ALEC's next move: Go local!

[BrainGlutton]

You might have heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a somewhat secretive, corporate-funded RW organization that produces model legislation for conservative state legislators to introduce as bills.

Sometimes it works.

Examples of legislation drafted with ALEC’s help

• The anti-union bill giving rise to the 2011 Wisconsin protests
• Arizona SB 1070, the new anti-illegal-immigration law
• State bills mandating showing photo identification cards before being allowed to vote
• “Truth in sentencing”, “three strikes”, and mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders in many states during the 1990s[3]

In fact, it has worked out so well, apparently, that now they’re forming a new organization to do the same with local governments:

Now the council is looking to take its blueprint for influence over statewide lawmaking and drill it down to the local level. It has already quietly set up, and is making plans for the public launch of, an offshoot called the American City County Exchange (ACCE) that will target policymakers from “villages, towns, cities and counties”.

The new organisation will offer corporate America a direct conduit into the policy making process of city councils and municipalities. Lobbyists acting on behalf of major businesses will be able to propose resolutions and argue for new profit-enhancing legislation in front of elected city officials, who will then return to their council chambers and seek to implement the proposals.

In its early publicity material, Alec says the new network will be “America’s only free market forum for village, town, city and county policymakers”. Jon Russell, ACCE’s director, declined to comment on the initiative.

Alec spokesman Wilhelm Meierling also declined to say how many corporate and city council members ACCE has attracted so far, or to say when the new initiative would be formally unveiled. But he confirmed that its structure would mirror that of Alec’s work in state legislatures by bringing together city, county and municipal elected officials with corporate lobbyists.

Be warned. This approach could be even more successful, just because local politics get so little attention even from locals. Press your city council members or whatever as to whether they have had any communication at all with the ACCE!

Here’s another example of ALEC’s work:

‘Stand Your Ground’ laws

Shortly after Florida passed its Stand-your-ground law in 2005, ALEC adopted its legislative language into one of its model bills.[41][42][43] The Florida bill had been pressed by the National Rifle Association and its Tallahassee lobbyist, Marion Hammer.[4] According to testimony by the Center for Media and Democracy, Hammer met with ALEC’s Criminal Justice Task Force in the summer of 2005 and requested that it adopt Florida’s stand-your-ground law as an ALEC model bill. The Center for Media and Democracy stated that the proposal was well received and approved unanimously.

On April 4, 2012, after the Trayvon Martin shooting, advocacy group Color of Change changed the boycott to focus on The Coca-Cola Company for its support of ALEC and by implication, its involvement in Stand your Ground.[44] Within hours, Coca-Cola announced it was ending its relationship with ALEC in apparent response to the threatened boycott. More than 60 corporations and foundations including Wendy’s, Kraft Foods, McDonald’s, Amazon.com, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Apple, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the medical insurance group Blue Cross and Blue Shield dropped support of ALEC in the ensuing weeks or let their memberships lapse.[45][46][47][48][49][50][51] ALEC responded with a “Statement by ALEC on the Coordinated Intimidation Campaign Against Its Members”.[52][53][34]

On April 17, 2012, ALEC announced that it was disbanding its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which provided model bills for voter ID requirements and “stand your ground” gun laws.[54] The Martin shooting and subsequent boycott was described as a catalyst for ALEC to shift focus from social issues to economic ones.[55][56]

More on ALEC’s funding-sources. The Koch Brothers head the list, of course.

[Dumbguy]

Yay?

[Skammer]

No, boooooo. That’s all we need, more corporate influence on local politics.

[Morgyn]

They’re also largely responsible for all the TRAAP legislation that’s been passed in the last 3 or 4 years.

They need to go away. Far, FAR away. Iran, maybe, or Saudi Arabia, where people think it’s OK to have their government enforce religious prejudices.

[BrainGlutton]

@Morgyn

They’re also largely responsible for all the TRAAP legislation that’s been passed in the last 3 or 4 years.

TRAAP?

@Morgyn

They need to go away. Far, FAR away. Iran, maybe, or Saudi Arabia, where people think it’s OK to have their government enforce religious prejudices.

Well, apparently they’ve shifted focus recently to economic issues, which makes them even more dangerous, IMO.

[Morgyn]

@BrainGlutton

TRAAP?

Ah. It’s supposed to be just TRAP. It means Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers.

The laws that require that, oh, a Planned Parenthood has to meet hospital codes even though no other ambulatory outpatient clinic needs to, or that doctors at clinic that provides abortions must have admitting privileges to a hospital within n miles, even though everyone knows no hospital anywhere in the state will give those privileges, or that women who want an abortion must have a transvaginal ultrasound, or decreasing the number of weeks past conception when an abortion is allowable, or preventing abortions if a fetal heartbeat is heard.

You may remember a thread here about the dead woman in TX whose body was kept on life support in an attempt to “save the baby”.

Those people.

[Leaper]

I misread one of the quotes. When they said “America’s only free market forum for village, town, city and county policymakers”, I thought the forum was the “free market,” not the subject. Although an actual “free market forum” for policymakers might be interesting. Though maybe that’s what lobbyists are.

[GIGObuster]

Over here in Arizona they pinged in my radar for their Arizona SB 1070 anti-illegal-immigration law. Then like a bad penny they turned in the attempt at stopping the mass deployment of solar panels that home owners are finding that they save them a lot of money with their electric bills.

Local energy monopolies can’t have that, traditional utilities and fossil fuel companies do not like that solar could be seen by many as making economic sense, so ALEC gets funding and marching orders to fight against that.

The Campaign Against Net Metering: ALEC and Utility Interests’ Next Attack on...

[magellan01]

@GIGObuster

Over here in Arizona they pinged in my radar for their Arizona SB 1070 anti-illegal-immigration law. Then like a bad penny they turned in the attempt at stopping the mass deployment of solar panels that home owners are finding that they save them a lot of money with their electric bills.

Local energy monopolies can’t have that, traditional utilities and fossil fuel companies do not like that solar could be seen by many as making economic sense, so ALEC gets funding and marching orders to fight against that.

The Campaign Against Net Metering: ALEC and Utility Interests’ Next Attack on Clean Energy Surfaces in Arizona - Energy and Policy Institute

That’s nuts. What’s the rationale offered by APS? I can’t get a clear sense from the article.

[Damuri_Ajashi]

On the one hand, this kind of national coordination flies in the face of the states being the laboratories of the nation. on the other hand why doesn’t the left do something like this too?

[Buck_Godot]

@magellan01

That’s nuts. What’s the rationale offered by APS? I can’t get a clear sense from the article.

I think they argue that electrical infrastructure costs money which is nominally paid as part of the cost of electricity. Since people with solar power don’t buy as much power they are leaching off the rest of us.

Just like those free loading hybrid owners who aren’t paying their fair share of highway upkeep by paying less gas taxes . Which is also ALEC sponsored legislation

Yes it’s stupid.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

Ah. An entire agency dedicated to the kind of grit-in-the-gears laws I’ve been talking about over in the execution thread.

Swell.

[BrainGlutton]

@Damuri_Ajashi

On the one hand, this kind of national coordination flies in the face of the states being the laboratories of the nation. on the other hand why doesn’t the left do something like this too?

Sometimes it does.

Model legislation is the practice of legislation being drafted by outside advocacy and pressure groups, who then lobby U.S. state and federal legislators, or sometimes local jurisdictions, to sponsor and pass the bills. Many pressure groups approach state governments with model legislation seeking to pass it in all 50 states, rather than trying to pass it at the federal level. There is some truth to the old adage that legislation is “written by lawyers” and not written, nor read, by the legislators who pass it.

Some examples

• The American Bar Association is often the source of model legislation.
• The American Legislative Exchange Council has come under fire for its prolific use of this practice to pass anti-trade union, prison privatization, “tough on crime” laws, voter ID laws, and Arizona’s anti-immigration law.[1][2]
• The Anti-Defamation League’s model legislation for enhanced sentencing for bias-motivated crimes (or so-called “hate crimes”)[3]
• The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes’ model legislation mandating “fire-safe” cigarettes.[4]
• The Innocence Project has drafted model legislation[5] seeking to use DNA testing and other methods to free those who have been wrongly convicted such as prisoners on death row.
• PETA has drafted model legislation for local spay and neuter ordinances.[6] Other animal rights groups have proposed model legislation to create state registries of “animal abusers,” ban puppy mills and make bestiality a crime.[7]