Environment, Energy, and Agriculture

ALEC's Efforts to Rewrite Laws about Americans' Rights The bills on this page represent the efforts of ALEC corporations to undermine federal environmental standards, eliminate the ability of local governments to manage land use and zoning, and to give corporate polluters free reign to contaminate air and water. These "model bills" are drafted at American Legislative Exchange Council conventions with input from, and approval by, Big Business, then introduced in state legislatures to change the rules that conserve the environment for all Americans. Politicians are elected to represent the people, not corporations; through ALEC, corporations have both a VOICE and a VOTE on specific state laws. Do you?

READ the "Model Bills" HERE Clicking here will send a zip file of all bills on this topic. Clicking here will send a zip file of all bills on this topic. Clicking here will send a zip file of all bills on this topic. To read the list of individual bills before opening them, click here. For descriptions of some of these bills, scroll down or click here.

How YOU Can Expose ALEC & Share What You Learn SPREAD THE WORD. Share this information through FACEBOOK, EMAIL, AND TWITTER. Concerned groups and people in every state need this to investigate how ALEC corporations are rewriting laws for their own advantage. EXPOSE ALEC LEGISLATORS. Demand the truth about which politicians in your state are in ALEC. Uncover whether YOUR tax dollars are paying ALEC "dues." Expose politicians who accept “scholarships” from ALEC's corporate-funded coffers for fancy trips. EXPOSE ALEC'S ROLE IN YOUR STATE HOUSE. Read these corporate-backed "model bills" NOW and cross-check them with bills in your state legislature. Ask your local media to report on what you have found and write your local newspaper. SHARE YOUR DISCOVERIES. Tell us what about what you uncovered! Tweet what you learn with the hashtag #ALECExposed or join the "Community Discussion" or email a confidential tip via tipline AT ALECexposed.org. Act today to help your family, friends, and fellow Americans better understand how global corporations are trying to rewrite your rights.

Join the Conversation! Who Is Behind ALEC? Get the Goods on ALEC's Agenda No id supplied for Twitter account! Corporations & politicians on ALEC's boards Who heads each ALEC "Task Force" Staff & "experts" ALEC funding and spending (here) ALEC connections to David and Charles Koch, the oil billionaires (here) Proposals to change the rules for workers, including unions (here) Industry-specific agendas, like oil companies (here) and the health insurance industry (here)

Learn MORE about the "Model Bills" ALEC Corporations Are Backing to Rewrite YOUR Rights The Center for Media and Democracy has annotated the "model legislation" politicians and corporations voted on, and we will be adding our analysis below and to other publications, such as our sister sites, PRWatch and SourceWatch.

How are corporations undermining environmental conservation in these bills? Energy companies, corporate polluters, Big Agriculture and their politician allies VOTED to change environmental rules by: Eliminating land use and zoning regulations designed to guide new development according to community goals while protecting community resources, replacing it with agreements between private actors. (also here) Undermining environmental regulations by allowing landowners to sue the government for alleged “regulatory takings,” through the innocuously named: “Private Property Protection Act” and the “Regulatory Costs Fairness Act” Giving states authority to appropriate national parks and other federal public land, possibly to allow greater oil, gas, and coal exploration, and by applying a very conservative interpretation of Congress’ Constitutional powers. Reversing notions of preemption through: allowing local governments to establish regulatory “ceilings” and demand that more stringent state or federal regulations be watered-down, or giving states authority to invalidate any federal law or directive by applying a narrow interpretation of Congress’ powers, and an expansive understanding of state’s rights Creating new burdens in passing environmental regulations through: Establishing a business-dominated panel to “assess” all environmental regulations, using a framework established by a climate change-denier, the “Copenhagen Consensus” Requiring states pass through multiple layers of process before passing environmental regulations, including approval by two five-person panels predicting the “economic” and “environmental” impacts Opposing uniform rules on hazardous coal combustion waste, in favor of a race-to-the-bottom amongst state rules. Opposing local, state, and federal waste reduction and mandated recycling laws, including regulations on packaging (such as Styrofoam restrictions) in favor of a “voluntary” approach to waste reduction. Permitting dangerous “fracking” exploration for natural gas, a process that has contaminated groundwater across the country (as portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film Gasland), under the guise of “state’s rights” Protecting polluting corporations from civil and criminal liability by making a company’s environmental audit reports “privileged” and inadmissible in legal proceedings (also here). Privatizing public water and sewer systems, a practice that has resulted in higher rates and negative environmental impacts, and prohibiting local governments from requiring contractors meet labor and wage standards. Streamlining siting for nuclear and other power plants by placing siting authority in a central agency Hindering state-level regulation of groundwater contaminants by establishing EPA standards as a ceiling (rather than a floor), giving Department of Agriculture regulatory (and regulatory veto) authority, and adding other burdens. Prohibiting local efforts to oppose bio-engineered and GMO crops in favor of centralized state regulation Protecting factory farms from nuisance liability by giving state agencies authority to define “accepted practices” and deterring individuals from filing complaints. Forbidding local governments from limiting pesticide use in favor of centralized state regulation. Other Helpful Resources Here are links to reports by reporters and advocates that have been challenging the ALEC corporate agenda: (CMD is not affiliated with these other organizations. If you would like to be listed as a resource, please contact us.) The American Legislative Exchange Council, on the Center for Media and Democracy's SourceWatch.org (wiki) and A CMD Special Report: Who Is the League of American Voters?, by the Center for Media and Democracy's PRWatch.org (March 2011) (PLACEHOLDER) Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America, by the American Association for Justice (May 2010) Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the States: The Untold Story Behind the American Legislative Exchange Council, by the Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council (March 2002) ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures, by People for the American Way (May 2011) Wisconsin's Cronon Affair: The Power of a Simple Fact, by The Nation (March 2011) Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, by Common Cause (August 2006) Conservative Corporate Advocacy Group ALEC Behind Voter Disenfranchisement Efforts' by the Center for American Progress and Campus Progress (March 2011)

Did You Know about these Bills? Some of this Corporate Agenda Has Already Become Law (PLACEHOLDER) Controversial Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, an alum of ALEC, proposed changes to the law from the ALEC corporate wish list on tort reform as one of his first acts as governor in January 2011. Those measures, in Wisconsin Bill 2, passed before people woke up to his radical agenda once he tried to force through dramatic changes to limit the rights of workers in the state in February. The changes to personal injury law Walker pushed through include X, Y, and Z (PLACEHOLDER). After Governor Walker changed the rights of injured Wisconsin residents as ALEC corporations had called for, ALEC publicly applauded Walker's actions. To learn more about this story, click here (PLACEHOLDER) (Have any of these bills been introduced or enacted in YOUR state? If so, please add that information to the ALEC Exposed page on your state by searching for your state's name in the search engine at the top of this page.) Limiting Damages for the Loss of Your Child, Spouse, or Parent (PLACEHOLDER)One of the corporate-politician proposals of ALEC would limit the ability of a family to recover for emotional damages due to the death or injury of a loved one. (LINK) This type of legislation basically makes working class or poor people's lives--as well as the elderly--worth less to their families because any damages for pain and suffering due to the death of a child, spouse, or parent would be limited to an amount equal to their loved one's lost earnings and medical expenses. These kind of corporate provisions try to prevent a jury of YOUR peers from awarding you damages for all you have lost or suffered AFTER a jury finds that your loved one's death was the result of corporate negligence, misconduct, or greed. Is a local legislator who was elected to represent YOU actually protecting the profits of global corporate wrongdoers through such legislation instead of YOU and YOUR FAMILY? Barring Corporate Liability for Killing Your Dog or Cat (PLACEHOLDER) In addition to limiting the rights of people injured by corporations, under the guise of limiting "frivolous" litigation in 2006, one of the proposals would make it harder for you to obtain any compensation from a company whose negligence killed your family pet. (LINK) In 2009, Americans learned that many U.S. pet food companies had shipped the production of food for their four-legged companions overseas and that Chinese contractors had contaminated the pet food with melamine in order to increase profit margins, resulting in the death and serious injuries of numerous dogs and cats in the U.S. 'If passed in your state, ALEC's corporation-backed proposal would make it very difficult for YOU to recover any damages for the loss of your beloved animal companion due to corporate negligence or misconduct in manufacturing food for America's beloved pets.

ALEC Exposed is a project of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). CMD does NOT accept donations from for-profit corporations or government agencies. More information about CMD is available here. You can reach the publisher of ALEC Exposed, CMD's Executive Director, Lisa Graves, via editor AT ALECexposed.org.

Worker and Consumer Rights · Tort Reform and Injured Americans · Privatizing Schools and Higher Ed Policy · Health, Pharmaceuticals and Safety Net Programs · Environment, Energy and Agriculture · Democracy, Voter Rights and Federal Power · Taxes and Budgets · Guns, Prisons, Crime and Immigration