Template:ALEC News
ALEC News |
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Progressive Policies Win at the Ballot Box In a victory for climate activists and solar energy, Floridians voted down Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment which would have made it hard for people with solar panels to sell energy back to the grid. Leaked audio, obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy and the Energy and Policy Institute two weeks before the election, showed that Florida utilities and their allies sought to deceive the public into believing that Amendment 1 was pro-solar. The tapes made front page news across the state and Florida editorial boards weighed in, but as the amendment was very deceptively worded environmentalists were worried. In the end, voters rejected the amendment 50.8 to 49.2, a big defeat since the threshold to amend the constitution is 60 percent. Floridians for Solar Choice worked hard to expose the deception and turn out voters in opposition. Read the rest of this item here. Kochs Battle Dark Money Disclosure in South Dakota The anti-corruption measure, Initiated Measure 22 or IM-22, was launched by a bipartisan group called the South Dakotans for Integrity and put on the ballot with signatures from over 20,000 state residents. IM-22 cracks down on dark money and phony industry front groups by barring candidate coordination with outside groups and regulating independent expenditures. It cracks down on sham “issue ads,” which are really the functional equivalent of express advocacy, by requiring them to be reported electronically within 48 hours, requiring donor disclosure and requiring the top five donors to be disclosed on air. The initiative also provides a small dollar public financing mechanism, sets rules for lobbyists and gifts and creates an ethics commission to investigate violations of ethics and campaign finance rules. Read the rest of this item here. Voter ID in Wisconsin, a Slow-Motion Train Wreck The advocacy organization One Wisconsin Now was asking the judge to suspend the state’s voter ID law for the November election or at a minimum force the state to fix demonstrated problems with the voter ID petition process (IDPP), which is designed to help people who don’t have their birth certificates or other forms of ID acceptable under the state’s strict version of the American Legislative Exchange Council's "model" law. Read the rest of this item here. Exxon and ALEC Running Illegal Lobbying Scheme, Watchdog Groups Charge in IRS Complaint ExxonMobil and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are running an illegal scheme to promote the oil giant’s climate denial policies and legislative agenda in violation of U.S. tax law governing charitable organizations, the Center for Media Democracy (CMD) and Common Cause charged Thursday. In a new filing to the IRS – adding to an active investigation prompted by a 2012 complaint that ALEC is operating as a corporate lobbying group while registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity – the watchdog organizations detail for the first time how Exxon has used ALEC as a key asset in its explicit campaign to sow uncertainty about climate science, undermine international climate treaties and block legislation to reduce emissions. While ALEC purports to spend zero dollars on lobbying, Exxon has deliberately used ALEC for the past two decades to advance its legislative goals concerning cap-and-trade policies, fracking, the Keystone Pipeline and the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan. Read the rest of this item here. The Independent "Women's" Voice? Most Known Donors Are Men But is it even women's voices it is throwing? Let alone independent women? The reported data from the Federal Election Commission data says no. New research shows that the overwhelming majority of its known donors are men. Very rich men. Yes, men have provided most of the disclosed donations to fund election-related expenditures under the name of the "Independent Women's Voice." Read the rest of this item here. |