ALEC Exposed in Texas

Here at Progress Texas, we are proud to announce a new project: ALEC Exposed in Texas. Nationally, the Center for Media and Democracy has launched ALEC Exposed with the goal of tracking the ways that corporations rewrite state laws behind closed doors that cause direct harm to Americans’ way of life. In the coming weeks and months, Progress Texas will launch an effort to expose ALEC’s corporate influence right here at home.

ALEC 101

Who Is ALEC?

For those who don’t know already, ALEC stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council.  They’re a conservative group of some 300 corporations and 2,000 legislators who work in coalition to draft model bills designed to help corporate bottom lines. 

ALEC started in 1973 as a small group of conservative legislators and policy advocates who wanted to push conservative agendas through the legislature. They got a boost in 1981, heavily assisting Ronald Reagan’s national Task Force on Federalism. By 1986, ALEC had grown to 12 very powerful task forces. After the Reagan Administration, many broke off to become their own independent think tanks. During this time, they actively began seeking more corporate input, acting on their philosophy which sees corporations as allies in policy-making.

Although they proclaim themselves as a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution, their legislative base is comprised almost entirely of Republicans, and ALEC receives 98% of their funding from corporations. In the past 20 years, ALEC has donated $228.3 million to campaigns, $202.1 million to candidates, and an additional $85.8 million to Republican committees, totaling $516.2 million.

To put things in perspective, some ALEC notables are:

ALEC AWARD WINNERS:

• Ronald Reagan
• Geroge H.Walker Bush
• Rick Perry (2010 Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award)
• William Bennet
• Wayne Christian (2008 state legislator of the year)
• Troy Fraser (2006 state senator of the year)

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

• President George W. Bush
• Dick Cheney
• Dan Quayle, Trent Lott

ALUMNI:

• Tom DeLay
• Andrew Card (Bush Admin)
• Congress members Kevin Brady, John Culberson, Sam Johnson, Kenny Marchant

What is ALEC’s Corporate Influence?

The corporations sit on all nine of ALEC’s task force committees and even have their own governing board, which meets with their legislative board. Essentially, they’re a super-lobbying organization that works by drafting model bills and sending them off with legislators to introduce as their own into law. They are responsible for introducing 1,000 pieces of legislation annually, as many as 200 of which get passed into law.

Although they say no lobbying takes place, it’s an obvious cover-up. For example, the chairman of their Private Enterprise Board, W. Preston Baldwin, is a long-time lobbyist and President and CEO of lobbying firm Centerpoint 360. Ovearll, 20 out of 24 corporate representatives on the board are lobbyists, representing corporations such as Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, State Farm, Altria, Walmart, and Bayer to name a few.

ALEC membership is very attractive for Republican Legislators, who get a free all-expenses-paid vacation (travel usually paid by taxpayers) where they get to attend huge corporate parties and forge connections with industry titans.  The legality of these events, however, is questionable. Their free vacations, childcare, “scholarships” and discounted memberships may be in violation of some state ethics codes.

What is ALEC Exposed?

ALEC is a very powerful and very unethical institution that is borderline illegal.  They have a strong influence over important legislative policy throughout the country.  For a long time they’ve been operating behind closed doors, but have recently been exposed. In Texas, their existence is so omnipresent that most Austin insiders will likely scoff at the mere mention that we’re trying to expose their influence. To a frighteningly realistic degree, exposing ALEC’s influence in Texas is like exposing all the work of Republicans in our State Legislature.

The Money Trail

ALEC’s Corporate Contributions Exposed

Corporate defenders of ALEC try to bill themselves as a dues-paying organization. Yet ALEC receives less than 2% of their funding from corporate and legislative dues, which are listed as tax-free “gifts.” The vast majority of ALEC contributions come in the form of donations directly from the corporations and their corporate foundations. In fact, over the past 3 years ALEC’s legislative contributions were only $250,000 compared to $21.6 million in corporate donations.

ALEC’s primary donors are well-known contributors to conservative political groups and think-tanks.  Some of top contributors include:

• Exxon Mobile
• Scaife family (Alleghany Foundation)
• Coors family (Castle Rock Foundation)
• Charles Koch (Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation) and (Claude R. Lame Charitable foundation)
• The Bradley family (the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation)
• Olin family (John M. Olin Foundation).

Source: People for the American Way

In addition, Altria (Phillip Morris), American Bail coalition, AT&T, Bayer, Coca cola, Energy future holdings, Pfizer, DIAGEO, Reynolds tobacco, Salt River Project and the United Parcels Service have all been major corporate contributors to ALEC.

ALEC and the Corporate “Private Enterprise Board”

America’s largest corporations do more than just contribute the vast majority of their funds. The largest corporations in America even have their own “Private Enterprise Board” that operates alongside their board of directors. Here are just a few of their board members:

• Altria (formerly Phillip Morris)
• AT&T
• Glaxosmithkiline
• Johnson & Johnson
• Koch Industries
• Kraft
• Coca Cola
• PhRMA
• Walmart
• Peabody Energy (world’s largest coal company)
• State Farm Insurance

Source: Center for Media and Democracy

These companies and contributions go towards passing legislation and electing politicians that benefit their own corporate interests and convincing the American people that they’re operating in our own best interests.

ALEC’s Corporate Money Funneled Back to States

What does ALEC do with all the money? Other than host corporate conferences, they donate the money back to states and candidates that advance their corporate causes. From 2001 to 2011, ALEC donated more than $370 million to states. The top five states in order are:

• California: $204 million
• Arizona: $ 16.5 million
• Texas: $16.2 million
• Oregon: $16.1 million
• Illinois: $11.8 million

Source:  Common Cause

Of this $370 million, $228.7 in contributions were used to influence voter referenda on tobacco tax increases and prescription drug prices.

More coming soon . . .