American Legislative Exchange Council

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is a nonpartisan, ideologically conservative [http://www.alec.org/index.php?id=300] , non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association of state legislators and private sector policy advocates. Among other activities, the group develops "model laws" for state legislatures and serves as an easy-networking tool for fellow legislators to research how certain policy projects and problems have been handled in other states. ALEC has approximately 2,400 members including approximately one-third of all state legislators in the United States, as well as 85 members of Congress who are considered "ALEC alumni". While the alumni elected to the United States Congress and as governors are almost exclusively Republican [http://www.alec.org/news/press-releases/press-releases-2002/november/alec-members-boost-alumni-membership-in-congress.html] [http://www.alec.org/about/alec-alumni-program.html] , one third of ALEC's legislative members are members of the Democratic Party.

ALEC's mission statement is to advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a non-partisan, public-private partnership between America’s state legislators and concerned members of the private sector, the federal government and the general public.

The council was founded in 1973 by conservative political activist Paul Weyrich (who served as its treasurer from 1981 through 1992), Henry Hyde, Lou Barnett and others as a national network of state legislators working on issues such as opposition to abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment. By the 1990s ALEC had become an influential organization underwritten by contributions from various corporations. One of ALEC's former directors of public affairs was Judy Petty, a former Arkansas legislator best known for her congressional challenge to the late Wilbur D. Mills.

ALEC no longer focuses on issues relating to social conservatism, choosing instead to pursue its goals of free markets and individual liberty that are more able to draw a bipartisan alliance and achieve cooperation nation-wide [http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=6990] .

There are currently nine task forces, addressing a wide variety of public policy issues: Civil Justice; Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development; Criminal Justice and Homeland Security; Education; Health and Human Services; Natural Resources; Tax and Fiscal Policy; Telecommunications and Information Technology.

ALEC has over three hundred corporate sponsors. Some corporations and trade groups that have supported ALEC include: American Nuclear Energy Council, American Petroleum Institute, Coors Brewing Company, Texaco, Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, Phillip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, VISA, Exxon Mobil, the National Rifle Association, Amway, and others. Groups critical of ALEC claim that the organization is controlled by the entities that fund it, subsequently promoting donors' agendas and goals, along with attempting to advance legislation which favors their interests. [ [http://alecwatch.org Alecwatch ] ]

Other critics, such as Joan Bokaer, describe ALEC as "a blend of traditional values conservatives with corporate money" where "social conservatives have the ability to get legislators elected by mobilizing through the megachurches, and corporations supply big funding and gain the ability to actually draft the bills presented in state assemblies." [ [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/8/23/6265/12545 ALEC: Traditional values discover corporate funding] Joan Bokaer. Talk 2 Action, August 23 2006.] People for the American Way describes ALEC as "a right-wing public policy organization with strong ties to major corporations, trade associations and right-wing politicians" with an agenda that "includes rolling back civil rights, challenging government restrictions on corporate pollution, limiting government regulations of commerce, privatizing public services, and representing the interests of the corporations that make up its supporters." [ [http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=6990 Right Wing Watch, American Legislative Exchange Council] People for the American Way.]

The chairmanship of ALEC is a rotating position, with a new legislator appointed to the position each year. The current chair of ALEC is Senator Steve Farris, a Democratic Party member of the Arkansas Senate. Day-to-day operations are run from ALEC's Washington, D.C. offices by an executive director and a small staff of around 30 policy analysts and membership liaisons.

Global warming

ALEC was a member organization of the now defunct Cooler Heads Coalition, which played a role in the global warming controversy by promoting a view that the fear of global warming is promoted more often by the media than by scientific facts. ALEC's Natural Resources Task Force continues to promulgate the notion that the current global warming crisis is little more than hype induced by left-leaning commentators and questionable science. [http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=2008_Annual_Meeting_Presentations&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=6995]

References

External links

* [http://www.alec.org ALEC]
* [http://www.alecwatch.org ALECWatch]
*cite news|url=http://www.alternet.org/rights/48977/|title=The Theocratic Agenda Is Heading for a Statehouse Near You|first=Rob|last=Boston|date=2007-03-10|accessdate=2007-03-11
* [http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=6990 Right Wing Watch, American Legislative Exchange Council]