages in "riot boosting," which includes encouraging or directing someone to engage in a riot, defined by the state as the use of force or violence by three or more people acting together.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Someone can qualify as a "riot booster" even if they reside out of state and act indirectly "through any employee, agent or subsidiary." Anyone found liable would be responsible for three times the ordinary penalty.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bill was introduced at the end of the legislative session and approved over the course of four days, with only one hearing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Environmental and civil liberties advocates, as well as many Native American tribes, say the bills are an attempt to stifle legitimate protest by creating harsh penalties for minor infractions and by trying to scare off advocacy groups. An organization that holds a nonviolence training, for example, might be targeted under the law if attendees are later part of a protest that ends in a clash with private security forces or police.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"'Riot boosting' is an unusual and new term. You might be asking yourself what that means, and I think protesters will too," said Vera Eidelman, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who has tracked the bills. "I think it poses a unique threat to speech and appears to be targeted at protests. It uses words like 'encouraging' and 'advising' that are very broad and refer to a category of protected speech."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Thursday, the ACLU sued South Dakota officials in federal court on behalf of indigenous and environmental groups, arguing that the new law and two related statutes violate the Constitution by suppressing free speech and failing to describe what actions could qualify as violations. In a statement, the group said "such vague and broad language invites arbitrary enforcement, will chill protected speech, and will result in indiscriminate targeting of peaceful organizers."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Industry-Backed Group's 'Model Legislation'</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The legislation is part of a wave of state bills introduced across the country since President Donald Trump's election in response to high-profile protests like those against the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota in 2016 and 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma state Rep. Scott Biggs said he was responding to those protests when he introduced a bill in 2017 to impose harsh penalties on people or groups who interfere with "critical infrastructure." After ALEC adopted the bill as model legislation, versions quickly spread across several states with active pipeline projects.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bills' supporters have said they make it easier for prosecutors to go after protesters or vandals who violate the law, and that they do not target free speech.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Advocates have pointed out that the actions in question—trespassing, vandalism—are already covered by existing laws. Instead, they say, the aim of the bills is to intimidate protesters who draw attention to their concerns through civil disobedience, including minor infractions like blocking the gates of construction sites. Advocates say these protests are part of a long tradition of American civil disobedience dating back to the Boston Tea Party.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Even where these bills are simply introduced, even if they do not move, even if they do not become law, they have potential to chill free speech and curtail activism," said Maggie Ellinger-Locke, a staff attorney with Greenpeace. "We're hearing from people on the frontlines of activism in these states that these bills frighten them."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pipeline Companies Register Their Support</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Energy companies and associations have supported the bills and have continued to push the legislation this year, according to documents compiled by Greenpeace.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TransCanada, the Canadian company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, registered its support for the bill this year in Missouri along with the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and other industry groups. In Illinois, TransCanada was joined by Enbridge and Energy Transfer, two other leading pipeline developers, as well as the American Petroleum Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sen. Janne Myrdal, who sponsored the North Dakota bill this year and is a member of ALEC's energy task force, did not respond to requests for comment. But she told the Associated Press that she introduced the bill in response to a protester who in 2016 broke into a control site for the existing Keystone pipeline that cuts through the state and manually closed one of the valves.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There was frustration from law enforcement and residents that there wasn't enough teeth in current law to go after these people and the organizations that support them," she said.[pix]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The protester, Michael Foster, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison, though two of those years were suspended. He ended up serving about half a year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In South Dakota, Gov. Noem's office did not answer emailed questions about TransCanada's role in drafting the bill, but Noem said in February that she had met with representatives of the company to discuss her legislative package, which also includes a bill that requires pipeline developers to contribute to a fund that would help pay for government costs associated with construction.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I fully support the freedoms of speech and assembly, but we must also have clear expectations and the rule of law," Noem said in a statement issued Wednesday. "My pipeline bills make clear that we will not let rioters control our economic development."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Terry Cunha, a spokesman for TransCanada, said in an email that "we appreciate the efforts of Governor Noem and her administration to help advance Keystone XL construction and other pipelines," adding that "any legislation that deters unlawful activities and encourages the advancement of critical infrastructure projects is a positive step."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Is It Stifling Dissent?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some activists say the bills are part of a wider effort by the oil and gas industry and its allies in government—through lawsuits, public relations campaigns and legislation—to paint protesters as criminals and even terrorists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"All of these things I think incorrectly mischaracterize protesters and respond to a powerful pushback against pipelines and other protests, not by trying to engage on the issues but by trying to stifle dissent," Eidelman said. "I think this is really part of a broader trend."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Last year, the ACLU sued the federal government, accusing several agencies of withholding documents detailing preparations for the potential construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The group had submitted records requests seeking information about the preparations, and the documents that did emerge, mostly from state agencies, showed that law enforcement agencies were conducting trainings for potential protests. The ACLU said the activities risked treating activists as criminals even before protests broke out. State officials have said they are simply doing their jobs.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In January, The Intercept reported on similar concerns in Minnesota, where police had been preparing for a year and a half for protests against Enbridge's proposed Line 3 pipeline expansion project by identifying groups opposed to construction and monitoring some activists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ACLU and other civil liberties groups said they are continuing to evaluate the state bills and considering whether they may challenge them as unconstitutional. So far,Louisiana is the only state where protesters have been arrested under the new laws. Bill Quigley, a lawyer who is representing several of the activists, said prosecutors have two years to press charges and have yet to do so.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PUBLISHED UNDER:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ACTIVISM OIL SPILLS/PIPELINES REGULATION</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">mary b cmd 3/19</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Record-breaking heat last summer, inspired-15-year-old Greta Thunberg to pack a water bottle, a book, and a snack and take a stand outside the Swedish parliament with a handmade sign “School Strike for Climate.” By January 2019, school strikes were spreading across Europe and some 70,000 teens hit the streets to demand action in Brussels, where the EU Parliament meets.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, Thunberg addressed some of the most powerful people on earthwith a stark message. “Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people, to give them hope,” Thunberg said, “But I don’t want your hope… I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thurberg was inspired by the March 14, 2018 mass mobilization and national school walkout organized by the Parkland students in Florida to protest gun violence.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now the inspiration is coming back across the Atlantic, and European teens will soon be joined by a mobilization of American high school students who will demand action from one of the world’s worst polluters, the United States of America.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Countering the Trump Agenda</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These young people are paying attention. A 2018 landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change says that we need to transform the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the United States, an insurgent movement is pushing a Green New Deal onto the agenda of a reluctant Congress. The term is reminiscent of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s original New Deal in the 1930s and the massive mobilization it took to transform a shaky U.S. economy into global powerhouse ready to take on the Nazis. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other proponents of the Green New Deal know it can be done again, with a focus on infrastructure investment, good jobs and equity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But the barriers to change are enormous. The Trump administration is headed in exactly the wrong direction, pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords, putting a halt to Obama’s Clean Power Plan, accelerating fossil fuel exports and giving the thumbs up to giant oil and gas pipelines.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And Trump has appointed a passel of climate change deniers and fossil fuel lobbyists to key positions in his administration. These include Andrew Wheeler, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who was formerly an energy lobbyist and vice president of the Washington Coal Club; David Bernhardt, acting Secretary of the Interior and a former industry lobbyist whose clients included the Independent Petroleum Association of America; as well as leading climate change deniers John Christy, a member of the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board, and William Happer, who will lead the Presidential Committee on Climate Security.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Countering the Koch Agenda</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If battling the president is not a big enough task for American youth, they are taking on the fossil fuel industry and institutions in the states that are actually trying to turn back the clock on the progress states have already made on climate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), Koch Industries is among America’s top toxic polluters. It has many subsidiaries, operating in oil and gas exploration, pipelines and refining, in chemical and fertilizer production, cattle and game ranching, timber and paper products, electronics, industrial glass, and various consumer products.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to Greenpeace, Koch Industries has spent over $127 million funding climate denial groups. One of them is the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) , which produces cookie-cutter “model bills” that are rolled out in state legislatures all across America. ALEC’s position on climate is so extreme, even ExxonMobil dropped the group last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC bills:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Repeal renewable energy standards</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Increase fees for home solar</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* End govt. support for electric cars (but not fossil fuels)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Attack Obama’s Clean Power Plan</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Attack emissions standards for cars</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Oppose carbon tax on pollution</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Support fossil fuel extraction from federal lands</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Support fracking, coal, crude oil exports</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">* Increase penalties on climate protesters</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In their desperation, the Koch-ALEC crowd thinks that by increasing penalties on pipeline protesters and silencing campus protest, they can stop the future, but they cannot.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">nyt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">12/18 attack cafe</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“With oil scarcity no longer a concern,” Americans should be given a “choice in vehicles that best fit their needs,” read a draft of a letter that Marathon helped to circulate to members of Congress over the summer. Official correspondence later sent to regulators by more than a dozen lawmakers included phrases or sentences from the industry talking points, and the Trump administration’s proposed rules incorporate similar logic.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The industry had reason to urge the rollback of higher fuel efficiency standards proposed by former President Barack Obama. A quarter of the world’s oil is used to power cars, and less-thirsty vehicles mean lower gasoline sales.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In recent months, Marathon Petroleum also teamed up with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a secretive policy group financed by corporations as well as the Koch network, to draft legislation for states supporting the industry’s position. Its proposed resolution, dated Sept. 18, describes current fuel-efficiency rules as “a relic of a disproven narrative of resource scarcity” and says “unelected bureaucrats” shouldn’t dictate the cars Americans drive.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A separate industry campaign on Facebook, covertly run by an oil-industry lobby representing Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Phillips 66 and other oil giants, urged people to write to regulators to support the rollback.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Facebook ads linked to a website with a picture of a grinning Mr. Obama. It asked, “Would YOU buy a used car from this man?” The site appears to have been so effective that a quarter of the 12,000 public comments received by the Department of Transportation can be traced to the petition, according to a Times analysis.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;AT&T, the biggest telecommunications company in the world, has followed in the footsteps of Verizon and dropped its membership with ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) over its hosting of hate speech last summer.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">My takeaway? Exposing ALEC works!&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">113 corporations worth trillions in market value have now dumped ALEC since we launched ALEC Exposed in 2012.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And exposing ALEC is only possible with your support.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While ALEC has been a tool of the Kochs and big business pay-to-play operations for decades, it has recently veered into alarming far-right territory, denying climate science, embracing racists, and using hatemongers like David Horowitz to whip up alt-right support for rewriting the U.S. Constitution.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD blew the whistle on Horowitz's wild anti-Islamic accusations at ALEC's annual meeting in August and joined 78 civil rights and reform groups in a letter of protest calling on ALEC's corporate patrons to stop funding ALEC extremism.&nbsp; &nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And earlier this month CMD exposed that Rep. Matt Shea, who was reported to the FBI for circulating a manual on how to wage a violent Christian holy war in the United States, is the chair of ALEC in Washington State. ALEC still has not removed Shea from his position.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AT&T's departure is the third major blow to ALEC this year, following Exxon-Mobil's decision to ditch ALEC in July.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://medium.com/lobby99/trump-sets-up-alec-administration-e6d00be457d2</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nearly half of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, as well as Vice President-elect Mike Pence, have ties to an ultra-conservative group that writes laws to benefit its corporate paymasters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) writes “model legislation” used as the basis for often-controversial state laws, including voter ID and “school choice” bills. It also has written a host of measures favorable to corporations, including deregulation, anti-minimum-wage and right-to-work legislation. Its corporate funders include billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, ExxonMobil, PhRMA, UPS, AT&T and Pfizer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While the group focuses on state (and, recently, local) government, it has made inroads at the federal level as well. Some of its alumni in Congress have pushed a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget, and one of them led efforts to “reform” the U.S. Postal Service.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, ALEC finds itself in the heart of the White House.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seven of the 15 cabinet nominees and two of the five cabinet-level nominees so far have been members of ALEC or spoken at the group’s events. The cabinet-level post of chair of the Council of Economic Advisers remain to be filled.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“In view of the incoming presidential administration’s focus on rolling power back to the states and the sheer number of ALEC alumni in the new administration, ALEC is the organization best positioned to bring policy experts and business leaders together for open and substantive discussions,” ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson said in a statement.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The nominations could as easily have come from some of Trump’s Republican primary opponents, such as former ALEC members Scott Walker, Marco Rubio and John Kasich. Trump, though, was not at the top of ALEC’s wish list.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Republican pollster Frank Luntz asked attendees at ALEC’s annual meeting in 2015 how many were supporting Trump, the crowd responded with?—?silence. One booth at the conference even included a Trump piñata.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This was, after all, the candidate who had vowed to “drain the swamp” of Washington lobbyists, many of whom are fixtures at ALEC events.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump proclaimed himself the only Republican candidate to refuse to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. ALEC has proposed privatizing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. He labeled the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which ALEC supports, a disaster. He lashed out at banks (notably Goldman Sachs) and multinational corporations on the campaign trail.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In reality, Trump’s administration will be packed with billionaires, former Goldman Sachs bankers and those tied to ALEC’s corporate and legislative wings.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has worked his entire career at ExxonMobil, becoming CEO in 2006. The company gave more than $1.7 million to ALEC from 1998 to 2014, and has a representative on the organization’s corporate board.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC argues that “global climate change is inevitable,” opposes government mandates that “limit or dictate energy choices,” and encourages the expansion of access to North American fossil fuel reserves. The organization also opposes the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Political advocacy group Common Cause released hundreds of documents this year illustrating how Exxon used ALEC to push the company’s legislative goals on issues including cap-and-trade, fracking, the Keystone XL Pipeline, and the Clean Power Plan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon continued to fund ALEC for eight years after it pledged to stop funding climate denial, according to the Guardian.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick for administrator of the EPA, is a former state senator and ALEC member. Pruitt has sued the EPA over the Clean Power Plan. In his LinkedIn profile, Pruitt claims to be “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder is a board member of the International Franchise Association, which advocates for laws and policies favorable to the industry. It also is an ALEC member.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The IFA has pushed to delay the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act and repeal the provision requiring businesses to provide health insurance for employees working an average of 30 hours a week. The organization unsuccessfully sued Seattle in 2014 to try to block the city from treating franchises as large businesses under its new $15-an-hour minimum-wage law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and is opposed to minimum-wage increases.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has adopted a policy backed by the IFA, stating that franchising is a contractual business relationship, not an employment relationship. The policy is an effort to ensure that large franchise corporations such as McDonald’s and Puzder’s own Carl’s Jr. are not held liable for the labor practices of their franchisees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tom Price, the nominee for secretary of health and human services, is an ALEC alumnus. He has introduced legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and supports privatizing Medicare, mirroring ALEC’s positions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Price also is a member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a medical group whose statement of principles “declares that it is ‘evil’ and ‘immoral’ for physicians to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Price had “traded more than $300,000 in shares of health-related companies over the past four years while sponsoring and advocating legislation that potentially could affect those companies’ stocks.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Betsy DeVos, the education secretary nominee, is chair of the American Federation for Children, a dark-money group that supports school voucher programs and charter schools nationwide, funneling donations from undisclosed sources to candidates who support school privatization, mostly at the state level. AFC is an ALEC member, and has worked with the group to draft model legislation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s UN ambassador nominee, is a former ALEC member. She has pushed ALEC-sponsored legislation including school voucher programs, voter ID laws, and a bill allowing law enforcement to check the immigration status of any person who is arrested or stopped, modeled on an infamous Arizona law. She signed into law a measure to block a boycott movement against some Israeli companies. About a dozen other states have enacted similar laws?—?a policy backed by ALEC’s national chair.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s pick for energy secretary, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, was a keynote speaker at ALEC’s annual conference in July. A 2011 analysis by ThinkProgress found that 10 of then-governor Perry’s initiatives “mirror ALEC model legislation or policy recommendations from ALEC’s state affiliate.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pence, who wrote the introduction to ALEC’s annual “Report Card on American Education” in 2014, also spoke at the group’s July conference. His education policies as governor of Indiana matched those of ALEC and DeVos, including funding for charter schools and vouchers. He appointed a former ALEC director to his cabinet, and once sent an email urging legislators to join the group.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I was for ALEC before it was cool,” Pence said at the July conference.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Transportation secretary nominee Elaine Chao spoke at the ALEC annual meeting back in 2002, when she was secretary of labor. Chao was a distinguished fellow with the Heritage Foundation, another group funded by organizations connected to the Koch brothers, before and after her time as labor secretary. Paul Weyrich, who co-founded the Heritage Foundation, also co-founded ALEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ben Carson, nominated for secretary of housing and urban development, spoke at an ALEC meeting last year, calling for deregulation, school choice, a balanced-budget amendment, and changing the mission of the EPA so it would work with businesses to exploit natural resources.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At least 12 others appointed to top positions in the administration also have connections to ALEC or the Koch brothers, and share many of ALEC’s goals.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kellyanne Conway, who will serve as counselor to the president, spoke at the ALEC annual meeting in July. Conway, a former pollster and senior adviser for Pence, worked for a super PAC supporting Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign before switching to Trump. Cruz is a longtime ALEC supporter.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rep. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s nominee to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, served in the South Carolina Legislature from 2007 to 2011, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries has donated $31,000 to Mulvaney’s campaigns. The Club for Growth, whose funders include the Koch network, has been his top donor, giving $85,580. Club for Growth was a sponsor of ALEC’s annual conferencethis year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mulvaney has called for a balanced-budget amendment. He has questioned climate science, referring to “baseless claims regarding global warming,” and wants to make it easier for companies to access domestic oil, natural gas and coal. He has called for eliminating the capital gains tax and lowering tax rates for businesses.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marc Short, a longtime Pence adviser, has been tapped by Trump as director of legislative affairs for the White House. Short was the Koch brothers’ top political adviser as president of Freedom Partners, the Kochs’ political arm, from 2013 until he joined Rubio’s presidential campaign in February.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s White House Counsel, Donald McGahn II, was lawyer to scandal-plagued former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who was convicted of money laundering to bypass state campaign finance laws barring corporate contributions during the 2002 election. The conviction later was overturned by the Texas Court of Appeals.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Following the 2002 election, Republicans took control of the Texas Legislature for the first time in modern history, allowing them to gerrymander congressional districts and send more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DeLay is an ALEC alumnus.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Later, serving on the Federal Election Commission, McGahn refused to enforce campaign finance laws. In private practice, McGahn has represented Freedom Partners, testifying on behalf of the group at an FEC hearing last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff, served as chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party from 2007 to 2011, leading the party to success in the 2010 elections. Priebus’ longtime friend Scott Walker was elected governor, and Republicans took control of the state Assembly and Senate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Walker, a former ALEC member, was heavily funded by the Koch brothers, ALEC corporate members and other conservative groups. He went on to propose a budget bill that eliminated public employee collective-bargaining rights except for wages, reflecting ALEC’s anti-union policies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In all, the Republican-controlled Legislature introduced 32 bills in 2011–12that reflected ALEC model legislation, 19 of which became law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mike Pompeo, nominee for CIA director, is a member of the tea party movement who was elected to represent Kansas’ 4th Congressional District with the financial backing and endorsement of the Koch brothers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pompeo has argued that climate science “needs to continue to develop” and opposed the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations and Clean Power Plan. A lifetime National Rifle Association member, he opposes gun-control legislation. The NRA is a member of ALEC, which has written model legislation opposing gun-control efforts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries is Pompeo’s top campaign donor, giving $375,000. Club for Growth has donated more than $64,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions and interior secretary nominee Ryan Zinke also have received contributions from Koch Industries.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sessions is skeptical of climate science, and voted to bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. He voted against the Affordable Care Act, and supported efforts to de-fund it.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Zinke, who has received more than $345,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, has flip-flopped on climate science, supported the Keystone XL Pipeline, limited the president’s ability to protect public lands by declaring them national monuments, and weakened protections from endangered species. The League of Conservation Voters has given him a lifetime score of 3 percent. Zinke supports a balanced-budget amendment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is Trump’s nominee for agriculture secretary. As governor, Perdue signed into law measures based on ALEC model legislation, including the nation’s second voter ID law and what ALEC co-founder Paul Weyrich described as “the most expansive school-choice program in the nation.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC praised Perdue for appointing special counsel to join other states in challenging the Affordable Care Act.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Billionaire Wilbur Ross, nominee for commerce secretary, is a friend of David Koch’s. Another billionaire, Todd Ricketts, is Trump’s pick for deputy commerce secretary. Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, and his wife Sylvie Lègére have served on the National Council of the American Enterprise Institute, one of the oldest conservative think tanks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AEI has received financial backing from charities related to the Koch brothers, ExxonMobil and the DeVos family. The Guardian newspaper listed AEI among the top recipients of donations from conservatives “to groups spreading disinformation about climate science.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Two other Trump nominees, Puzder and Linda McMahon, have served on AEI’s National Council. Education secretary nominee DeVos serves on AEI’s board of trustees, along with former vice president Dick Cheney. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton was an AEI senior fellow.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC also has ideological soul mates in the Republican congressional leadership, which will control the legislative agenda for at least the next two years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has supported ALEC’s efforts to block the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, and has said he doesn’t know if climate change is a real problem.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He has taken numerous positions that match those of ALEC, including opposing the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms; voting against the Affordable Care Act and calling for its repeal; opposing increasing the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits; introducing a balanced-budget amendment; opposing collective-bargaining rights for public employees; and supporting a national right-to-work law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McConnell is married to Elaine Chao, Trump’s nominee for transportation secretary.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">House Speaker Paul Ryan, a friend of fellow Wisconsinite Priebus, has long pushed a budget in lockstep with ALEC’s goals, including tax cuts for the rich and Medicare privatization.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries is one of Ryan’s top five donors. Ryan spoke at ALEC’s States and Nation Policy Summit in 2013. He is a devotee of far-right author Ayn Rand, requiring staffers to read her best-selling novel “Atlas Shrugged.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ryan, McConnell and other Republican leaders are pushing an agenda that has been pursued for years by ALEC, one that benefits corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the vast majority of Americans. Judging by Trump’s cabinet selections, he will do little to stand in their way.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC a liability!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/11/14/how-tammy-baldwin-target-of-14-million-in-outside-spending-sent-the-koch-brothers-and-their-minions-packing</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senator Tammy Baldwin took to the stage for her victory speech on November 6th with Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” blasting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Baldwin, the top target of early Koch Brothers attack ads, won big in the state of Wisconsin, crushing her opponent Republican State Senator Leah Vukmir by 11 points. She also garnered 150,000 votes more than Tony Evers, the Democratic nominee for governor who beat Scott Walker by 31,000 votes. This, in a state that had elected Walker three times and gave Trump the 23,000 votes he needed to capture Wisconsin and the White House.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By February, Baldwin had already been the target of $4.5 million in ads from just one Koch front group, Concerned Veterans of America, claiming she dropped the ball on the over-prescription of opioids at the Tomah veteran’s clinic, which resulted in the death of a U.S. Marine. The group ladled on another $1.5 million in July, claiming that she failed to attend important committee meetings. Other ads by the Koch’s Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners groups attacked Baldwin over taxes and for “rigging the system against us.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Baldwin used these early attacks to raise money to respond, and respond she did. The parents and wife of a veteran quickly came to her defense in an ad that effectively put an end to the issue, and Baldwin moved early to define her opponent as a servant of special interests.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Baldwin Ads Used Vukmir’s ALEC Ties to Define Her</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Baldwin was the first candidate in a high-profile race that used the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to effectively frame her opponent as doing the bidding of corporate special interests. The ads capitalize on Leah Vukmir’s long association with the corporate bill mill, where she moved from treasurer to vice president to national chair by 2016. In 2017, she was given an “Iron Lady” award from ALEC, likening the ambitious Vukmir to GOP icon Margaret Thatcher....</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">jim h</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Is it possible to get public policies out of our political system that benefit common people rather than moneyed elites?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Yes! We the people can bypass corporate-purchased lawmakers and write the laws ourselves. In 26 states and numerous cities, grassroots people can put statutes and constitutional amendments on the ballot through a citizens initiative process, that in this era of plutocratic rule, has become a major avenue for achieving progressive change.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For example, on November 6, voters in Albuquerque, Baltimore, and Denver will be offered new forms of small-dollar, public financing of elections to counter secret, unlimited donations by corporations. A South Dakota measure would ban corporate donations to candidates and political parties and bar “gifts” from lobbyists to elected officials. To stop incumbents from hand picking their voters by gerrymandering their districts, people in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah will have a chance to turn redistricting over to independent, non-partisan commissions – and other various reforms to democratize voting are proposed in Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Maryland, South Dakota, and Massachusetts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ballot measures have proven so successful that corporate front groups have begun proposing deceptively worded initiatives that – get this – would forestall citizens from putting initiatives on the ballot. So far this year, initiatives to stop or restrict initiatives have been filed in Maineand South Dakota to curtail people’s access to this process of direct democracy. Also, ALEC, the secretive, Koch-funded anti-democracy group, has generated bills in six state legislatures essentially to keep citizen initiatives off the ballot.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Corporate elites are so afraid of democracy that they’re actually trying to outlaw it! To help protect direct democracy, go to: ballot.org.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/09/26/alec-flaunts-trump-ties-while-celebrateing-its-45th-anniversary-potuss-dc-hotel</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">dave a</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will celebrate its 45th anniversary at Trump International Hotel tonight, fitting as the Trump administration maintains close ties to the corporate bill mill.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tickets for the event are a whopping $500 a piece, about the same rate for one night at the hotel. Alternatively, state delegations can get a lobbyist to sponsor a table for $10,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Wall Street Journal‘s Kimberley Strassel will serve as the “Mistress of Ceremonies,” but the rest of the program has not been announced. With the Trump International Hotel being just over a mile away from the White House, it is likely one of the many with ALEC ties in the administration will be there.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lisa Nelson, CEO of ALEC, was giddy after Trump was elected, telling members and funders that the Trump administration, “does have the potential to be an ALEC administration. It is full of the people and ideas we’ve advanced since 1973… Now is our time. And ALEC is ready.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And ALEC has been helpful to Trump. ALEC member legislators led the fight on eliminating the state and local tax deduction (SALT), a key component of Trump’s massive tax break for the wealthy and corporations. More recently, 308 state legislators, in partnership with ALEC, sent a letter of support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Senators, calling him “the single most qualified person in the country to serve on the Supreme Court.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While some ALEC alumni — most prominently former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — have been dropped from Team Trump, many others have hung on.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC Vice President</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I can say I was for ALEC before it was cool,” Vice President Mike Pence once said at an ALEC meeting. And just after Trump nominated him to be his VP, Pence made another speech at an ALEC meeting.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As Governor of Indiana, Pence lobbied for ALEC to state legislators:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As a governor, I cannot say enough how important ALEC is in my state and across the nation. Indiana is fortunate to have many of our legislators as members of ALEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I am writing today to ask you to consider membership in one of the nation’s leading policy organizations, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC Administration</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many who have remained with Trump since he was elected have ties to ALEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is an ALEC alumna. She pushed many ALEC model bills as Governor of South Carolina and state representative, including voter ID laws and school vouchers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secretary of Energy Rick Perry made passing ALEC model bills a priority when Governor of Texas, marking some as “emergency” legislation, and has spoken at ALEC meetings. ALEC has a profile of Perry up on its website. This morning, Perry welcomed ALEC to the White House and spoke to the ALEC delegation about “American energy dominance.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is a long time funder of ALEC and shares its goal of privatizing education. DeVos headlined the 2017 ALEC Annual Meeting and stated in a speech that, “The President has said that this administration will reduce the federal footprint in education, and he signed an executive order this past April instructing our Department to review every regulation that might obstruct parents, teachers, communities and states from best-serving their students.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has long been a friend of ALEC. As Governor of Georgia, he passed the nation’s second voter ID law based on an ALEC model bill. Perdue also rolled out one of the most expansive school privatization programs at the time in 2008. ALEC also praised Perdue for challenging the Affordable Care Act.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Others in the Trump administration have spoken at ALEC meetings as well, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson in 2015, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway in 2016, Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta in 2017, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in 2018, and Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in 2018.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">OMG NOLA</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/08/13/alec-in-disarray</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It&nbsp; took about 10 minutes for a picture of Ronald Reagan to emerge on the screen at the opening ALEC lunch event I attended after my arrival in New Orleans for the 45th ALEC conference. I never did see a picture of President Donald Trump. As the hot mess of the Trump presidency unfolds, ALEC is struggling to both embrace the major things they love about him (deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy), while keeping a healthy distance from the chaos and corruption engulfing his presidency.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump certainly wasn’t ALEC’s first choice. Or second. Or third. During his campaign, Trump never came to kiss the golden ALEC ring, like ALEC acolytes Scott Walker and Mike Pence. As corruption charges continued to emerge against prominent Republicans, and the trial of Paul Manafort waged on, I didn’t hear one attendee legislator extoll the virtues of a Trump presidency. In fact, I heard almost nothing about Trump at all from the actual attendees. But the speakers and presenters were more representative of the Trump administration than last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Elaine Chow, the Secretary of Transportation came in and tried to give a speech but the ballroom lunch, sponsored by Marathon Petroleum, was so loud you could barely hear her. She did extoll the need to repeal California’s ability to set fuel emissions standards in favor of a weaker federal standard. Former Texas Policy Institute director Brooke Rollins, now a key Trump advisor, was next. She repeated the oft cited metaphor of Trump “draining the swamp” with the islands that emerge being the states, the “great laboratories of innovation.” Except Elaine Chow had just moments before argued to repeal a state’s right to set fuel emission standards.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And this revealed a major, continuing tension of ALEC. They want state’s rights, except when they don’t. The same contradiction is evident with their struggle with local control–sometimes they like it, sometimes they don’t. The defining factor is whether these levels of government promote the far-right ALEC agenda. It is getting harder and harder for ALEC to ignore these internal contradictions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And there are visible cracks in ALEC world. Collectively, this was the messiest and least disciplined ALEC conference I have attended since 2013. In the energy task force, presentations were all over the place. A natural gas and electricity supplier went off script by openly discussing the billions in subsidies the oil and gas industry receives. There was silence in the crowded task force room, filled with fossil fuel producers and lobbyists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though some continued to insist that clean coal was possible and renewables unreliable and expensive, new ALEC members from renewable energy companies gave a compelling pitch about the declining price and high demand in the private market for wind and solar, especially in red, rural communities. After one of the renewable energy presenters mentioned that the wind energy sector was working with Congress to phase out subsidies (not something we would ever see from the fossil fuel industries), a skeptical executive asked if they would help get rid of states’ Renewable Portfolio Standards. The renewable energy guys had the perfect answer–it was up to the states. Remember, the laboratories of democracy? ALEC’s hostility to renewable energy and other green energy policies prompted infighting between industries and high-level departures, most recently by ALEC funder and board member ExxonMobil.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the Health and Human Services task force, the Goldwater Institute and Buckeye Foundation were in a tizzy because the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was still in existence and the left seemed to win that war, at least for now. How could it be, they moaned, when Republicans are in charge of EVERYTHING? They whined that the “debacle of last year was horrible” and that Congress wouldn’t touch another repeal with a 10-foot poll. So, 100 conservative groups came together to propose an alternative plan that guts the ACA, again. But the list was messy and confusing, and even the presenters seemed doubtful their plan would ever succeed.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But the biggest disaster I have ever seen at an ALEC conference was on a panel about the Convention of States (COS) project. COS is mobilizing in states to call an Article V Constitutional Convention for the purposes of amending the federal constitution by passing a balanced budget amendment, term-limits for federal judges, and who knows what else. One of the key speakers was right-wing provocateur David Horowitz, who has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “one of America’s most dangerous hatemongers” for his virulent anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant websites and speeches. After converting from being a Marxist decades ago, Horowitz now runs his own right-wing think tank, bankrolled to the tune of $3.4 million by the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, according to the Center for Media and Democracy. Horowitz gained recent fame as a key mentor of Trump advisor Stephen Miller, the “the architect” of Trump’s family separation policy according to the Atlantic.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Horowitz gave two inflammatory speeches. Over breakfast he claimed that “at the K-12 level, school curricula have been turned over to racist organizations like Black Lives Matter and terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.” Later he commended Trump for not retreating after calling Rosie O’Donnell a “big fat pig.” Regarding Trump, Horowitz commented “so this guy showed what you can do if you have confidence and you are always on the offensive, which he always is.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Horowitz’s other allegation is that “the left’s attitude towards the Constitution is they hate it.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As justification that Democrats hate the Constitution Horowitz stated:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">You know, one of the really vicious things about the left is how they attack the founding principles of this country. I’ve heard this from Democratic leaders, I remember Al Gore saying it, they say it all the time, that the Constitution is, you know, designed by slaveowners and it regards blacks as three-fifths of a human being. Well actually the word black, white, male, female those words do not exist in the Constitution. The whole identity politics is anti-Constitution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Horowitz’s beef is that the South wanted to treat slaves as full human beings for population purposes so they would “count” towards congressional representation. The North, however, insisted on curtailing a more powerful South by counting slaves as three-fifths of a human. Of course, Horowitz ignores the fundamental fact that slavery was a barbaric Southern system, initially tolerated by the North and protected by the founding fathers in the U.S. Constitution who prioritized preserving the nation over treating people of color like human beings.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I have sat through many ALEC conferences. At times I have wanted to scream, tear my hair out, stomp away, or run away. I don’t hide who I am, but I don’t announce it with a megaphone. I am quiet. I am respectful. I am there to observe. I am there to plan the resistance to the harmful ALEC agenda that has swept, and continues to sweep, into my state and our country and erode our democracy. But at this moment, I couldn’t write about it, tweet about it, Facebook about it, and then sit there in it. I rose to the microphone and waited my turn. To my objection to the “big fat pig” comment, Horowitz replied “She is a big fat pig.” To my objection to Horowitz commending the South for wanting to treat slaves as full humans while perpetuating the barbaric institution of slavery, I was told by the panel moderator and COS director I had simply “misunderstood.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is moving into dangerous territory. Despite the formidable infrastructure they have built over 45 years, their control of 33 state legislatures and their hordes of corporate cash that perpetually grease their wheels, the organization seems to be increasingly in disarray and in an identity crisis. While simultaneously distancing themselves from the chaos and corruption of President Trump, the reality is that they need him, and his hate-mongering, to further the foundation of their right-wing agenda–gutting the ACA and federal conservation standards, repealing workers’ rights, pushing down wages and privatizing public education.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And so the Horowitz’s of the world, who ALEC at least publicly has kept at a distance during my tenure, are now becoming part of the ALEC universe. Are ALEC supporters, including their corporate funders, willing to embrace this hate-mongering to continue to advance their corporate agenda?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read more on ALEC’s agenda in NOLA and the bills being debated, here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ref</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convenes its 45th annual meeting of legislators and corporate lobbyists at the swank Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel on August 8, it will serve up a veritable banquet of union-busting, gerrymandering, pro-fossil fuel, and school privatization proposals for lawmakers to take back home.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Welcoming the ALEC crowd will be Jason Saine, a North Carolina Representative and ALEC’s National Chairman. Earlier this year, CMD reported that Saine used $19,000 from his campaign kitty to order custom-tailored suits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other keynote speakers will include Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, and White House Special Assistant in the Office of American Innovation Brooke Rollins. Rollins was an aide to former governor Rick Perry, who is now Secretary of Energy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s menu of policy proposals at the New Orleans conference includes:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RIGHT TO GERRYMANDER RESOLUTION</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With citizens turning to the courts and ballot box in a growing number of states to clamp down on hyper-partisan “gerrymandering” schemes, ALEC members will instead be voting on a resolution to defend the right of politicians to keep hand-picking their voters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating electoral district boundaries to favor the party in power and minimize the ability of opposing parties or disfavored racial and ethnic constituencies to elect candidates of their choice.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The resolution, entitled “Draft Resolution Reaffirming the Right of State Legislatures to Determine Electoral Districts,” asserts the legislative branch’s “sovereignty” over redistricting and states that the “intervention of state supreme courts to redistrict congressional district maps violates the fundamental right of the residents of a state to republican self-government.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What has ALEC’s knickers in a twist? In Pennsylvania, Republicans drew such a gerrymandered map in 2011 that it resulted in an astonishing 13-5 congressional district advantage in a state where Democrats won five straight presidential elections. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court intervened to ensure that new maps follow the traditional redistricting criteria of compactness, contiguity, and equality of population. In a blow to the Pennsylvania GOP, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to strike down the more balanced maps created by the court.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other cases on similar grounds have made their way to the nation’s highest court this year from Wisconsin, Maryland, and North Carolina. But the Supreme Court has so far declined to set clear rules limiting this type of voter manipulation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With the Court failing to act, voting rights advocates are pushing hard for reforms. A quarter of U.S. states have already given non-partisan commissions full or partial authority to draw legislative districts, and with initiatives on the ballot this fall in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah, more states may join them soon.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JANUS V. AFSCME VICTORY LAP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has invited Mark Janus, plaintiff in the Janus v. AFSCME case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, to be a keynote speaker. ALEC, along with the State Policy Network (SPN) and the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity, are key institutions in a multi-pronged strategy to dismantle public sector unions through the courts and state legislatures across the country. CMD’s reporting on this topic in February received national recognition.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Janus was a public worker in Illinois whom groups put forward as a plaintiff in the case after the actual plaintiff, billionaire Republican Governor Bruce Rauner–who had vowed to dismantle unions for partisan political advantage–was found to not have standing. Rauner’s case was originally filed and promoted by two SPN groups in the state, the Illinois Policy Institute and its offshoot, the Liberty Justice Center.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court used the ginned-up case to strike down agency fees and make it harder for public sector unions to operate. Shortly thereafter, Janus left public employment to take a job at the Illinois Policy Institute.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“As we celebrate 45 years of ALEC, we meet to create solutions for the future,” ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson said in a press release about the meeting. But one of the first bills on the ALEC agenda has been on the corporate wish list for a very long time. ALEC’s latest union-busting bill, which would force unions to hold recertification elections every other year, has long been pushed by anti-union PR man Richard Berman and others.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Under the proposed measure, unions would have to get the votes of a majority of all members–not just those showing up to vote–in order to retain their right to represent workers in a bargaining unit. That punitive standard is far more restrictive than anything used in corporate governance or U.S. elections. (Imagine a bill forcing the unseating of corporate directors if the majority of all shareholders, not just those casting ballots, did not vote for management–or a similar standard for politicians.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard Berman’s PR firm, Berman & Company, operates a network of industry front groups and attack-dog web sites that work to counteract minimum wage campaigns, keep wages low for restaurant workers, block paid sick leave laws, and maintain barriers to workplace organizing. Berman, along with U.S. Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT), has pushed a similar decertification bill in Congress, called the “Employee Rights Act.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an audio recording obtained by CMD, Berman boasted about his obsession with unions and his attack on their efforts to raise the minimum wage for American workers: “I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions,” Berman said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KEEPING DOWN PAY AND BENEFITS IN THE GIG ECONOMY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC will also be considering a “Uniform Worker Classification Act” that promotes short-term contracts and freelance work over permanent jobs. The resolution focuses on “uniform standards for determining who is an employee and who is an independent contractor,” but is designed to establish a very broad definition of independent contractor that lets employers off the hook for the rights and benefits enjoyed by traditional employees and prevents union organizing. Misclassifying workers is a classic corporate strategy for short-shrifting employees and has been the subject of much litigation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While companies such as Uber, Lyft, and TaskRabbit are changing the job market, they typically generate low-paying jobs with few or no benefits. The tenuous relationship between employers and employees in many of these jobs raises a passel of legal issues. Are these contract employees subject to the same wage and hour laws? Are these contract employees eligible for unemployment benefits, job training, workman’s compensation, and other worker protections?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In New York, the state has taken steps to regulate the industry after six professional drivers killed themselves, and drivers for-hire and taxi drivers say they are not making enough to pay their bills or support their families. New York’s Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board recently ruled that Uber and Lyft drivers are formal employees of the company, and Seattle recently gave Uber and Lyft drivers the right to organize a union. The model bill being considered at ALEC would attempt to fend off such regulation by lowering the bar for whom corporations can consider a contract employee. note pattern, any time mod kicks in ctr-attack]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The NetChoice trade association represents e-commerce employers such as Lyft and Airbnb at ALEC and is likely responsible for this bill. The National Employment Law Project has a handy fact sheet on why this is such an important issue.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PROTECTING FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY WITH BILLS UNDERMINING ELECTRIC CARS, FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC will debate a “Resolution Regarding Subsidies and Mandates for Energy Vehicles and Fuels.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The measure expresses opposition to “all federal, state, and local efforts to compel consumers to subsidize any and all vehicles, energy, fuels, and fueling infrastructure.” Oil Change International tried to put a price tag on U.S. oil and gas subsidies and pegged them at about $20 billion per year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At face value, it sounds like ALEC is considering taking a bold new stand against fossil fuel companies such as Koch Industries, Peabody Energy, and others that have long underwritten its work. Could ALEC be objecting to the millions in subsidies that Koch Industries receives from federal, state, and local governments (some $430 million and counting according to Good Jobs First)? Does this explain why ExxonMobil decided to dump ALEC earlier this year?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But something about the wording of the resolution, especially the language condemning “agreements in which costs to construct and operate fueling infrastructure are socialized” and an “infrastructure that will likely be used by a small minority of consumers,” suggests that they are only talking about electric vehicles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As CMD has reported, the Kochs have long opposed electric vehicles, public transportation, renewable energy, and other clean energy initiatives, and this resolution appears to be more of the same</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another ALEC draft bill Resolution in Support of the Reconsideration of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards attacks the Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE standards imposed by the federal government and the state of California as “a relic of a disproven narrative of resource scarcity” left over from the 1970s.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The resolution ignores the fact that fuel economy standards have cleared the deadly smog from Los Angeles and other American cities, improving the environment and the health of residents, especially those suffering from asthma. Plus, fuel economy is an very important factor to many car buyers who want to save money at the pump, which is why they enjoy broad bipartisan support. The fact that U.S. cars lag behind foreign cars on fuel economy has long disadvantaged U.S. car makers. The Trump administration announced last week that it would try to roll back federal fuel standards and preempt the state of California from issuing separate standards. The Trump administration has little regard for the fact that tailpipe emissions are one of the largest sources of global warming pollution in the United States.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In taking a stand against renewables and clean energy, ALEC is not just out of touch with the world, it is out of touch with its own base. Prominent GOP pollsters have shown that 72 percent of conservative Republicans want to accelerate the development of clean energy to reduce pollution and create jobs. A solid majority of 54 percent believe the world’s climate is changing and that mankind plays a role in the change.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also under consideration for the August meeting is the “Driving Automation System Uniformity Act,” which would bar localities from regulating driverless vehicles, continuing ALEC’s love affair with preempting local democracy. ALEC members have fought to preempt living wage campaigns, plastic bag bans, and paid sick leave ordinances across America. At this meeting, ALEC will also be reviewing a 2012 policy calling for the preemption of local food and nutrition policy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">SUBSIDIZING PRIVATE SCHOOLS FOR FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME AREAS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Over the years, ALEC has worked hand-in-hand with the DeVos family’s group, American Federation for Children, to advance a “cash for kids” model of school privatization, including dozens of bills promoting school vouchers. For decades, ALEC billed vouchers as a civil rights ticket for low-income kids, but then ALEC’s “Education Savings Account Act” created a “universal” system that siphons off public education dollars to private school parents of any income level. Now ALEC is debating a new bill, the “Economic Development Zone ESA Act,” to require the state to pay the equivalent of public school aid toward any private school for students who live in majority low-income economic development zones. Given the cost of a private school education, the likely effect would be to subsidize the ability of middle- and upper-income families in economically distressed areas to pull their kids out of public school.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A RESOLUTION ON SCHOOL VIOLENCE MISSES THE MARK</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s proposed “Statement of Principles on School Safety and Security” begins with the bold statement, “The American Legislative Exchange Council recognizes the presence of violence everyday in America’s schools,” and states that “evil, mental illness and alienation are clearly factors.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What follows is a 1,600-word statement chock-full of platitudes and non sequiturs that mentions guns only once and gun control not at all.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While ALEC is a big fan of preempting local control, in this instance the draft proposal states that “[a]ll decisions regarding school safety and security should be made by local authorities.” ALEC is happy to turn over the issue to localities because it knows that local authorities in 43 states are already preempted from regulating firearms.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There are many other items on ALEC’s agenda for the New Orleans meeting including the following draft bills:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Open Financial Statement Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Model Policy on Risk Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Justice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Criminal Justice Data Transparency Model</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resolution in Support of Establishing Efficient and Fair Criminal Law Discovery Practices</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Executive Branch Transparency in Testimony Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Executive Branch Public Advocacy and Transparency Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Resolution in Support of the Taiwan Travel Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Establishing an Economic Analysis Unit in the State Legislature Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Victims of Communism Memorial Day Resolution</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Copycat Production Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Administrative Procedures Act [beware stealth boring name]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resolution Supporting States Establish Transparency with the Cost of Legislation Affecting Regulated Utilities Be Shown as Line Items on Consumer Bills</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resolution Concerning the EPA’s New Source Review Regulation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resolution in Support of the Reconsideration of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Reforming How Federal Grants Are Provided to the State</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Draft Resolution to Restore the Division of Governmental Responsibilities between the National Government and the States</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Medical Freedom Act</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/08/08/common-cause-exposes-alec-influence-louisiana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is registered as a tax-exempt charitable organization and claims not to spend any money on lobbying. But according to a new report from Common Cause, a national nonpartisan government reform group, a number of ALEC-backed and -drafted bills have been introduced and enacted by ALEC-affiliated legislators in Baton Rouge in recent years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC in Louisiana” uncovers the power that “the secretive special interest lobbying group” has already utilized in the southern state. According to the report, nearly 50 members of the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives have ties to ALEC.[ now gov john bel edwards ?] Common Cause found that legislative language in Louisiana is commonly copied and pasted from the ALEC “model bills,” making the group’s influence “extremely prominent.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Shining a light on ALEC’s undemocratic and secretive operations helps voters know who is really calling the shots in their state legislature,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. “ALEC’s history of rigging the rules against everyday Louisianans on behalf of their corporate funders is not how democracy is supposed to work.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is a powerful corporate-funded pay-to-play organization that brings lawmakers, lobbyists, and other groups in the Koch’s influence machine together to vote side-by-side on bills that legislators then take back and introduce in their home states, usually without any public disclosure of their source. The Center for Media and Democracy teamed up with Common Cause in 2012 to file an IRS whistleblower complaint against ALEC, charging the group with tax fraud and massively underreporting its lobbying activity.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This week’s ALEC annual meeting is chock full of union-busting, gerrymandering, fossil fuel promoting, and school privatizing legislation that benefits the economic interests of ALEC’s patrons.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While the exact issues the Louisiana bills address are varied, the bills fulfill ALEC’s admitted purpose, “to strengthen relationships between ‘business leaders’ and legislators” and “satisfy corporate needs,” according to Common Cause.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For instance, HB 727, was introduced by dues-paying ALEC member, Sen. Joseph H. Major Thibaut, Jr. Thibaut’s bill shares text with an ALEC model bill, “The Critical Infrastructure Protection Act.” It was signed into law in May of this year amidst growing local opposition to the construction of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which will bring fracked oil from North Dakota to Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senate Bill 364, intended to deal with recent conflicts over controversial speakers on college campuses, is based on ALEC’s “Forming Open And Robust University Minds (Forum) Act.” In June, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed the act into law, after vetoing a similar bill last year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With ALEC’s assistance, similar bills have been pushed and enacted around the country at the behest of the right-wing Goldwater Institute and State Policy Network. The American Association of University Professors has criticized the legislation’s approach as “a political agenda masquerading behind ‘free speech'” and objects to its “preference for punishment as a means for ending protests and disruptions that obstruct free speech.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Meg Logue, a 350 New Orleans activist, told Common Cause that, through ALEC, “our legislators jeopardize our democracy by bending toward the priorities of corporations while undermining the peoples’ right to self-determination and justice.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/07/12/alec-extreme-exxon-long-term-alec-board-member-dumps-alec-climate-denial-policy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">armiak mb</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ExxonMobil, the largest oil and gas company in the world, will not renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) after a split within the corporate lobbying group over how to address climate change, Bloomberg reported earlier today.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon’s exit follows a disagreement over a resolution introduced in December by the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based think tank that denies climate change, that would have asked the federal government to reconsider its findings that greenhouse gasses are harmful to human health.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The EPA did its spadework and laid out the scientific foundation of the endangerment findings in over 200 pages of technical documentation in 2009. Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt failed to reconsider those findings, much to the disappointment of the Koch crowd.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although large companies like Ford, Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and many others have cut ties with ALEC, few have given and supported ALEC as much as Exxon has. Exxon was listed as a “major contributor” to ALEC as far back as 1981 and has given ALEC millions over the years to promote its corporate agenda. Exxon has also consistently served on ALEC’s Private Enterprise Board.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">REACTION TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“This is a major loss for ALEC. It’s not just the financial support that Exxon provides, which has been significant over the years. This also represents a growing split between oil and gas majors that are increasingly concerned about their public image, and groups like ALEC that still regularly promote debates about climate science on their agenda,” said Nick Surgey, co-director of Documented.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Exxon’s departure should send a strong message to ALEC that it’s extreme agenda and undemocratic, secretive operations have no place in American politics,” said Jay Riestenberg, campaigns & media strategist at Common Cause.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s very significant when a giant of the fossil fuels world thinks that ALEC ‘s denial of the existence of climate change is intolerable. I hope that other responsible corporations that are still members of ALEC will follow suit,” said Wisconsin State Rep. Chris Taylor, who has attended ALEC events and written about its climate denial positions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With regard to ALEC and the Koch brothers’ hostility to renewable energy and public transportation, Taylor said, “Their positions belong in the dinosaur age. We need to be investing in transit and renewables, and they just keep throwing up road block after road block.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Other major oil companies, including BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips, left ALEC years ago. It’s about time ExxonMobil finally did, too,” said Kathy Mulvey, fossil fuel accountability campaign director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, in a formal statement. “But the company has a lot more to do to set things straight.” Exxon continues to fund the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, both of which continue to do battle with groups and regulators attempting to address climate change, Mulvey said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EXXON USED ALEC TO PROMOTE CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL FOR DECADES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In October 2016, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and Common Cause filed additional evidence for their 2012 IRS whistleblower complaint against ALEC detailing how Exxon had pumped $1.7 million into the front group “to promote the oil giant’s climate denial policies and legislative agenda, in gross violation of ALEC’s 501(c)(3) charitable status.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC claims to spend zero dollars on lobbying but the complaint showed that Exxon had deliberately used ALEC over two decades as its lobbying arm to advance its position on cap-and-trade policies, the Keystone Pipeline, the Obama Clean Power Plan, and fracking.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD brought this concern to the attention of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in January 2017 when ExxonMobil’s former CEO, Rex Tillerson, was nominated to be President Trump’s Secretary of State.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“For years, Exxon used ALEC as a key asset in a fossil fuel industry campaign to sow uncertainty about climate science, undermine international climate treaties and block legislation to reduce emissions,” said Arn Pearson, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, who drafted the 2016 IRS complaint. “And New York and other states have been investigating Exxon for its role in hiding evidence of its climate impact from shareholders and the public. So it is ironic that ALEC’s anti-science stance has apparently become too extreme even for Exxon.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Exxon did not respond to CMD requests for comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/06/19/alec-deadly-asbestos-agenda-benefits-koch-industries</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) named Missouri Republican state Rep. Bruce DeGroot as a “Legislator of the Week” in June.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why is ALEC so fond of DeGroot? Because he has cheerfully championed ALEC legislation to restrict the right of terminally ill, asbestos victims to sue over mesothelioma. In doing so, DeGroot is helping the many U.S. companies, including ALEC funders Koch Industries and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, that have asbestos-related liability.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NATIONWIDE, NOT ON YOUR SIDE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Even though the dangers of deadly asbestos have been known for over 100 years, industry worked hard to bury evidence that workers were being harmed by asbestos exposure. Three thousand people are diagnosed each year with mesothelioma in the United States and most die within a year or two. Most victims are public servants, veterans, firefighters, even teachers exposed to asbestos in schools.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to being an ALEC politician, Degroot is an attorney for an insurance defense firm, Brown & James, which represents dozens of insurers who, in turn, have as clients companies responsible for mesothelioma-related claims. One of the firm’s clients is Nationwide. Sources tell the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that Nationwide was actively pushing the bill in Missouri, although it was not publicly listed as a supporter of the bill.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In many states, a legislator who introduced a bill benefitting his firm’s clients could face ethics charges or worse. In Missouri, “it is unseemly, to say the least, and one of the reasons we need ethics reform in this state,” said deputy director Sharon Geuea Jones of the Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nationwide has long been a corporate sponsor of ALEC. In 2014 and 2015, for example, Nationwide incurred asbestos-related losses of $148 million and $98 million respectively, giving it one of the largest asbestos liabilities of any insurer for those years, according to Casualty Actuaries of Greater New York.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC PROTECTIONS FOR ASBESTOS COMPANIES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At ALEC, corporate lobbyists and politicians vote as equals behind closed doors on “model” bills that advance corporate interests over consumers’ interests. DeGroot’s bill, HB 1645 or “The Asbestos Transparency Act,” bears a striking similarity to ALEC’s “Asbestos Claims Transparency Act.” The Missouri House passed the bill in March, but the Senate has yet to take action.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bill would force victims of asbestos to search out bankrupt companies that made asbestos, not just companies still in business. The problem for the injured is that many companies that made asbestos or had asbestos products have sought bankruptcy protection and are now in trusts. These trusts are more difficult to sue, their assets are harder to determine, and the victims often die before their case is heard. The bill would also limit the time victims have to bring a case after diagnosis, even though it takes more time to prepare for a suit against bankrupt companies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DeGroot can’t say enough about how awesome ALEC’s cookie-cutter corporate legislation is. “ALEC and ALEC model policy are a great resource. ALEC was able to put me in touch with an expert who was willing to travel to Missouri to testify in support of one of the bills I filed, Asbestos Transparency Trust,” DeGroot said in an ALEC interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That “expert” was Mark Behrens, a partner of the Kansas City law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon. The firm has a national reputation for representing deadly industries like Big Tobacco. Behrens travels around the country lobbying on behalf of ALEC’s many asbestos bills, but tells the public that he is representing other clients like the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EMOTIONAL FLOOR DEBATE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A cheerful DeGroot opened floor debate saying inaccurately that the bill simply stopped “double dipping” by asbestos victims, but the issue quickly turned emotional.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The first legislator to speak was Republican Rep. Steve Cookson, who is suffering from liver cancer. “I have been up here for eight years and most bills that we talk about are about protecting somebody’s money.… This bill is designed to protect out of state companies and insurance companies.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cookson went on to say that in the past he had been supportive of some tort reform bills. “I reflect back now, and you know I have a personal situation going on right here. I think a lot more about life and death. I would ask you, did you ever contemplate the way you want to die?” he asked of DeGroot.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Well that is a bit personal,” responded DeGroot with a nervous laugh.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Well, so do you want to die a slow death where you lay there in the bed and suffocate to death?” asked Cookson.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I wouldn’t like that, no,” said Degroot.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cookson went on to say that for the time he had left in the legislature, he wanted to make sure he was on the side of those “laying in the hospital for a long long time suffering, surrounded by their families…. I can’t bring myself to be in support of anything that would compromise a person’s ability to be made whole, and their family to be made whole because they had to leave this world in a horrible fashion in an abbreviated time they would have been expected to live.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC bill offered by DeGroot would mean that many victims would not live to see their day in court. As one opposing legislator, Rep. Jay Barnes explained, “the best evidence in an asbestos case is the plaintiff, and when they die, that goes away.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Similar bills based on the ALEC model have passed in 15 states: Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi, Michigan, Kansas, and North Carolina.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KOCH INDUSTRIES LIMITS ITS EXPOSURE TO MESOTHELIOMA LAWSUITS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries is the largest privately held company in America, with multiple subsidiary firms. When Koch acquired the paper company Georgia-Pacific LLC in 2007, it also became responsible for Bestwall LLC, which up until 1977 made a joint compound that contained asbestos. And because mesothelioma symptoms only appear after 10 to 50 years, Koch knew that when it purchased Georgia-Pacific, it also became responsible for thousands of asbestos lawsuits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries is a big financial supporter of ALEC and has served on the ALEC private enterprise board for many years, including in 2007 when the ALEC board approved the Asbestos Claims Transparency Act. Subsequently, in 2017, Koch Industries put Bestwall into bankruptcy to limit its exposure to mesothelioma lawsuits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An affiliate of Koch’s Georgia-Pacific, Bestwall, joined “scores of U.S. manufacturers that have filed for bankruptcy due to asbestos litigation, and comes as the U.S. Congress mulls a bill that plaintiffs’ lawyers say would discourage asbestos claims,” wrote Reuters. The misnamed FACT Act is supported by ALEC, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and companies with billions of dollars of liability for asbestos claims, including Koch Industries.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch now argues that Bestwall was only a minor user of asbestos, but construction workers were exposed to multiple sources of asbestos, and since many of the responsible parties no longer exist, victims’ lawyers are forced to sue more than one company.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch complains it is spending $160 million a year defending its subsidiary against asbestos lawsuits. It could have set up a trust fund from the beginning when it acquired Bestwall to pay victims with that money instead of fighting every lawsuit, and is now slowing the process by putting the company into bankruptcy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans for Tax Fairness estimates that the Kochs will get $1.4 billion from the Jobs and Tax Cut Act of 2017, money that could be used to pay asbestos victims before they die.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Instead, Koch and its allies are working hard to pass laws that run out the clock.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/05/07/take-money-run-trump-tax-cuts-boost-earnings-alec-corps-layoff-workers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nine major publicly traded corporations that are funders of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) just reported earnings from the first quarter of 2018. Trump’s recent massive corporate tax cuts were sold as a job creation mechanism, but rather than creating jobs, all nine companies reported layoffs that have recently taken place or are planned for 2018.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At ALEC, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors 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 the corporations writing or voting on the legislation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — pushed hard by the Koch Caucus in Congress — lowered the federal income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, and the Trump Administration promised that the cuts would cause corporations to invest, expand, and hire new workers, as well as pay bonuses or increase wages.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Media and Democracy’s analysis of nine companies that are major players in ALEC shows that, even with the tax cut, those corporations have laid off or will lay off employees. Comcast, for example, said it will save $128 million from the tax cut and announced 500 layoffs. Caterpillar reported that it will pay 9 percent less in income taxes, but also announced it is closing facilities.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eli Lilly reported that it lowered its corporate income tax rate by almost one-third, but announced 3,500 layoffs at the end of 2017, layoffs that are still taking place. Energy companies are expected to be major beneficiaries of the tax cut, but two ALEC energy companies, Chevron and Marathon Petroleum, reported large tax savings as well as layoffs for the year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center for Media and Democracy did not cherry-pick companies to find those that announced both tax savings and layoffs. Excluded were coal companies, for example, such as ALEC members Dominion Resources and Peabody Energy, which are downsizing as coal sales continue to decline. Nor did CMD choose companies that saved money on income taxes because they lost money. The nine companies analyzed below all made large profits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What the companies did with the profits was a corporate choice. In most cases companies bought back shares, a practice that then increases the earnings per share and the dividends paid to shareholders. The boards of these companies vote for the share repurchases, and directors that own large numbers of shares greatly benefit from this repurchasing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has already made an extra $29 billion from the tax cut. Most of that is because his companies boosted dividends by repurchasing shares. Berkshire Hathaway owns the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, an ALEC company.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD has written that ALEC member corporations laid off 12,000 workers in 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hundreds of billions of dollars in tax savings has not slowed the firings. And economist Dean Baker tells us the firms are failing to invest these tax dollars to expand their operations as promised.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chevron: Chevron, like most oil companies, greatly benefited from the tax cut. Its earnings have grown, and it has credited the tax cut as one reason for the increase.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So far, Chevron has announced 300 layoffs for this year.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The layoffs are partly due to a decision by the company to repurchase shares, thus boosting the earnings per share for wealthy shareholders. “There’s still little evidence that the corporate tax benefits are finding their way to employees,” the Houston Chronicle reports.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Marathon: Marathon Petroleum increased its earnings in the first quarter and its income taxes declined by almost half. The company, based in Houston, made share repurchases of $1.33 billion, which, like Chevron, reflects a decision to increase dividends rather than expand operations and hiring (or invest in renewable energy).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Houston Chronicle says that, “Houston energy companies have reported at least $20 billion in tax benefits from the recently enacted tax overhaul, but whatever savings the firms realize will likely go to well-heeled investors rather than support the local economy through hiring, pay raises and expansions.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Despite a tax-cut benefit and increased earnings Marathon has announced layoffs of employees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Comcast: According to a company press release,”1st quarter 2018 net income attributable to Comcast Corporation includes a $128 million net income tax benefit because of federal tax legislation enacted in 2018.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Before Christmas Comcast laid off 500 salespeople, even though it anticipated a tax savings in the first quarter 2018.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Verizon: Verizon paid $1.39 billion in income taxes in the first quarter 2018, compared to $1.63 billion for the comparable period in 2017. It is not known, based on data provided by the company, how much of that tax savings of $241 million is a result of the new tax cut bill, but Verizon earned substantially more in this year’s first quarter; the taxes should otherwise have been higher, not lower. Company earnings in the first quarter were 23 percent higher than the first three months of 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Verizon is closing some of it calling centers, resulting in the layoff of 3,000 employees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfizer: Pfizer reported a quarterly earnings increase of 23 percent from one year ago, thanks in part to a much lower 2018 tax rate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pfizer has abandoned efforts to find drugs related to treating Alzheimer’s and is set to lay off 300 employees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Times Warner: The company paid substantially lower income taxes in the first quarter 2018 versus first quarter 2017. The company does not report how much was from the tax cut legislation or other factors, except to say it benefited from the cut. In the first quarter of 2018, Times Warner increased its revenue by $261 million and its profit by 15 percent.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Times Warner has announced layoffs at many of its properties, including CNN and Turner Broadcasting, but larger layoffs are expected if its merger with AT&T is approved by a case pending in federal court.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eli Lilly: Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, a sponsor of ALEC’s 2017 membership meeting, laid off 3,500 workers in the fourth quarter of 2017 (2,300 of whom took a buyout).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In its press release announcing its first quarter 2018 earnings, Lilly told investors, “The effective tax rate was 15.9 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared with 21.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The lower effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2018 was primarily due to U.S. tax reform enacted in December 2017…”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Caterpillar: Caterpillar reported an income tax decline of 9 percent in the first quarter 2018 relative to the same period in 2017.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Caterpillar is expected to close some facilities, with an estimate of 800 layoffs.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Altria: Tobacco giant Altria reported a 30 percent increase in earnings per share for the first quarter 2018 relative to the same period one year ago. The company says, “[I]n the first quarter we benefited from a lower tax rate as a result of Federal income tax reform, something for which we long advocated.” Altria repurchased $513 million in shares.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Altria has announced layoffs in Virginia.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">KOCH</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/04/23/alec-task-forces-gather-grand-rapids</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will hold its annual Spring Task Force Summit on April 27 at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is no word yet on whether Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a Michigander married to Amway heir Richard DeVos, will be joining the gathering at the swank four-star hotel as ALEC legislators and corporate lobbyists vote on cookie-cutter bills behind closed doors. ALEC has long embraced DeVos and her school privatization agenda, even though the failure of the charter school system she helped create in Michigan has been the topic of devastating reports in the New York Times and 60 Minutes.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Further education privatization is on the agenda in Grand Rapids along with measures to please fossil fuel companies, marijuana companies, and more.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CATERING TO FOSSIL FUEL FUNDERS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While over 100 mainstream American companies have fled the controversial organization, a 2017 Annual Meeting registration list shows that ALEC is still chock full of fossil fuel companies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Peabody Energy and Koch Industries serve on ALEC’s Private Enterprise Advisory Council and ExxonMobil, Chevron, Duke Energy, Marathon Petroleum, the Edison Electric Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Gas Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association are ALEC members.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One piece of priority legislation for the companies is ALEC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Act. The bill, a punitive measure designed to frighten protestors with stiff penalties and discourage large-scale demonstrations like the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, was adopted by ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force in 2017. Similar bills have been signed into law in Oklahoma and Iowa and introduced in Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Wyoming’s bill passed the legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Matt Mead.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a number of powerful examples of people publicly coming together to raise their voices and push for change—from water protectors and their allies challenging pipeline construction near Standing Rock and elsewhere, to racial justice advocates taking to the streets to protest police shooting deaths,” said Vera Eidelman, Legal Fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “And yet, rather than respond to the protesters’ substantive messages…many elected representatives are instead introducing bills that would label them ‘terrorists’ or ‘saboteurs,’ chill their speech, and discourage others from associating with them.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In Michigan, ALEC politicians will be asked to vote on new bills that advance the interests of the industry, including the Resolution Supporting States Ability to Permit and Regulate Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands within their Borders and the Gas Tax Transparency Act.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The oil and gas permitting bill is the latest from ALEC in its push to hand over America’s public lands to the fossil fuel companies that started almost 20 years ago. The latest resolution calls on Trump and Congress to hand over the power to regulate and permit fossil fuel development on public lands to the states, where the industry has its greatest power and influence over government.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Gas Tax Transparency Act requires fuel tax stickers to be placed on gas pumps detailing state and federal taxes to promote “transparency.” ALEC hopes that voters will be up in arms about the taxes and will pressure their representatives to lower them.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is for transparency only when it aids their benefactors. The organization is better known for its efforts to undermine reporting when it comes to campaigns and elections. ALEC is aggressively pushing a model resolution designed to stop states and municipalities from requiring dark-money groups that spend millions to influence elections to disclose their donors, and has launched the misnamed Center to Protect Free Speech to lobby for it.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GREENWASHING CHARTER SCHOOLS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ironically, while the ALEC energy task force is working hard to advance the polluter agenda, the ALEC education task force will discuss an education bill that promotes itself as a means to crack down on air pollution. The Environmentally Sustainable Charter School Admissions Act gives enrollment preference in charter schools to children who live near the school or if a parent works near the school in order to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has worked hand-in-hand with the DeVos group, American Federation for Children to advance a “cash for kids” model of school privatization including dozens of bills promoting school vouchers. For decades, ALEC billed vouchers as a civil rights ticket for low-income kids, but then ALEC’s Education Savings Account Act created a “universal” system that siphons off public education dollars to private school parents of any income. Now ALEC is entertaining a new bill, the Economic Development Zone ESA Act, to give preference to kids who live within economic development zones.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A series of recent studies have shown poor results for voucher programs. For instance, a major study of Louisiana’s voucher program found that public elementary school students who started at the 50th percentile in math and then used a voucher to transfer to a private school dropped, on average, to the 26th percentile in just one school year. Martin West, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said the negative effects in Louisiana were “as large as any I’ve seen” in the history of American education research.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Amendments to the Great Schools Tax Credit Program Act would amend an earlier ALEC bill to correct a drafting error that apparently resulted in some corporations getting a tax benefit more than the amount of a scholarship donation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MARIJUANA MONOPOLIES</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a rather surprising move, ALEC will be considering a legislative proposal for a Closed-Loop Payment Processing System for Marijuana Taxation and Sales. The bill would require a State Treasurer to devise a financial system that will put it in charge of processing all marijuana financial transactions in the state. Yes, it is true that some states are having issues processing medical marijuana related payments, but a state-sponsored financial monopoly? The whole idea seems counter to ALEC’s usual stance on “free” markets.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The impetus for this bill may be from the fact that the multi billion-dollar cannabis industry is struggling to find financial partners with cannabis still being illegal at the federal level. The 2017 ALEC Annual Meeting in Denver saw a number of marijuana entities join up, including Weedmaps, a “Chairman Level” sponsor, the Marijuana Policy Project, and Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EMBRACING TRUMPISM</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the era of Trump, the Koch machine, including ALEC, has fully embraced Trumpism. Shortly after the November 2016 election, ALEC’s Executive Director Lisa Nelson told funders and members that she was thrilled to report that the Trump administration “does have the potential to be an ALEC administration. It is full of the people and ideas we’ve advanced since 1973…Now is our time. And ALEC is ready.” Since then over 40 Koch political operatives have signed on to work for the the Trump White House and administration, according to a recent report by Public Citizen.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This week, as ALEC meets in Michigan, the Koch takeover of the administration will be the topic of floor speeches in the U.S. Senate and educational events. The Intercept exposed the Koch political network’s secret laundry list of policy changes that it has pursued and won the administration, including the federal tax overhaul giving massive tax breaks for corporations and the rich that will balloon the deficit.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resources: The list of ALEC legislative members can be accessed here and the list of ALEC corporate funders can be accessed here. Follow @ALECexposed.&nbsp; DAVID ARMIAK</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">random sample</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC LEGISLATOR OF THE WEEK: HOMOSEXUALS AND PSYCHOPATHIC KILLERS “IT’S A BEHAVIOR THING”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Don Wiener | April 9th, 2018 at 9:51 AM (CDT)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One “Legislator of the Week” and now national chair of ALEC, Republican state representative Jason Saine, gained notoriety in his home state of North Carolina for taking $20,000 in campaign money from the telecommunications industry, supporting its legislation, and using that money to buy himself a new wardrobe.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Representative Brian Greene, a Utah Republican, and an ALEC “Legislator of the Week” said, during a legislative hearing on the state’s sexual assault statutes: “If an individual has sex with their wife while she is unconscious … a prosecutor could then charge that spouse with rape, theoretically. That makes sense in a first date scenario, but to me, not where people have a history of years of sexual activity.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has other awards for those who carry legislation for big corporations. Colorado Republican Lori Saine, no relation to the above Jason, was arrested in December for trying to bring a loaded semi-automatic gun through Denver airport security.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Saine was charged with a sixth-degree felony. If convicted, she could face up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $100,000. Saine already was a “Legislator of the Week,” but the day following her arrest ALEC also gave her their award as “Public Sector State Chair of the Year.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">SEXUAL PREFERENCE AND PSYCHOPATHIC KILLERS, “IT’S IS A BEHAVIOR THING”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Then there is Indiana Republican Rep. Woody Burton, the chair of the Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development Taskforce, who was named the ALEC/FreedomWorks “legislator of the week” in March.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Burton had this to say when discussing LGBT rights at a town hall meeting:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“You can’t control it sometimes. I understand that. If someone’s a psychopathic killer, it’s a behavior thing. They can’t help it. OK? Somebody’s a homosexual, maybe it’s a genetic thing. Maybe it’s not. They can’t help it. But it’s still a behavioral thing.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Burton then tried to walk back the comparison.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“When I talk about behavioral things, I want to stress that I’m not comparing gays to…people that are psychotic…I was trying to explain behavior is a thing that people have and sometimes they can control it and sometimes they can’t.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another Burton gem? “If I pass a law that says transgenders and homosexuals are covered under the civil rights laws, then does it say anywhere that fat white people are covered?” he said at the town hall.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If in politics, as in life, you are known by the company you keep, then the corporate members of ALEC, companies such as UPS, Eli Lilly, State Farm, and Comcast — and their customers — may want to take note.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These are the “legislative leaders” of ALEC — the best and the brightest — that are underwritten by their corporate membership dues.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/04/06/bayou-bridge-protesters-arrested-louisiana-advances-bill-toughening-penalties-pipeline-protests</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no linx many</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bayou Bridge Protesters Arrested as Louisiana Advances Bill Toughening Penalties for Pipeline Protests</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Julie Dermansky • Friday, April 6, 2018 - 16:29</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protester chained to a barrel in the road</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Thursday, April 5, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline attempted to shut down its construction by blocking an industrial supply company’s facility in Iowa, Louisiana, just outside of Lake Charles on the same day a bill spelling out harsher penalties for pipeline protesters was advanced to committee during the Louisiana legislative session.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For about two hours starting at 6:30 a.m., roughly 20 protesters blocked the entrance to Yak Mat, an industrial yard that supplies access mats used to create temporary roadways at pipeline construction sites and enable trucks to pass through muddy areas. The site is close to the starting point of the Bayou Bridge pipeline, which spans south Louisiana from Lake Charles, near the Texas border, to St. James, along the Mississippi River. The pipeline is the tail end of Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access pipeline network, which begins in North Dakota.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renate Heurich, locked to a barrel, being rolled out of the entrance to the Yat Mat lot in Iowa, Louisiana, during a protest against the Bayou Bridge pipeline.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana joins several states, including Wyoming, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, in introducing a bill specifically making the types of protests increasingly common at oil and gas pipeline construction sites criminal acts with harsher penalties. This latest proposed legislation parallels an anti-protest law that passed in Oklahoma in May 2017. Protests against the Dakota Access pipeline were cited as the inspiration for these “critical infrastructure” bills, which liken the actions of pipeline protesters to “terrorist activities.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shortly after police arrived on Thursday, the protesters dispersed, except two New Orleans residents, both educators. Renate Heurich and Susan Prevost chained themselves into barrels fastened to the ground at the entrance to the mat supply yard. Both women started the day in crawfish costumes to emphasis the oil pipeline’s threat to the wild crawfish habitat in the Atchafalaya Basin, a National Heritage Area which the pipeline is being built through, despite an ongoing legal challenge.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Law enforcement at the anti-pipeline protest</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Law enforcement officers waiting to move in on the protesters in Iowa, Louisiana. There were more members of law enforcement at the protest than protesters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protester dressed as a crawfish</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of the Bayou Bridge pipeline protesters, dressed as an iconic Louisiana crawfish, in Iowa, Louisiana.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prevost stressed the importance of protecting Louisiana’s heritage. She worries that an oil spill in the basin will mean that future generations of local Louisianans won’t know the joys of traditional crawfish boils. A spill in the basin could decimate the wild crawfish population. “Can Louisiana really afford the Bayou Bridge pipeline from the company that has the worst record on pipeline accidents?” Prevost asked me the night before the protest.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heurich, a founding member of 350 New Orleans, believes it is imperative to take a stand against climate change. She believes direct actions against the pipeline are necessary because tremendous public outcry against the permitting of new fossil fuel projects and ongoing legal challenges against the pipeline have not succeeded in stopping its construction.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Six Democratic New Orleans city council members recently voted in favor of a new gas plant and Democratic governor John Bel Edwards still won’t acknowledge man’s role in climate change,” she said, “but they all know humans are responsible for climate change. I don’t believe they’re dumb. It is absolutely about the money.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Anti-pipeline protester Renate Heurich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renate Heurich, a retired teacher and member of 350 New Orleans, protesting against the Bayou Bridge pipeline in Iowa, Louisiana.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A large group of law enforcement officers and protesters at the site of the demonstration</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protesters move back when police move in and tell them to disperse. All but the two who remained in the barrels complied.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heurich also wants to protect Louisianans from the pollution oil and gas industry sites produce which sicken many people in fenceline communities, like St. James, a small town where the Bayou Bridge pipeline will end. She told me that people she knows are already dying of illnesses associated with toxic emissions from industrial sites in the area, including Keith Hunter, a retired carpenter, whom she met at an anti-pipeline meeting in St. James. Others she met a year ago in St. James have been diagnosed with cancer.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After sheriff’s deputies managed to move Heurich’s barrel out of the way, operations were able to resume. The deputies offered Heurich and Prevost a deal: If they unlocked themselves on their own, they would be charged with felony trespass, but avoid being taken to jail. Heurich unlocked herself, while Prevost remained in her barrel until noon, deciding to unlock herself after two trucks passed dangerously close to her.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Truck loaded with mats passes next to protester chained to a barrel in the road</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Truck loaded with mats returning to the yard passing dangerously close to Susan Prevost who was locked into a barrel fastened into the ground.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Prevost removes herself from the barrel she chained herself to</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After conferring with a lawyer, Susan Prevost removes herself from a barrel she attached herself to in order to block work on the Bayou Bridge pipeline.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Prevost is led away by two police officers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan Prevost being led away by police after her arrest during a protest against the Bayou Bridge pipeline.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cherri Foytlin, one of the founders of the anti-pipeline L’eau Est La Vie Camp (Water Is Life), was also arrested after live-streaming the demonstration for over an hour at the end of the driveway, which she thought was a public road. “I complied with what the officers told me,” she wrote in an email. When the police came after her, others from the camp pleaded with the officers to let her go, explaining she hadn’t heard them tell her to get off the driveway.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another activist who took part in the protest was accused of stealing a car. All were released later the same afternoon but face charges.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cherri Foytlin in the back of a police car</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cherri Foytlin, in the back of a police car being taken to jail for trespassing during a protest against the Bayou Bridge pipeline.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protester escorted by two officers</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protester being taken away.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heurich found it ironic that their direct action took place hours before the state legislature advanced to committee the bill HB 727, which would strengthen punishments against pipeline protesters. She said the attorney for the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, who reportedly helped draft the bill, sat next to its lead sponsor during the session. “The oil and gas industry writes a law to protect its interest, in order to keep Louisiana a sacrifice zone while at the same time taking away our First Amendment right to protest its actions,” she said in dismay, “and our legislators support it.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Louisiana law already prohibits trespassing at sites known as “critical infrastructure,” including power plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, water treatment facilities, and natural gas terminals. House Bill 727 adds pipelines and their construction areas to the list of critical infrastructure sites, a move in reaction to growing pipeline protests nationwide.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HB 727 is based on a model bill produced by the conservative, corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). “But it is ALEC-plus” Pam Spees, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing a coalition of groups against the Bayou Bridge pipeline in a variety of legal challenges, said. “People not involved in an action, who don’t protest, damage, or injure anything or anybody, can still be held accountable for being associated with activists.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bill increases the penalties for any damage to or interference with pipeline and other critical infrastructure sites. Sentences range from one to 15 years in prison with a $10,000 fine or six to 20 years plus a $25,000 fine if the damage could threaten human life or disrupt site operations. In addition, this state bill criminalizes “conspiracy to commit trespass.” Anyone involved with organizing a protest like the one on April 5 could face a year in prison. And anyone connected to an action that involves damaging the infrastructure could end up with a prison sentence of 20 years and fines of up to $250,000 if a judge rules that they are part of a conspiracy that threatens life or the operation of critical infrastructure.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The language concerning conspiracy is worrisome,” Spees told me during the protest in Iowa. “The conspiracy provision makes it possible for law enforcement to arrest people before they have actually done anything wrong, even if they are just planning a nonviolent protest.” After Thursday’s protest, Spees traveled to the jail to help make sure everyone arrested during the demonstration was released.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Along with a handful of others, Meg Louge, a member of 350 New Orleans, spoke out against HB 727 at the state capitol in Baton Rouge. Many of them objected to the proposed law because existing trespass laws are already in place. Some argued during Thursday’s legislative session that the new law is meant to quash dissent against oil and gas pipelines. “The representatives who spoke in favor of the bill cited the protests in North Dakota a couple of times and how they don’t want Louisiana to ever have a ‘Standing Rock’ type situation,” Louge said.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though Louge was not pleased the bill was moved to committee, she said that she was glad that Rep. Valarie Hodges, one of the bill’s sponsors, agreed to amend the conspiracy language during the session, before the bill is voted on in committee.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While Thursday’s pipeline protest didn’t go as planned, Heurich was not discouraged. “Today’s action was a success,” she said during a call. “One of our goals is to get the word out that climate change is a huge issue and that there is real opposition in Louisiana.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.ecowatch.com/koch-pipelines-dakota-keystone-2540819277.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Network Took Credit for Dakota Access, Keystone XL and REINS Act, Leaked Memo Shows</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Steve Horn</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A leaked memorandum published by The Intercept and Documented Investigations shows that a Koch Industries' donors network, known as the Seminar Network, has taken credit for Donald Trump approving the permits for both the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines during the first months of his presidency.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The memo also applauded efforts by the Koch network's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) chapter in Wisconsin to pass a deregulatory measure there known as the REINS Act. The Seminar Network, which meets secretly twice a year, is made up of donors who give at least $100,000 toward Koch-led political and philanthropic efforts.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries has a business interest in both pipelines, though their approval has not been something its funded network has widely discussed. Quietly, though, Koch has advocated for the pair of pipelines in regulatory hearings in both Iowa for Dakota Access—as previously reported by DeSmog—as well as in Canada, as reported in 2012 by InsideClimate News.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The REINS (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny) Act, which GOP officials have been pushing in Congress since Obama's first term, passed as state law in Wisconsin in 2017. The law, long considered crown jewel legislation by the Koch front group AFP, gives legislative bodies full veto authority over regulations proposed by executive agencies. Conservative groups in Wisconsin already are using the law to sue the top state public education officer.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"State legislatures, particularly in states with a strong Network presence, have also made significant progress toward removing harmful and unnecessary regulations. For example, Wisconsin this year went so far as to enact the nation's first REINS Act, which will require legislative approval of any issued regulation that has an impact above a certain cost threshold," reads the Koch Seminar Network document.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-funded group of mostly Republican Party state legislators, has a REINS Act model resolution on the books, which supports the federal version of this legislation. In 2017, six states introduced pro-REINS Act resolutions: Kansas, Montana, Missouri, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina. ALEC—which brings corporate lobbyists and state legislators together at annual meetings for networking, seminars and voting on what it dubs "model policies" —maintains close connections with the Koch network.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch, KXL, DAPL Business Ties</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries also owns assets in a tar sands reservoir located in Alberta, Canada, both in the form of lease holdings for land and as a company with a drilling interest. For the latter, Koch owns Koch Oil Sands Operating, which has a drilling interest in both the Gemini and Muskwa tar sands fields in Alberta.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It also owns 1-2 million acres' worth of land (the exact number is contested) in the tar sands for prospective future leasing, according to a 2013 report published by the International Forum on Globalization. Keystone XL, the pipeline owned by TransCanada and approved by Trump and his U.S. Department of State in March 2017, would bring around 500,000 currently-booked barrels per day of tar sands oil from Alberta to Cushing, Oklahoma, where the pipeline connects with TransCanada's Gulf Coast Pipeline.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gulf Coast, which was approved by President Barack Obama in a 2012 election season executive order, sends the tar sands bitumen down to Port Arthur, Texas, where the substance is refined into products and then sent to market.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[map]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries even nearly testified at a 2012 hearing in support of its development of tar sands, before backing out after signing confidentiality agreements with impacted landowners. Much of the tar sands extracted in Alberta is refined at Koch's refinery in Pine Bend, Minnesota, which is owned by its subsidiary Flint Hills Resources and is the top refiner of tar sands in the U.S. at 223,000 barrels per day, as of 2013.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For Dakota Access, Koch also quietly came out in support of the pipeline via its front group, the 60 Plus Association, which purports to be a conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons for seniors. Through intermediary groups, 60 Plus had received tens of millions of dollars from the Koch network.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries has a direct tie to Dakota Access, through a storage terminal part-owned by its subsidiary Flint Resources and located in North Dakota's Bakken Shale basin. As DeSmog previously reported, this terminal, called the COLT Hub, feeds oil into the Dakota Access pipeline.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Back in 2015 when the pipeline was hotly contested in Iowa, a representative for 60 Plus testified on behalf of Dakota Access in front of the Iowa Utilities Board.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is important to seniors for several reasons. High energy prices are disproportionately impacting America's low and fixed-income senior citizens today—citizens that often have limited financial resources with which to meet their needs," the 60 Plus representative testified in September 2015. "By helping the United States to better capitalize upon its growing domestic energy resources—and affordably transport these resources to market—the Dakota Access Pipeline will help to foster stability within energy markets nationwide, and improve the availability of affordable American produced crude oil."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">60 Plus also began lobbying and campaigning on behalf of the Dakota Access as the protest movement grew against the pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Around the same time those protests began in September 2016, 60 Plus deployed its chairman, Jim Martin, to begin lobbying Congressabout Dakota Access. Martin also wrote an opinion piece that month supporting the pipeline for the publication Morning Consult.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Whether it's heating or cooling your home or putting gas in your car, the cheaper the energy, the more economically stable your checkbook will be," wrote Martin. "The 60 Plus Association's 5.5 million members know this all too well. This is why as an organization that champions free enterprise and who have championed energy issues for seniors before, we strongly support the Dakota Access pipeline."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">'Whole New Level'</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the 2018 election cycle, the Koch network plans to spend up to $400 million to keep the Republican majority in Congress and GOP control over statehouses nationwide.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We've made more progress in the last five years than I had in the last 50," Charles Koch, one of the infamous petrochemical billionaire Koch brothers, said in January at a private Seminar Network meeting held in Indian Wells, California. "The capabilities we have now can take us to a whole new level."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">new? bk 1% solution</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One State at a Time 1st Edition</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gordon Lafer is Associate Professor at the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon& https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060066527</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC's conservative wing says the organization — which convenes corporations, think tanks and legislators — is capitulating to left-of-center interests to regain funders after an exodus of corporate titans like Google LLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC over the organization's climate change positions. Others, however, contend that the conversation on climate has shifted away from hard-liners, with a growing number of Republicans and conservatives embracing clean technology and climate science, according to several of the group's members.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I think the attention they got on energy and environmental issues was so intense that that's where they focused on their outreach with the center-left," said Paul Blair, director of strategic initiatives with Americans for Tax Reform and a member of ALEC. "You can't pass the laugh test with going center-left on tax issues. To me, you can't pass the laugh test with me by going center-left on energy and environment issues. But they apparently think they can."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's a fight that reflects the broader conservative debate over climate change and the direction of the Republican Party during the Trump administration.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And it will soon come to a head, as ALEC members prepare to vote on a measure that takes aim at U.S. EPA's endangerment finding on greenhouse gases. The Obama-era finding is a compilation of scientific evidence that forms the legal basis for EPA greenhouse gas regulations. It's despised by many conservatives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force is slated to vote on a draft resolutionat a meeting in Nashville, Tenn., next month that calls "upon the Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw the 2009 endangerment finding for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and conduct a new rulemaking on this issue."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">If ALEC ultimately adopts the resolution, it will serve as a model resolution for state and federal lawmakers to express their disdain for the EPA finding. The vote will put big businesses and trade groups that sit on the ALEC task force on the spot regarding whether the endangerment finding is worth investigating.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Robust debate comes from stakeholders engaging from a variety of perspectives. And that is precisely what's happening here," said ALEC spokesman Bill Meierling. He noted that the draft resolution could be amended or changed when the task force meets in Nashville.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The tug of war at ALEC mirrors the fight between voices skeptical of mainstream climate science — like the nonprofit Heartland Institute — and groups that are more moderate on climate change, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heartland is rumored to be behind the endangerment resolution, with former North Dakota state Rep. Bette Grande (R) — who now freelances for Heartland and participates in ALEC matters — thought to have drafted it and handed off the language to a state lawmaker and ALEC member.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heartland did not respond to a request for comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heartland and its allies have pushed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to take on the endangerment finding, which the EPA chief has been reluctant to pursue. Corporate America, meanwhile, largely supported staying in the Paris climate agreement and retaining the Clean Power Plan — an Obama administration rule to curb power plant emissions — but ultimately lost those battles to far-right groups, though some hope Trump will ultimately remain in the global climate pact.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bellwether moment?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The endangerment finding vote may serve as a bellwether for where ALEC stands on climate change.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Is ALEC part and parcel of a conservative movement that has questioned climate change and the policy responses to it? Or does it operate among the wider atmosphere of reputation-conscious corporations and even some moderates who have opposed the Trump administration on climate change?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But that calculation also belies a more fundamental point about ALEC — while it has a reputation as a far-right group advancing industry interests, it's also a member-driven organization. If ALEC is shifting on climate and energy, it's largely because its members have, too.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"If there were some grand conspiracy, I'd know about it, and there isn't," said Eli Lehrer, president of the free-market think tank R Street Institute, which supports a carbon tax. "To the extent things have changed, it's because opinions have changed."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At its core, ALEC is an organization about free markets and limited government. Thus, its members also have railed against and helped craft bills to roll back President Obama's climate and environmental measures, many of which were federal regulations, and local incentives for clean energy. At the same time, though, the group has come under fire for taking cash from fossil fuel companies threatened by the advance of clean energy while often neglecting to mention subsidies and incentives that legacy energy sources enjoy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Longtime ALEC watchdogs view the endangerment finding draft resolution as an attempt by its conservative members to reorient the organization to its roots after several rudderless years on energy and environment matters. Part of that is a response to the Trump administration, said Nick Surgey, director of Documented, an organization that tracks the influence of corporations on public policy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This is a reflection of an organization that has shifted itself more into the mainstream of climate change in terms of rhetoric in the last three to four years," Surgey said. "Now they've got almost everything they want from Scott Pruitt and the EPA, and they have to justify their existence to their funders. And it seems like they're allying themselves with the more radical of the funders."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The cohesion between ALEC and the Trump administration is evident to ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson. She sent a congratulatory email to its members on Jan. 30 to celebrate the new administration, saying, "This administration does have the potential to be an ALEC administration. It is full of the people and ideas we've advanced since 1973."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But conservatives familiar with ALEC said they're concerned that the organization has gravitated to satisfying interests that aren't committed to the free-market principles upon which the group was created. They said that dynamic is most apparent in the energy and environment space.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"When it comes to the policies of the organization, ALEC does have strong positions on issues that are consistent with the free market," Blair said. "The issue is if they are planning to upend those principles to fundraise in the future."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They worry that ALEC is trying to plug a funding gap following the high-profile exits of Google, BP PLC, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and others, all of which blamed the organization's stance on climate change for their departure. Those companies left largely over pressure from shareholders who were spurred into action after activist groups harped on ALEC funding streams. The conservative billionaire industrialist Koch brothers are big donors; Exxon Mobil Corp., a member of the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, is also a major funder.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conservatives revolt</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC's conservative members saw warning signs recently when feathers were ruffled over what they said in the past would have been a fairly easy decision.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The energy task force couldn't agree to move on a resolution that opposed property assessed clean energy, or PACE — a financing mechanism to fund clean energy or energy efficiency upgrades. Conservatives were worried about exposing taxpayers to losses, since municipal bonds underwrote many of the projects.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But many of ALEC's members also have PACE interests. One conservative source said those groups backing PACE angled to kill the resolution and criticized ALEC for trying to appease such funders. Rockwood Group CEO Scott Zajac, whose investment firm operates in the PACE world, was particularly vocal in opposing the resolution within ALEC, the source said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Others, though, noted that's just how the energy space is these days — corporations are on board with clean energy. Rejecting mainstream climate science or trying to stymie growth of energy sources that compete with ALEC's old guard of coal, natural gas and oil companies doesn't fly anymore.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The PACE resolution foundered over much acrimony in ALEC's July meeting and was forbidden to ever return as a discussion point. That result has generated revolt from some of the more dogmatic conservatives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I'm concerned that there has been an effort more recently to try and table what in the past would have been considered straightforward proposals based on free-market principles," said Tom Pyle, president of the conservative energy think tank Institute for Energy Research. "That's what ALEC is supposed to be advancing."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That effort, though, is minor compared with the endangerment finding, which is a lightning rod in climate policy circles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Publicly traded companies on the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force are getting calls about the upcoming vote on the draft endangerment finding resolution, according to a source familiar with the situation. Companies on that task force include Exxon Mobil, Pfizer Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We have not received calls on it to my knowledge, but either way it is not an issue we would support," UPS spokeswoman Kara Ross said in an email. "As one of the leaders in sustainable and transparent logistics, our position on climate change is clear."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Aside from Exxon Mobil, Pfizer and UPS, the task force also includes lobby group heavyweights such as the Edison Electric Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and American Gas Association.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">E&E News contacted all those members. EEI, AGA, AFPM, Pfizer and Exxon Mobil did not respond to requests for comment. NRECA said it didn't want to challenge the endangerment finding because it supports "inside the fence" carbon emissions regulations on power plants to replace the Clean Power Plan, which Pruitt formally moved to repeal last month.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Challenging the endangerment finding would lead to a different result, which we think would be unwise," spokesman Dan Riedinger said in an email.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Two sessions at a summit this week for one of the country’s most powerful conservative groups will focus on voting, something civil rights groups and voting advocates are alarmed by and say could signal the group’s renewed interest in restrictive voting policies.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The focus on voting from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is significant because the group disbanded its Public Safety and Elections Task Force in 2012 following significant pressure from civil rights groups. Beginning in 2009, the task force helped draft model legislation for states to impose voter ID requirements that critics say makes it more difficult for people to vote.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC is an association of about 2,000 state lawmakers with close ties to big business and conservative groups. ALEC produces model legislation on conservative issues that lawmakers can then introduce in their respective statehouses. Among the model measures ALEC backed is the controversial “stand your ground law” and legislation that limit the ability of localities to raise the minimum wage.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An ALEC spokeswoman said in 2012 the organization was ending the task force to focus more on economic issues. But at a policy summit this week, the group will hold two panels focused on voting issues, setting off alarm bells among activists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“After a lot of controversy over voter ID, ALEC disbanded its task force that dealt with democracy issues and purported to be out of the business of mucking around with voting laws,” said Arn Pearson, general counsel for the Center for Media and Democracy, a group that closely follows ALEC. “This is the first time we’re seeing them come back in on it.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of the panels will be a “voter integrity workshop,” in which election experts will “discuss important voting policies and legislation in the states to improve the integrity of elections, the accuracy and security of state voter registration rolls, and new ways to verify the eligibility of voters.” The panel will also discuss “policy concerns” regarding automatic voter registration, a reform with bipartisan support advocates believe can add millions of Americans to the voting rolls.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A different panel will focus on redistricting as states gear up for the next round of redrawing electoral maps in 2021. The workshop will focus on “significant legal changes from the past decade; a rundown of ongoing litigation, ballot measures, and legislation; what apportionment might look like after the 2020 census and what challenges that will present.” The workshop will also look at what “groups are doing to address the multi-front campaign to shift the redistricting landscape – and find new “rights” in the Constitution.” The workshop will be led by a group called Fair Lines America, a group Pearson said he had never heard of and doesn’t appear to have an online presence.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The panel comes as the Supreme Court is considering a case out of Wisconsin that could, for the first time, set a standard for when gerrymandering can go too far to benefit one political party.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jay Riestenberg, who closely follows ALEC for Common Cause, a public interest watchdog, said only a few states had adopted voter ID measures before ALEC took an interest in the issue in 2009. When it got out of the business of dealing with voter laws in 2012, he said, they only did so after successfully spreading voter ID laws to dozens of states. Thirty-four states have measures requiring voters to show some kind of identification at the polls.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Meierling, an ALEC spokesman, said the group “does not work on or maintain policy election issues.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Workshops are part of the ALEC meeting and can cover a range of issues that may or may not be related to ALEC policy/work,” he said in an email.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pearson said he was skeptical the panel’s were purely informational.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC is a pay-to-play outfit. Member organizations pay to sponsor events and workshops. Typically if something is showing up on the agenda it’s because somebody wants to push it,” he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“ALEC has been a very anti-democratic organization since its founding. It brings corporate lobbyists and state legislators behind closed doors to trade these so-called model bills,” Riestenberg said. “They’re kind of opposed to the very idea of representative democracy, and so when they have panels about voting and what they call voter fraud or voter integrity, it kind of raises red flags given their history on the issue and their kind of anti-democratic structure.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Riestenberg said he was surprised ALEC did not post the names of speakers on the panel, something he said it had done in years past. ALEC officials did not respond to a question about who would be speaking on the panels.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The panels also have increased significance amid President Donald Trump’s allegations of widespread voter fraud and a commission he created in May to investigate it. Led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), members of the panel have favored voter ID, proof of citizenship laws and forcing states to more aggressively purge their voter rolls.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">J. Christian Adams, a member of the Trump voter fraud probe, said in a statement he would be participating in the ALEC panel about election integrity. Adams has sued jurisdictions to try and force them to more aggressively purge their voting rolls and has said the Department of Justice is not doing enough to make sure states are maintaining accurate rolls.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Critics say the commission is an effort to weaken confidence in the U.S. election system and to lay the groundwork for more restrictive voting policies. Several studies and investigations have found voter fraud is not a widespread issue.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“There was evidence that ALEC was behind the spate of strict voter ID laws that started to be enacted throughout the country and have been found to have a voter suppressive impact,” said Ezra Rosenberg, co-director of the voting rights project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the groups suing Trump’s voter fraud commission. “Given the present environment with the Pence/Kobach commission moving toward voter purges, we do fear that this could begin another era of suppressive voter laws.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s commission has temporarily paused as it faces multiple lawsuits. Riestenberg said ALEC could be working to continue the commission’s work.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I kind of expected this to be the next wave. The Pence/Kobach commission is caught up in lawsuits. They’re trying to figure out what’s their next move. I think ALEC and other state level advocacy groups on the conservative side are their venue to actually push their agenda since they can’t do it through the commission.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Huffington Post | Published: 12/6/2017</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">An ALEC spokeswoman said in 2012 the organization was ending the task force to focus more on economic issues. But at a policy summit this week, the group will hold two panels focused on voting issues, setting off alarm bells among activists.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“After a lot of controversy over voter ID, ALEC disbanded its task force that dealt with democracy issues and purported to be out of the business of mucking around with voting laws,” said Arn Pearson, general counsel for the Center for Media and Democracy, a group that closely follows ALEC. “This is the first time we’re seeing them come back in on it.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Colorado State Representative Lori Saine (R-63) arrived a little later than expected to this week’s American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) States & Nation Policy Summit in Nashville, but she had a great excuse.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Saine was arrested Wednesday at the Denver International Airport for trying to bring a loaded semi-automatic handgun through security.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Saine was charged with a sixth-degree felony. If convicted, she could face up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It is unclear why Saine tried to sneak a loaded gun onto a plane. Firearms are only allowed on planes if they are unloaded and properly stored in checked baggage.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC apparently did not find Saine’s actions disturbing, as it went on to award her the Public Sector State Chair of the Year award on Thursday anyway. The award is given to State Chairs to recognize them for their work with ALEC members in promoting ALEC’s extremist agenda.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC and FreedomWorks, a right-wing group instrumental in the Tea Party movement, also awarded Saine the “Legislator of the Week” award in March.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FreedomWorks praised Saine again yesterday on Twitter, “Colorado Representative @lorisaine fights for lower taxes, especially on small businesses. Thank you, Rep. Saine!”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For a number of years, the gun industry’s lobbying arm, the National Rifle Association (NRA), co-chaired ALEC’s Task Force on Public Safety and Elections, which has since been disbanded after public controversy concerning the shooting of Trayvon Martin and ALEC’s backing of radical “stand your ground” laws.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC pushes a wide range of pro-gun bills around the country and opposes of gun safety measures. Currently, ALEC’s executive assistant to CEO Lisa Nelson, Sarah Spaulding, is a former legislative assistant for the NRA, and the corporate pay-to-play group’s public affairs staffer, Ashley Varner, previously worked as an NRA media spokesperson for eight years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/12/07/alec-hires-former-koch-staffer-lead-energy-task-force</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has hired Grant Kidwell, a former analyst from two major Koch-backed groups–Americans for Prosperity and the Charles Koch Institute–to lead its Energy, Environment and Agriculture (EEA) task force, a position that has been left vacant since July.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Funded by numerous fossil-fuel companies, ALEC and its EEA task force has a long history of passing “model bills” undermining environmental protections and opposing policies to combat climate change. The task force is made up of numerous corporate lobbyists and their trade groups that stand to benefit from measures weakening environmental protections: including Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, Peabody Energy, the Edison Electric Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the American Gas Association.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kidwell’s first week at ALEC comes as the group holds its States and Nation Policy Summit, currently taking place in Nashville, Tennessee. Among the measures being discussed is a resolution urging the EPA to scrap the 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases, which formed the legal basis for the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas pollution. According E&E News, the fossil-fuel funded Heartland Institute is rumored to be behind the resolution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Before Kidwell’s appointment, Kenneth Stein who now works for the Koch-backed Institute for Energy Research, briefly served as the task force director from April to July 2017. John Eick, who now works for AFPM, previously led the task force from 2012-2017. Todd Wynn, who now works at the Department of Interior and previously worked at the Edison Electric Institute, was Director from 2011 to 2013.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This story was originally published in Documented here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- an organization where corporations and politicians vote on legislation to enact across the nation -- will be holding its 45th anniversary gala at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">part of choke hold series icn</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29102017/renewable-energy-ohio-rps-law-fossil-fuel-political-donations-coal</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">COLUMBUS, Ohio—On March 30, Bill Seitz, a charismatic Republican, took to the floor of the Ohio House to make a case for gutting a 2008 law designed to speed the adoption of solar and wind as significant sources of electricity in the state. The law, he warned, "is like something out of the 5-Year Plan playbook of Joseph Stalin." Adopting a corny Russian accent, he said, "Vee vill have 25,000 trucks on the Volga by 1944!'"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nine years before, Seitz and his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, had voted overwhelmingly for the measure he now compared to the work of a Communist dictator. It made Ohio the 25th state to embrace requirements and inducements to lure utilities away from coal, a major contributor of the gases fueling global climate change. Studies suggested the law would help create green energy jobs and boost the Ohio economy—and it has.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, Seitz said, it was obsolete. Natural gas, rapidly displacing coal, was the resource Ohio ought to foster, he said. He also argued the law gives an unfair advantage to wind and solar when the state's last nuclear plant is fighting for its life. Most important, Seitz insisted, the government had no business telling anyone what kind of energy to buy. By the time he was done, he had secured a veto-proof majority to undo key parts of the law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What happened to turn lawmakers so decisively against a statute they'd adopted 93-to-1 less than a decade ago?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The answers begin with the 2008 financial crisis, which hit Ohio hard and greatly depressed energy demand, and they include the shale gas boom, which benefited Ohio producers and made coal uncompetitive.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But there's more to the story, too.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As fossil fuel interests mobilized at the national level to fight proposals to mitigate climate change that would undercut their profits, they made Ohio a priority for fighting clean energy policy at the state level. Beginning in earnest in 2011, a network of coal companies, utilities, think tanks, nonprofit foundations and political action committees coalesced to roll back Ohio's alternative energy initiatives.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Industry-supported think tanks provided highly questionable research purporting to show big job losses. An industry group claiming to represent consumers—and accused of using fraudulent tactics before regulatory agencies—advised Seitz's staff on how to water down the definition of alternative energy. And industry sources donated to the campaigns of state politicians, like Seitz, who've kept the repeal-and-replace bills coming, even after Republican Gov. John Kasich vetoed a similar effort.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This network includes Americans for Prosperity, a foundation funded by the energy magnates Charles and David H. Koch; the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based advocacy group known for its criticism of climate change science; and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), another conservative nonprofit in Washington with Koch ties that frequently spoon-feeds draft legislation to state politicians.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seitz is on ALEC's national board of directors, but he bristles at the suggestion that he relies on the council for guidance. "ALEC doesn't drive me," he told InsideClimate News. "If anything I drive ALEC." Either way, in 2012, ALEC adopted an "Electricity Freedom Act" that reads like a declaration of war against the kind of energy rules on the books in Ohio and calls for the effort to reject them that Seitz leads.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Rise of Clean Energy Scare Studies</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Once a major coal producer, Ohio has a lesser-known history with fuel-free electricity. In the winter of 1887-88, Charles F. Brush constructed the world's first electricity-generating wind turbine on a 60-foot iron mast behind his Cleveland mansion. Brush held more than 50 patents, and his company joined with several others to form General Electric. In 1984, physicist Harold McMaster first demonstrated in his Toledo basement the potential for thin, non-silicon-based films to capture the sun's energy. Glasstech, now called First Solar, has led the conversion of Toledo into a solar manufacturing hub. The University of Toledo trains engineers for the many photovoltaic companies in the region, and, in 2007, it added the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization to transfer what's in its labs to nearby factories.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Ohio has a legitimate claim to being a leader in renewable energy, which is what makes the effort to stymie renewables here all the more ironic," said Bill Spratley, former executive director of Green Energy Ohio, an advocacy organization in Columbus. He said if the Seitz bill became law, "we might end up supplying everyone else with these wonderful technologies while we don't get to benefit from them ourselves."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Spratley testified against Seitz's bill. He noted that there are roughly 80 companies making parts for wind power systems in Ohio and scores of engineers and sales representatives installing solar, "and those jobs aren't going anywhere," he said. "Those are local jobs."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ten years ago, more Ohio politicians embraced Spratley's message. In 2007-08, as the "Energy, Jobs and Progress" plan made its way toward law, energy demand was strong, prices were expected to remain high, and awareness of coal's contribution to climate change had peaked. The law committed Ohio to cutting energy consumption by 22 percent by 2025 and diversifying sources so that 12.5 percent of its electricity would come from alternative energy sources—geothermal, biomass, wind, solar.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2011, the former American Tradition Institute, now the Energy and Environment Legal Institute, commissioned an analysis of the economic impacts of Ohio's energy standards. Based in Washington, the EELI receives funding from Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, the two largest suppliers of coal in the United States. The Beacon Hill Institute, then an affiliate of Boston's Suffolk University and a frequent publisher of papers critical of climate-related policies, undertook the study.Demand and prices fell with the recession and the shale gas boom, but the promise of more jobs and less global warming continued to resonate. Or it did until studies started showing up that warned that the law would do more harm than good.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In its report, Beacon Hill forecast that the Ohio energy standards would result in the loss of 9,750 jobs, wipe out $1.1 billion in disposable income every year, and force Ohioans to pay $8.6 billion more for electricity in 2025. The authors, among them BHI's executive director, David G. Tuerck, reached this conclusion based on an economic model that ignored the rapidly declining cost of electricity generated by wind and solar. Beacon Hill later lost its Suffolk University affiliation because, a university spokesman told The Boston Globe, its research lacked rigor and tended to reach conclusions sought by its underwriters.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cost claim and rebuttal.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On April 13, 2011, ALEC sent the Beacon report to all its members in the Ohio legislature, warning that the energy rules were "a blueprint for economic misery."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Citing the study, state Sen. Kris Jordan introduced a bill five months later to repeal the alternative energy standards. The measure didn't make it out of committee, but Jordan, Seitz and others kept at it, until, in 2014, they managed to secure a two-year freeze on meeting the annual benchmarks established under the 2008 law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More scare studies followed. In 2015, the Institute of Political Economy at Utah State University published a paper suggesting Ohio's energy rules would kill off 29,000 jobs. Last spring, the Buckeye Institute, a free-market think tank across the street from the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, modeled four economic scenarios; the rosiest estimated that the renewable and energy efficiency standards would cost Ohio 6,800 jobs and $806 million in GDP by 2026.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Those studies are completely bogus," said Terrence O'Donnell, a lawyer representing renewable energy developers at Dickinson Wright, a Columbus law practice. "The Utah one is the most ridiculous, because it blames everything that happened to the economy during the recession on the renewable portfolio standards. It's laughable. There's not one policy maker I know of who still refers to it." The Buckeye Institute, he added, assesses "a fictitious Ohio law, not the one on the books." For example, the Buckeye economists assume "that the cost containment provisions in the law simply won't kick in if prices for renewable energy rise. But they don't say why." And the price of solar electricity hasn't just fallen a little bit; it's less than half of what it was three years ago.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several other studies have concluded that Ohio's energy rules have, on the contrary, created jobs and improved the economy.One, published by Ohio State University's Center for Resilience, found that in 2012 alone, the law stimulated a modest .04 percent, or $160 million, in GDP growth statewide. According to the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), the state added more than 2,300 renewable energy projects and 25,000 clean energy jobs since 2009. Not minus 29,000 jobs, but plus 25,000 jobs, and not based on a model, but on payroll and labor statistics.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renewable Portfolio Standards, State by State</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trish Demeter, the OEC's managing director of energy, said the 2008 law benefits the state in another way. Its energy efficiency provisions are saving money. For every dollar invested in efficiency, she said, "Ohio ratepayers are saving between $1.10 and $4.20 on their utility bills, depending on what kind of consumer they are." She said this data came from actual receipts, not models, and had been reviewed by the Ohio Consumers Council and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So whose numbers are right? On behalf of Gov. Kasich's office, Matt Cox, a Ph.D. from MIT and founder of Greenlink, a consulting practice in Atlanta, modeled three scenarios to try to determine if Ohio's energy rules were too aggressive. Overall, Cox found that the rules generated more jobs, more GDP and, in time, lowered electrical bills.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ohio State Rep. Bill Seitz</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seitz told InsideClimate News that Cox ought not to have factored public health impacts of air pollution into his study. Cox responded, "How can you do a cost-benefit analysis and not factor in a cost that is borne, not by the utility, but by everyone else?"</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dave Anderson is policy and communications manager for the Energy & Policy Institute, a watchdog group headquartered in San Francisco. He and his team note that all three of the organizations behind the Ohio scare studies—Beacon Hill, Utah State and Buckeye—have received donations from the Koch brothers or their affiliates. For example, the Buckeye Institute receives funding from the Koch-backed Donors Capital Fund and Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundations, as well as directly from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Passionate Opposition to Wind Power</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The bill that froze Ohio's energy rules in 2014 also created an Energy Mandates Study Committee to determine whose numbers were best and what to do next.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">To staff the committee, Seitz turned to Sam Randazzo, general counsel for a consortium of electricity purchasers large and small called the Industrial Energy Users of Ohio. Randazzo has been deeply involved in shaping Ohio's energy policy for five decades and, like Seitz, opposes the 2008 standards.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Aug. 8, 2016, as the freeze neared expiration and the EMSC was due with its findings, Seitz wrote to 10 utility, gas and coal lobbyists, as well as Randazzo, that "we should be meeting as a small group to figure out what that report is going to say." (The watchdog group EPI obtained this email through a public records request.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The EMSC counted 12 elected officials, among them Seitz, as members. These 12 collectively received $830,000 in campaign contributions from utilities, oil and gas interests, and coal mining companies, according to an investigation by the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Contributions from electric utilities to Seitz more than tripled after he began trying to dismantle the state's renewable energy standards.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Following the Money</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Randazzo disputed any notion that the committee was stacked by the fossil fuel industry. "This was a legislatively appointed body with representation by both Republicans and Democrats," he said. And, it was "absolutely open to all stakeholder positions."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an interview, Seitz was blunt about whose interests he was looking out for. "Coal is moribund and crowded out by natural gas. If there's anyone I should have an affinity for it's the natural gas guys. ... The old saying is, you dance with who brung you to the dance. In Ohio, natural gas is who brung us to the dance."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seitz despises wind turbines, and his dedication to rolling back Ohio's energy standards stems in part from his passionate opposition to wind power. In fact, the only reason he voted for the standards back in 2008, he said, was a promise by the Senate president that he could write the language on turbines. Over time, Seitz has been behind restrictions that have wiped out any large new projects. "There will be no wind farms!" he said, with satisfaction.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Turbines, Seitz said, take up too much room, don't work when the wind doesn't blow, and are not a good fit for his district, in the far corner of the state where it borders Indiana and Kentucky. His neighbors love spending time in their yards and don't want any turbines wrecking their "view sheds," or chopping up bats and birds, he said. And it doesn't help matters that "it seems to be a cabal of urban millennials who love wind [power] and want to inflict the damage on rural landscapes—stick it out there in the country where all the bumpkins can't do anything about it. That's not very nice. So I'm not a big fan of wind."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gov. John Kasich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The final Energy Mandates Study Committee report was a gift to incumbent utilities and gas and coal interests. It recommended an indefinite extension of the freeze on renewable standards and more or less mirrored a bill Kasich vetoed on Dec. 22, 2016, saying the measure could undermine the state's improved business climate and prevent businesses and homeowners from saving money by saving energy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Undeterred by Kasich's veto, HB 114, the bill that passed on March 30, contains much of the EMSC wishlist.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seitz's staff also received advice from the Consumer Energy Alliance on expanding the definition of what counts as an alternative form of energy. The CEA is comprised of few consumers, operates out of HBW Resources, a Washington-based lobbying firm, and is backed by major oil and gas companies, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Shell and Norway's Statoil. It's a lobbying group that has been challenged before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for submitting public comment letters from individuals who later said in sworn statements that they never signed them. The CEA withdrew a petition in Wisconsin after a local reporter found that some people who signed it actually opposed the utility rate changes CEA was pushing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seitz laughed at the notion that he is the face of a well-funded industry campaign. "As I've made clear 20 times, I find mandates philosophically obnoxious," he said. "Look, I'm an antitrust lawyer by background and training. Antitrust lawyers tend to favor competition and not be a big fan of monopolies, and tend to believe that government interference ought to be kept to a minimum."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">His bill is now in the state Senate, where it may face an uphill fight. John Fortney, spokesman for the Republican majority caucus and Senate President Larry Obhof, said any legislation will have to be a compromise acceptable to both houses and Kasich. Kasich's office did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Andrew Kear, an assistant professor of political science and environment and sustainability at Bowling Green State University, said HB 114 can't survive without substantial changes. He said any measure will have to recognize that renewable energy is an economic driver in parts of the state. "They have to get beyond the false dichotomy that it's environment versus economy," he said.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/these-corporations-have-biggest-influence-climate-policy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For better or worse, corporations have a major influence on climate change policy. Just look at Koch Industries, a multinational conglomerate owned by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch that has contributed hundreds of millions to federal candidates and lobbying over the last 25 years.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The "Corporate Carbon Policy Footprint," a new analysis from U.K. nonprofit InfluenceMap, now ranks Koch Industries as the company with the strongest opposition to the Paris climate agreement and most intensely lobbies against policies in line with the landmark global accord.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The InfluenceMap scoring system does not measure a company's actual greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, it measures "the extent to which a corporation is supporting or obstructing the climate policy process."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For the InfluenceMap report, researchers analyzed more than "30,000 pieces of evidence" on 250 global companies and 50 major trade associations on their lobbying records, advertising, public relations and sponsored research, according to Bloomberg.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The research group gave the Wichita-based company an "F" grade for its anti-climate actions:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"Koch Industries appears to be actively opposing almost all areas of climate legislation. In 2014 in the US, they were reportedly active in their opposition to a carbon tax, funding politicians and campaigns to oppose the tax. Similarly, in 2014 they appear to have opposed the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan in consultation and through direct engagement with policy makers, and boasted about their success in blocking the US Cap and Trade Scheme in 2010. Additionally, they appear to be opposing measures to transition to a low carbon economy, advocating against renewable energy subsidies, and funding groups that have opposed energy efficiency standards, the repeal of fossil fuel subsidies and the need for action on climate change. They seem to be exceptionally active in opposing renewable energy standards across the U.S. Both the organization and its CEO, Charles Koch, appear to have questioned climate change science, and have reportedly funded climate denial. Senior executives are active in both the National Association of Manufacturers and ALEC, which also appear to be resisting climate change related regulations and policies."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the opposite end of the spectrum, Silicon Valley tech giant Apple was ranked highest on the list and has an A+ for its support of climate change action and its positive engagement with a number of climate change policy areas.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Here are the report's key findings:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">35 of the 50 most influential are actively lobbying against climate policy. They include companies in the fossil fuel value chain (ExxonMobil, Valero Energy, Chevron), energy intensive companies (BASF, ArcelorMittal, Bayer, Dow Chemical and Solvay) and electric utilities with large amounts of coal generating capacity (Southern Company, Duke Energy and American Electric Power).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Also in this group of 35 influential companies holding back climate policy are four powerful automotive manufacturers (Fiat Chrysler, Ford, BMW and Daimler). The research found the companies lobbying to delay or dilute efficiency and CO2 emissions standards and procedures both in Europe and North America. Depending on region, passenger vehicle emissions account for 12% or more of all greenhouse gas emissions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the other side, 15 of the 50 most influential are pushing for an ambitious climate policy agenda, favoring renewable power and electric vehicles. They include signatories to the RE100 initiative committing to buying 100% renewable power (Apple, Ikea, Unilever, Coca Cola and Nestle) as well as power sector companies (SSE, Enel, EDF, Iberdrola and National Grid) who are shifting their business models towards low carbon electricity generation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The data shows the climate policy agenda, in terms of corporate influencing, is being driven by a small number of massive global corporations," Dylan Tanner, InfluenceMap executive director, said in a statement. "It also shows a group of powerful of companies in the tech, consumer goods and utilities sectors increasingly pushing for policy to implement the Paris Agreement."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">InfluenceMap also ranked "influencers" or powerful trade associations that actively lobby against climate policies. A number of trade associations received an "F" grade, but here are the bottom five: U.S. Chamber of Commerce; American Petroleum Institute; American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity; National Mining Association; and the American Legislative Exchange Council.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Check out the full list here.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">mike davis says tee'd up trump win:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the Midwest the 2010 Tea Party victories brought a new generation of feral Republicans to power, many of them groomed by far-right think tanks such as Indiana’s Policy Review Foundation (once headed by Mike Pence), Michigan’s Mackinac Center, Wisconsin’s MacIver Institute, and Minnesota’s Center of the American Experiment, all of them spoiling for a fight to the death with the region’s public-sector unions and progressive big-city governments. Coordinating through the State Policy Network (sixty-five conservative think tanks) and the American Legislative Exchange Council, they launched campaigns to destroy public-sector bargaining rights, defund unions through right-to-work laws, and privatize public education through vouchers.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They focused in other words on increasing their structural and legal advantages in ways that Democrats would find difficult, even impossible to roll back. Unions and students, of course, conducted an epic resistance in Wisconsin but were unable to recall Scott Walker, in large part because of the lackluster character of the Democratic candidate. In Ohio the unions were more successful and repealed right-to-work by referendum, but in Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia, Republican majorities rammed through right-to-work and in Michigan, a Mackinac Center-inspired receivership for Detroit’s schools.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/02/the-great-god-trump-and-the-white-working-class</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...But Big Coal, which drives ALEC’s energy and anti-environmental model policies, is burning bright for him now. The fracking industries and king coal producers Noble Energy and ARCO dominated the first day of the 44th ALEC conference. The terms “clean coal” and “clean fossil fuels,” oxymorons if I ever heard one, were uttered so many times by the gas and oil industry that I lost count.&nbsp; And dirty coal dominated the day, with the gas and oil industry, including ExxonMobil, paying tens of thousands of dollars to host the first lunch and an entire afternoon of workshops.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The big coal producers can barely contain their glee at the gutting of environmental policies rolling out of the White House.&nbsp; At the opening lunch, Noble Energy executive Chip Rimer extolled that the “oil and gas industry is an example of what good policies can do.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">At the afternoon workshops paying homage to fossil fuels, a Colorado State Senator exclaimed how “great” it is to see the federal government shifting back to fossil fuels.&nbsp; Yikes.&nbsp; A Colorado Commissioner talked about burdensome, “purely political” state regulations while simultaneously bemoaning that some of her constituents are living surrounded by intrusive sound barriers erected by the fracking industry.&nbsp; Exactly whose rights are being infringed upon?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A gas and oil representative lamented that all the public hears about is when something goes wrong, like the “Firestone event.”&nbsp; Turns out the “Firestone event” was a deadly house explosion that recently occurred in Firestone, Colorado where two people were killed.&nbsp; The conflagration was caused when a well owned by Anadarko Petroleum was still attached to an abandoned, leaking gas line. Anadarko, a big fracking company, is a sponsor of the ALEC conference. What a nuisance that the public remembers such an event and that the state would step in to require additional safety precautions!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Renewable energy technologies are the enemy at ALEC. The Colorado Senator stated that renewable energies can’t even be considered an industry because of the subsidies needed and because “we can’t afford charities.”&nbsp; Totally ignored are the massive public subsidies handed out to the gas and oil industry.&nbsp; Even one of the presenters had to remind the audience that the fracking industry had received billions of dollars in public subsidies. You could hear a pin drop in response.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And on the docket today is the consideration by the Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force of a model policy resolution condemning Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs, pushed by Americans for Tax Reform.&nbsp; PACE programs allow property owners to receive low-cost commercial loans to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with long-term repayment options.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sigh.&nbsp; So much for the free market.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Learn more about what’s on the agenda at this ALEC conference at ExposedbyCMD.org.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/07/23/the-alec-swampland</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">by ct</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Though ALEC has an uneasy relationship with President Trump, they haven’t hesitated in adopting his “drain the swamp” rhetoric when extolling their plans to amend the federal constitution, repeal workers’ rights or gut social safety net programs.&nbsp; Trump keeps filling his “swamp” with cronies, political insiders and the corporate lobbyists that also populate the ALEC swamp.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of these lobbyists, working for the behemoth Chinese online retailer Alibaba, asked me to communicate information about his company to my (presumably male) boss.&nbsp; When I replied that I am a legislator, he looked me up and down incredulously until I replied “They let women be legislators now.”&nbsp; He didn’t speak to me again.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Experiencing ALEC is like diving into a swamp inhabited by creatures of the past. ALEC pushes policies that take us back to a federal government sitting on the sidelines while people suffered and starved, drank contaminated water and sustained injuries at work with no recourse.&nbsp; They are still lamenting the 1965 law that created the Medicaid and Medicare programs, as this, according to Avik Roy of the conservative Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, was the “real government takeover of health care.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So ALEC is trying to backdoor these rollbacks by calling for a first ever Article V constitutional convention to cut federal spending and limit federal authority. ALEC’s Article V constitutional convention push is really a hissy fit of the far right.&nbsp; They are angry at their inability to persuade Congressional Republicans to gut critical, popular social safety net programs and direct the resulting savings towards massive tax cuts for their corporate buddies and wealthy friends. And ALEC members, as indicated in the Health Taskforce, are besides themselves about Congress’ seeming inability to repeal the Affordable Care Act and shrink Medicaid, which they called for yesterday in two unanimously adopted resolutions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s real goal is preventing the federal government from providing health care and most other things in the first place. And they are working diligently, with the Balance Budget Amendment Taskforce (BBAT) and the Convention of States (COS), to do just that by corralling 34 states to call for an Article V Constitutional Convention.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But divisions have emerged, a rarity in ALEC land.&nbsp; The BBAT wants a convention to adopt amendments specifically requiring a federal balance budget.&nbsp; They believe that 27 states out of the 34 needed, have already passed resolutions calling for such a constitutional convention.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Convention of States (COS) project, launched at the 2013 annual ALEC conference by tea partier Mark Meckler, aims at a broader constitutional convention to pass amendments to institute term limits, and in general, limit the spending and authority of the federal government.&nbsp; Twelve states have passed resolutions calling for this type of constitutional convention.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I couldn’t help but compare Meckler’s talk this week to his 2013 presentation at my first ALEC conference, as he has since been buffed, shined and suited up.&nbsp; His message is no longer about leading a revolution, but rather restoring the constitution.&nbsp; He concludes with the same hard sell for state legislators to embrace our front-line role in defending liberty and “be who the founders expected you to be.”&nbsp; And Meckler’s solution if legislators don’t go along?&nbsp; “Tell your colleagues they are willing dupes for George Soros and the radical left.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When asked by a Michigan legislator why COS doesn’t just join the BBAT and get that done first, the divisions between the two efforts emerged, something rarely seen in ALEC land. The COS folks believe that the authority of the federal government is the disease which must be cured, and the spending is but a symptom.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A representative from Pennsylvania added the latest rallying cry to the effort—repealing the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and allowing state legislatures to once again choose U.S. Senators.&nbsp; Meckler responded that it’s more politically feasible to advance a constitutional amendment that U.S. Senators will be controlled by state legislatures.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the meantime, the next stop for this entire effort is Arizona, where that state legislature has called for a September Convention of States.&nbsp; When I asked Arizona Rep. Don Shooter about this gathering, he stated that they intend to pass federal constitutional amendments they will ask Congress to consider.&nbsp; Though he knows Congress won’t act, that underscores the point.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Let’s hope the public won’t go along with this ALEC act which could substantially harm millions of individuals and families throughout our country.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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