ALEC's Efforts to limit democratic participation, facilitate big money in politics, and allow states to override the federal government.
The bills on this page represent ALEC corporations' efforts to disenfranchise Americans, to thwart federal government mandates, and to change campaign finance laws and give corporations greater ability to spend money influencing politics. 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 erode the democratic power of average 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?
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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.
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Act today to help your family, friends, and fellow Americans better understand how global corporations are trying to rewrite your rights.
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 ALEC corporations limiting democratic participation?
These bills limit the democratic influence of average Americans in favor of corporations by:
Disenfranchising low-income, elderly, people-of-color, and student voters by requiring all voters show a state ID at the polls (7G16)
Opposing public financing of elections designed to reduce the influence of moneyed interests, justifying their position with the dubious assertion that “campaign contributions have no effect upon legislative behavior” (7G9)
Anticipating unlimited secret spending in the 2010 midterm elections, releasing a Resolution supporting non-disclosure before anyone recognized how right-wing groups would secretly spend hundreds of millions in the 2010 elections (7G4)
Opposing the use of statistical sampling to get an accurate count of urban people of color and immigrants in the U.S. Census, out of concern that it would increase power for Democrats (7G2)
Opposing “false statement” laws passed by states designed to ensure that campaign ads don’t mislead voters with false statements (7G11)
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.)
Some of this Corporate Agenda Has Already Become Law
(PLACEHOLDER)Taking a page from the ALEC corporation playbook, in May, 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, an ALEC alum, signed into law one of the most restrictive "Voter ID" restrictions in the country. Many in the state do not have driver's licenses -- around half of the state's African-American and Latino populations and 178,000 seniors -- and Department of Motor Vehicles offices are open erratically. Also under the bill, a current address is required on the license to vote, disenfranchising many students who move regularly. Wisconsin's Voter ID bill goes even further than the ALEC version. 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.
