Environment, Energy, and Agriculture

ALEC's Efforts to Rewrite Laws about Environment, Energy and Agriculture 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 to your computer of all bills on Agriculture' Clicking here will send a zip file to your computer of all bills relating to Energy. Clicking here will send a zip file to your computer of all bills relating to the Environment. To see a full list of bills from this section and send them to your computer individually, click here. For descriptions of some of these bills, scroll down or click here. Join the Conversation No id supplied for Twitter account!

How YOU Can Expose ALEC & Share What You Learn SPREAD THE WORD. Share information about ALEC through Facebook, e-mail and Twitter. Concerned groups and people in every state need this to investigate how ALEC corporations are rewriting laws for their own advantage. And, please join the conversation on Facebook! 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 you uncovered! Tweet what you learn with the hashtag #ALECexposed, join a discussion on this site or email us a confidential tip via editor AT ALECexposed.org. And, follow our tweets on Twitter!

Get the Goods on ALEC ALEC Exposed Audio & Video From The Nation Magazine: ALEC & Democracy ALEC & Education ALEC & Labor ALEC & Health ALEC & Koch ALEC & Prisons From PR Watch: ALEC & Injury Law ALEC & Wisconsin ALEC & Tobacco ALEC & Climate Change From SourceWatch: Press on ALEC Exposed ALEC Quotes

Who Is Behind ALEC? ALEC Corporations ALEC Politicians ALEC "Scholars" ALEC Boards & Task Forces ALEC Staff More Information ALEC FAQ ALEC Exposed Press Release ALEC Funding ALEC Hotels ALEC Decoded ALEC & NCSL Comparison Common Cause Asks IRS to Audit ALEC Common Cause Study on ALEC Member Campaign Contributions ProPublica's Database of ALEC Campaign Contributions

More Helpful Resources Additional resources on ALEC's corporate agenda: ALEC Funding, PRWatch (2011) American Legislative Exchange Council and other related articles, SourceWatch (2011) Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America, American Association for Justice (2010) Climate Denial Report on ALEC and Exxon Funding for ALEC, Greenpeace (2011) Governing the Nation from the Statehouses, Progressive States Network (2006) Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Common Cause (2006) Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law, NPR (2010) Exposing ALEC, blogging group, Daily KOS (2011) ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures, People for the American Way (2011) Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the States, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council (2002) The Attack on Trial Lawyers and Tort Law, Commonwealth Institute (2003) Wisconsin's Cronon Affair: The Power of a Simple Fact, The Nation Magazine (2011) Ghostwriting the Law, Mother Jones (2002) ALEC Behind Voter Disenfranchisement Efforts, Center for American Progress (2011) ALEC Report, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (2011) ALEC Exposed: Business Domination Inc., The Nation Magazine (2011)

Learn MORE about the "Model Bills" ALEC Corporations Are Backing to Rewrite YOUR Rights The Center for Media and Democracy analyzed the bills ALEC politicians and corporations voted for. More analysis is available below and also at ALEC Exposed's 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.

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.

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