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UNITED STATES: POLITICS: POLITICAL PARTIES: REPUBLICAN PARTY, TEA PARTY :
INDUSTRIES: PETROLEUM :
LIBRETARIANISM :
ORGANIZATIONS: AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE COUNCIL (ALEC):
Explore the Cozy Relationship between Tennessee Lawmakers
and a Corporate Interests Group
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Explore the Cozy Relationship between Tennessee Lawmakers
and a Corporate Interests Group
By Richard Locker
The Commercial Appeal
May 6th, 2015
The Free Press
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/may/06/
alec-lets-legislators-bring-model-bills-back/302615/
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A shorter URL for the above link:
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http://tinyurl.com/mgyaaor
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ALEC is a conservative policy organization promoting "limited government,
free markets, federalism" and whose membership includes state lawmakers
and corporate representatives from across the country. With Republicans in
full control of 30 state legislatures, ALEC now rivals the centrist,
nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures in attendance at its
meetings.
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Indeed, as Republicans have enlarged their majorities in the Tennessee
General Assembly, ALEC has become more ingrained in the culture of the
legislature and its legislation. Eighteen Tennessee lawmakers billed just
over $53,000 to taxpayers to attend ALEC conferences in 2014, not counting
lawmakers who traveled on ALEC "scholarships" or other means, according to
expense records on the legislature's website.
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Criticism has accompanied ALEC's rise in power. Several national groups,
from centrist to liberal, including the public interest group Common
Cause, have attacked ALEC's blend of ideology, corporate partnership and
attempts to pass legislation of its own.
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"They make their decisions based on politics and contributions rather than
on best practices or best solutions to problems," Tennessee state Rep. Joe
Armstrong, D-Knoxville, said when he quit ALEC three years ago. "Their
agenda has become very self-serving and very partisan. ... It's
extremist."
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snip
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LITTLE NEED TO LOBBY
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Unlike national groups like Americans For Prosperity that seek to
influence state laws and policy from the outside of statehouse chambers
through lobbying and political pressure, ALEC doesn't need to: Its members
are the lawmakers themselves -- and thus far more effective. It's not
surprising that conservative legislators flock to its conferences and
support its goals, just as black lawmakers attend NBCSL meetings.
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Aside from conservative advocacy, another big difference between ALEC and
other legislative groups is its membership of business and trade
association executives, whose corporations largely fund ALEC. Corporate
representatives are fully integrated into its structure, as voting members
of its various policy "task forces" alongside its legislative members.
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ALEC's "private enterprise advisory council" helps govern the
organization, along with a board of directors of 30 lawmakers. The council
includes executives from Koch Cos., Exxon Mobil, State Farm, Pfizer, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America [PhRMA], the tobacco
giant Altria, AT&T, National Federation of Independent Business, the
alcoholic beverage giant Diageo, United Parcel Service, the for-profit
online school company K-12 Inc., and the American Bail Coalition,
representing the bail bond industry.
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ALEC doesn't run political advertising or contribute to legislators'
campaigns, but its corporate members do.
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Far more importantly, lawmakers bring home ideas, model bills and research
from ALEC developed by its committees, task forces, "ALEC scholars" and
the corporate and foundation advisers that help support ALEC. One of its
four "Board of Scholars" members, for example, is economist-consultant
Arthur Laffer of Murfreesboro, who championed tax cuts and supply-side
economics as an adviser to President Reagan in the 1980s. Laffer, who has
testified before Tennessee legislative committees, issues reports for ALEC
that legislators cite as research for passing bills.
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When the Tennessee legislature approved a bill in 2011 allowing for-profit
online "virtual schools" to operate in Tennessee and receive the state's
share of public school funding on the same per-pupil basis as regular
schools for every student they enroll, it was through a model bill from
ALEC -- much of it word for word with parts tailored to Tennessee.
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The complete article may be read at the URL above.
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Sincerely,
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Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@xxxxxxxxxx
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