Template:ALEC News

ALEC News

Barring Plastic Bag Bans, another ALEC Law Takes Aim at Local Democracy The pay-to-play model of government advanced by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) scored another victory this week. On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Senate voted along party lines to approve a bill that would prohibit local communities from issuing their own rules on plastic bags and other containers. This is part of an emerging national trend. Preventing local governments from banning, charging a fee for, or otherwise regulating plastic bags is part of a national strategy by corporate interests and groups they fund, like ALEC to override progressive policy gains at the city and county level. Read the rest of this item here. CMD Calls on ALEC to Disclose Information during Sunshine Week In the spirit of national Sunshine Week, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has written a letter to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its state chairs (see list) calling on them to live up to their own statements about the importance of transparency and release basic information about their legislative operations. "It's interesting that ALEC has touted the principles of public transparency for government accountability," said CMD executive director Lisa Graves. "Now we'd like to see ALEC apply those principles to their own legislative activities and interactions between ALEC legislators and ALEC corporations that undermine accountability." Read the rest of this item here. Cashing in on Kids: 172 ALEC Education Bills Push Privatization in 2015 Despite widespread public opposition to the corporate-driven education privatization agenda, at least 172 measures reflecting American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bills were introduced in 42 states in 2015, according to an analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy, publishers of ALECexposed.org and PRWatch.org. (A PDF version of this report may be downloaded here.) One of ALEC's biggest funders is Koch Industries and the Koch brothers' fortune. The Kochs have had a seat at the table—where the private sector votes as equals with legislators—on ALEC's education task force via their "grassroots" group Americans for Prosperity and their Freedom Partners group, which was described as the Kochs' "secret bank." The Kochs also have a voice on ALEC's Education Task Force through multiple state-based think tanks of the State Policy Network, ALEC's sister organization, which is funded by many of the same corporations and foundations and donor entities. Read the rest of this item here.