Editing American Legislative Exchange Council

{{Short description|American conservative lobbying group}}
{{use mdy dates |date=June 2020}}
{{infobox organization
| name                     = American Legislative Exchange Council
| logo                     = American Legislative Exchange Council.svg
| logo_size                = 250px
| alt                      = Logo of American Legislative Exchange Council
| abbreviation             = ALEC
| formation                = {{start date and age|1973|9}}
| formerly                 = Conservative Caucus of State Legislators
| type                     = [[Nonprofit organization]]
| status                   = [[501(c)(3)]]
| headquarters             = 2733 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000,<br />[[Crystal City, Virginia|Crystal City]], [[Arlington County, Virginia]], U.S.
| coords                   = {{Coord|38.8470|-77.0523|display=inline,title}}
| expenses_year            = 2021
| expenses                 = $8,596,965<ref name=ALECform990>{{cite web |url=https://www.alec.org/about/public-reporting/ |title=Public Reporting |website=ALEC |access-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624072604/https://www.alec.org/about/public-reporting/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| revenue_year             = 2021
| revenue                  = $9,832,106<ref name=ALECform990 />
| leader_title             = National Chair
| leader_name              = [[Daniel Perez (politician)|Daniel Perez]] (Florida State Representative)
| leader_title2            = Chief Executive Officer
| leader_name2             = Lisa Nelson<ref name=ALECStaff>{{cite web |url=https://alec.org/about/alec-staff/ |title=ALEC Staff |website=ALEC |access-date=June 21, 2023 }}</ref>
| website                  = [https://www.alec.org ALEC.org]
}}
The '''American Legislative Exchange Council''' ('''ALEC''') is a [[nonprofit organization]] of [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[state legislature (United States)|state legislators]] and [[private sector]] representatives who draft and share [[Model act|model legislation]] for distribution among state governments in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=Transportation Chief Attacks Congress on Safety|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/30/us/transportation-chief-attacks-congress-on-safety.html|work=The New York Times|date=1987-08-30|author=May, Clifford|access-date=February 5, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813143739/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/30/us/transportation-chief-attacks-congress-on-safety.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=fcir/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://kbia.org/post/right-work-bill-praised-and-blasted-house-committee-hearing|title='Right-to-work' bill praised and blasted in House committee hearing|publisher=[[KBIA]]|date=January 14, 2014|first=Marshall|last=Griffin|access-date=January 29, 2014|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311233732/http://kbia.org/post/right-work-bill-praised-and-blasted-house-committee-hearing|url-status=live}}</ref>

ALEC provides a forum for state legislators and private sector members to collaborate on [[Model act|model bill]]s—draft legislation that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures.<ref name=governing2011>{{cite news|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/ALEC-enjoys-new-wave-influence-criticism.html|title=ALEC Enjoys A New Wave of Influence and Criticism|work=[[Governing (magazine)|Governing]]|date=December 2011|first=Alan|last=Greenblatt|access-date=December 23, 2013|archive-date=December 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224103411/http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/ALEC-enjoys-new-wave-influence-criticism.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=pilkington>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/obamacare-alec-republican-legislators|title=Obamacare faces new threat at state level from corporate interest group Alec|date=November 20, 2013|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Ed|last=Pilkington|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223045752/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/obamacare-alec-republican-legislators|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=propubhiv/> ALEC has produced model bills on a broad range of issues, such as reducing regulation and individual and corporate taxation, combating [[illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigration]], loosening [[environmental regulations]], tightening [[voter ID laws|voter identification rules]], weakening [[Labor unions in the United States|labor unions]], and opposing [[gun control]].<ref name=Bloomberg>{{cite magazine | url = http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/alecs-secrets-revealed-corporations-flee | title = ALEC's Secrets Revealed; Corporations Flee | last1 = Greeley | first1 = Brendan | date = May 3, 2012 | magazine = [[Bloomberg Businessweek]] | access-date = May 9, 2012 | archive-date = May 10, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120510080542/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/alecs-secrets-revealed-corporations-flee | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=stealth>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=McIntire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/alec-a-tax-exempt-group-mixes-legislators-and-lobbyists.html?pagewanted=all |title=Conservative Nonprofit Acts as a Stealth Business Lobbyist |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 21, 2012 |access-date=May 15, 2012 |archive-date=May 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513123347/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/alec-a-tax-exempt-group-mixes-legislators-and-lobbyists.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kraft"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Lafer|first=Gordon |author-link=Gordon Lafer|date=2017 |title=The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One State at a Time|url= |location= |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|pages=78–100, 156–171|isbn=978-1501703065}}</ref> Some of these bills dominate legislative agendas in states such as Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine.<ref name=rizzo1/> Approximately 200 model bills become law each year.<ref name="Bloomberg"/><ref name=governing2003>{{cite news|url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/What-Makes-Alec-Smart.html|title=What Makes Alec Smart?|date=October 2003|work=[[Governing (magazine)|Governing]]|first=Alan|last=Greenblatt|access-date=December 2, 2013|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190305/https://www.governing.com/topics/politics/What-Makes-Alec-Smart.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ALEC also serves as a networking tool among certain state legislators, allowing them to research conservative policies implemented in other states.<ref name = "Kraft">{{Cite book| last1 = Kraft| first1 = Michael E.| last2 = Kamieniecki| first2 = Sheldon| title = Business and environmental policy : corporate interests in the American political system| year = 2007| publisher = MIT Press| location = Cambridge, Mass.| isbn = 978-0-262-61218-0| page = [https://archive.org/details/businessenvironm0000unse_i6e3/page/276 276]| quote = [ALEC] provide[s] direct assistance to state legislators and firms eager to minimize any state government engagement in environmental protection. ALEC's membership base includes nearly one-third of all sitting state legislators and most of its resources are derived from corporations and trade associations. It offers regular conferences and training sessions but is perhaps best known for drafting model bills that can easily be adopted by an individual state and introduced into a legislature.| url = https://archive.org/details/businessenvironm0000unse_i6e3/page/276}}</ref> Many ALEC legislators say the organization converts campaign rhetoric and nascent policy ideas into legislative language.<ref name=governing2011/>

ALEC's activities, while legal,<ref name=pssst/> received public scrutiny after news reports in 2012 from outlets such as ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' described ALEC as an organization that gave corporate interests outsized influence.<ref name=Bloomberg/><ref name=stealth/> Resulting public pressure led to a number of legislators and corporations withdrawing from the organization. In 2022, however, ''[[Business Insider|Insider]]'' reported that [[Rick Santorum|a political commentator]] addressing the July policy summit of ALEC stated that if the objective of the [[Second Constitutional Convention of the United States|conservative constitutional convention movement]] that "is gaining momentum" largely out of public view is successful in its effort to rewrite the [[Constitution of the United States|constitution]], the USA will become the "conservative nation" ALEC has been working toward.<ref>Grace Panetta, Brent D. Griffiths, [https://www.businessinsider.com/constitutional-convention-conservatives-republicans-constitution-supreme-court-2022-7 Republicans' next big play is to 'scare the hell out of Washington' by rewriting the Constitution. And they're willing to play the long game to win], Insider, July 31, 2022</ref>

==History==
===1973 to 2010===
ALEC was founded in 1973 in [[Chicago]] as the Conservative Caucus of State Legislators, a project initiated by Mark Rhoads, an [[Illinois State Capitol|Illinois state house]] staffer, to counter the [[Environmental Protection Agency]], [[wage controls|wage]], and [[price controls]], and to respond to the defeat of [[Barry Goldwater]] in the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 presidential election]].<ref name=Bishop2009>{{cite book|last=Bishop|first=Bill|title=The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded American Is Tearing Us Apart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAqNKMfgdk4C&pg=PT203|year=2009|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]|isbn=978-0547525198|page=203|access-date=October 7, 2016|archive-date=July 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718211258/http://books.google.com/books?id=VAqNKMfgdk4C&pg=PT203|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=rizzo2/>

Conservative legislators felt the word "conservative" was unpopular with the public at the time, however, so the organization was renamed as, the American Legislative Exchange Council.<ref name=Bishop2009/> In 1975, with the support of the [[American Conservative Union]], ALEC registered as a federal nonprofit agency.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schoenwald |first=Jonathan M. |title=A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdbqQsQlI3IC&pg=PA241 |year=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195157260 |page=241 |access-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-date=July 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718232638/http://books.google.com/books?id=EdbqQsQlI3IC&pg=PA241 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Lichtman2009>{{cite book |last=Lichtman |first=Allan J. |title=White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3q92ePfQDloC&pg=PA318 |year=2009 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0802144201 |page=318 |access-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-date=July 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718184506/http://books.google.com/books?id=3q92ePfQDloC&pg=PA318 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bill Moyers]] and [[Greenpeace]] have attributed the establishment of ALEC to the influential [[Lewis F. Powell, Jr.#Powell Memorandum|Powell Memorandum]], which led to the rise of a new business activist movement in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|first=Charlie|last=Cray|date=August 23, 2011|url=http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/the-lewis-powell-memo-corporate-blueprint-to-/blog/36466/|title=The Lewis Powell Memo – Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy|publisher=[[Greenpeace]]|access-date=January 1, 2014|archive-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191806/http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/the-lewis-powell-memo-corporate-blueprint-to-/blog/36466/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Bill|last=Moyers|date=November 2, 2011|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/164349/how-wall-street-occupied-america|title=How Wall Street Occupied America]|journal=[[The Nation]]|access-date=January 1, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220185226/http://www.thenation.com/article/164349/how-wall-street-occupied-america|url-status=live}}</ref>

ALEC was co-founded by conservative activist [[Paul Weyrich]], who also co-founded [[The Heritage Foundation]].<ref name=pssst/><ref name=Bishop2009/> [[Henry Hyde]], who later became a U.S. congressman, and Lou Barnett, who later became national political director of [[Ronald Reagan]]'s Political Action Committee, also helped to found ALEC. Early members included a number of state and local politicians who went on to statewide office, including [[Bob Kasten]], [[Tommy Thompson]], and [[Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker]] of Wisconsin, [[John Engler]] of Michigan, [[Terry Branstad]] of Iowa, [[Mitch Daniels]] of Indiana, and [[John Boehner]] and [[John Kasich]] of Ohio.<ref name=hill04232012>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/112160-trayvon-killing-puts-american-legislative-exchange-council-in-the-spotlight/|title=Trayvon killing puts American Legislative Exchange Council in the spotlight|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=April 23, 2012|first=Juan|last=Williams|access-date=June 12, 2014|archive-date=October 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027184443/http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/222965-martin-case-puts-alec-in-spotlight|url-status=live}}</ref> Several members of Congress also were involved in the organization during its early years, including Rep. [[Jack Kemp]] of New York, Sen. [[Jesse Helms]] of North Carolina, Sen. [[James L. Buckley]] of New York, Rep. [[Phil Crane]] of Illinois, and Rep [[Eric Cantor]] of Virginia.<ref name=hill04232012/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b1UGM0CHOGAC&q=james+buckley+%22american+Legislative+Exchange+Council%22+helms&pg=PA62|title=Encyclopedia of Educational Reform and Dissent|volume=1|editor1-first=Thomas C.|editor1-last=Hunt|editor2-first=Thomas J.|editor2-last=Lasley, II|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|date=January 12, 2010|isbn=9781412956642|access-date=October 29, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174015/https://books.google.com/books?id=b1UGM0CHOGAC&q=james+buckley+%22american+Legislative+Exchange+Council%22+helms&pg=PA62|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 1980s, ALEC opposed U.S. [[disinvestment from South Africa]], a movement to put pressure on the South African government to embark on [[negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|negotiations]] with a goal of dismantling [[apartheid]]. In 1985, ALEC also published a memo that opposed "the current homosexual movement", portrayed [[homosexuality]] as a result of a conscious choice, and said that [[pedophilia]] was "one of the more dominant practices within the homosexual world".<ref name=ashtari>{{cite news|first=Shadee|last=Ashtari|date=December 5, 2013|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/alec-anti-gay-documents_n_4386318.html|title=Right Wing Group's Extreme Anti-Gay History Revealed In New Document|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=December 12, 2013|archive-date=December 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211172741/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/alec-anti-gay-documents_n_4386318.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ALEC spokesman Bill Meierling discussed the document in 2013 and said that ALEC does not draft model bills on social issues, and added, "I'm also sad that the critics would not acknowledge that organizations change over time."<ref name=ashtari/>

Duane Parde served as the executive director from December 1996 to January 2006.<ref name="Parde NTU">{{cite web |url=http://www.ntu.org/about-ntu/staff/duane-parde.html |title=Duane Parde, president |year=2009 |work=About NTU: Staff |publisher=[[National Taxpayers Union]] |access-date=May 14, 2012 |archive-date=April 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424062823/http://www.ntu.org/about-ntu/staff/duane-parde.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lori Roman, who served in the same role from 2006 to 2008, had an imperious style that led to financial difficulties and the departure of two thirds of ALEC's staff.<ref name=governing2011/> According to [[Dolores Mertz]], then a Democratic Iowa state representative and chairwoman of the ALEC board, ALEC became increasingly partisan during that period, with Roman once telling Mertz "she didn't like Democrats and she wasn't going to work with them."<ref name=dailybeast>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/04/former-chair-accuses-alec-of-anti-democrat-bias.html|title=Former Chair Accuses ALEC of Anti-Democrat Bias|newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=May 4, 2012|first=Ben|last=Jacobs|access-date=December 23, 2013|archive-date=December 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204133459/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/04/former-chair-accuses-alec-of-anti-democrat-bias.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Ron Scheberle became executive director in 2010 after acting as a lobbyist for [[Verizon Communications]] (previously [[GTE]]) and as an ALEC board member.<ref name=pssst>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/pssst-wanna-buy-a-law-12012011.html|title=Pssst ... Wanna Buy a Law?|newspaper=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]|date=December 1, 2011|first1=Alison|last1=Fitzgerald|access-date=December 23, 2013|archive-date=December 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131223063905/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/pssst-wanna-buy-a-law-12012011.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

By 2011, the number of ALEC legislative members had reached 2,000, including more than 25 percent of all state legislators nationwide. Approximately 1,000 bills based on ALEC language were being introduced in state legislatures every year, with approximately 20% of those bills being enacted.<ref name=governing2011/>

===Since 2011===
Prior to 2011, ALEC's practices and its ties to specific pieces of legislation were little known outside of political circles.<ref name=atlantic/> In July 2011, ''[[The Nation]]'' published a series of articles produced in collaboration with the [[Center for Media and Democracy]] (CMD) that showcased some of the ALEC model bills and described ties to the [[Koch family]], and CMD launched a website "ALEC Exposed" that documented more than 800 of ALEC model bills, the legislators and corporations that had helped to draft them, and the states that enacted them.<ref name=atlantic/>

The joint effort, and particularly its coverage of ALEC's push for tough [[Voter ID laws in the United States|voter ID laws]], prompted the advocacy group [[Color of Change]] to launch a public campaign to pressure corporations to withdraw their ALEC memberships.<ref name=atlantic>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/exposing-alec-how-conservative-backed-state-laws-are-all-connected/255869/|title=Exposing ALEC: How Conservative-Backed State Laws Are All Connected|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=April 14, 2012|first=Nancy|last=Scola|access-date=March 5, 2017|archive-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223014212/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/exposing-alec-how-conservative-backed-state-laws-are-all-connected/255869/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The criticism among media outlets and political opponents was that ALEC was secretly subverting democratic institutions to further the aims of its corporate benefactors.<ref name=atlantic/> Oregon state representative and ALEC member [[Gene Whisnant]] said in December 2011, "We're getting a lot of attention saying we're trying to destroy the earth and everything on it."<ref name=governing2011/> ALEC staff and members promoted the organization as promoting public-private partnerships for the advancement of free market principles.<ref name=atlantic/> ALEC senior director of membership and development Chaz Cirame said, "The hook about some conspiracy or some secret organization is a lot better story than one about bringing state legislators together to talk about best practices around the country."<ref name=governing2011/>

In 2012, ALEC was the subject of an [[Occupy movement]] protest, an [[Internal Revenue Service]] complaint by [[Common Cause]], and calls for attorney general investigations in several states.<ref name=oregonian>{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/alec_gains_foothold_in_oregon.html|title=ALEC gains foothold in Oregon, with one-fourth of legislators as members|newspaper=[[The Oregonian]]|date=May 26, 2012|first=Michelle|last=Cole|access-date=August 10, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006110447/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/alec_gains_foothold_in_oregon.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[killing of Trayvon Martin]] on February 26, 2012, led to increased public attention on [[Stand-your-ground law|"Stand-your-ground" gun laws]] that ALEC had supported.<ref name=atlantic/> Color of Change launched a new campaign in April to pressure ALEC corporate members to withdraw.<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Bedard |url=http://washingtonexaminer.com/coke-caves-in-face-of-democratic-boycott-threat/article/444346 |work=[[The Washington Examiner]] |title=Coke caves in face of Democratic boycott threat |date=April 4, 2012 |access-date=April 9, 2012 |archive-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017051507/http://washingtonexaminer.com/coke-caves-in-face-of-democratic-boycott-threat/article/444346 |url-status=live }}</ref> More than sixty corporations and foundations, including [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]], [[Wendy's]], [[Kraft Foods]], [[McDonald's]], [[Amazon.com]], [[General Electric]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Procter & Gamble]], [[Walmart]], the [[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.<ref>{{cite web|first=Karen|last=McVeigh|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/05/coca-cola-pepsico-stand-your-ground|work=The Guardian|title=Coca-Cola and PepsiCo sever ties with group behind stand-your-ground laws|date=April 6, 2012|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=September 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908115525/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/05/coca-cola-pepsico-stand-your-ground|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="motherjones.com">{{cite web|last=Kroll|first=Andy|title=The Gates Foundation Is Done Funding ALEC|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|url=http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/alec-gates-foundation-pepsi-kraft|access-date=April 10, 2012|archive-date=April 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411231226/http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/alec-gates-foundation-pepsi-kraft|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kroll|first=Andy|url=http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/mcdonalds-alec-pepsi-kraft-voter-id|work=Mother Jones|title=McDonald's Says It Has Dumped ALEC|date=April 10, 2012|access-date=April 10, 2012|archive-date=April 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411203544/http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/04/mcdonalds-alec-pepsi-kraft-voter-id|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wendys-idUSBRE83B1DW20120412|title=Reed Elsevier, Wendy's drop conservative group|date=April 12, 2012|access-date=February 17, 2015|work=[[Reuters]]|first1=Martinne|last1=Geller|first2=Jennifer|last2=Saba|location=[[New York, New York]]|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306185522/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wendys-idUSBRE83B1DW20120412|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=overby>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Overby|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/13/150528572/as-pressure-mounts-companies-flee-coalition|title=Companies Flee Group Behind 'Stand Your Ground'|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|date=April 13, 2012|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=April 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415032905/https://www.npr.org/2012/04/13/150528572/as-pressure-mounts-companies-flee-coalition|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jeremy |last=Duda |url=http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/04/13/american-traffic-solutions-leaving-alec-joining-aps |title=American Traffic Solutions leaving ALEC, joining APS |work=azcapitoltimes.com |date=April 13, 2012 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-date=April 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418101620/http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2012/04/13/american-traffic-solutions-leaving-alec-joining-aps/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Julian |last=Pecquet |url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/111702-blue-cross-blue-shield-quits-conservative-legislative-organization-alec/ |title=Blue Cross Blue Shield quits conservative legislative organization ALEC |date=April 17, 2012 |access-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630114409/https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/222049-blue-cross-blue-shield-quits-conservative-legislative-organization-alec |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/wal-mart-leaves-alec-22nd-company-exit-conservative-lobbying-group-701012|title=Wal-Mart Leaves ALEC, 22nd Company To Exit Conservative Lobbying Group|newspaper=[[International Business Times]]|date=May 31, 2012|first=David|last=Zielenziger|access-date=November 10, 2014|archive-date=October 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013235430/http://www.ibtimes.com/wal-mart-leaves-alec-22nd-company-exit-conservative-lobbying-group-701012|url-status=live}}</ref> Thirty-four legislative members also left ALEC.<ref name=cpiexempt>{{cite news|url=http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/05/08/8828/alec-exempted-lobbyist-status-three-separate-states|title=ALEC exempted from lobbyist status in three separate states|publisher=[[Center for Public Integrity]]|date=May 8, 2014|first=Paul|last=Abowd|access-date=November 26, 2014|archive-date=May 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513001538/http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/05/08/8828/alec-exempted-lobbyist-status-three-separate-states|url-status=live}}</ref>

ALEC responded by releasing a statement describing efforts by its critics as a "campaign launched by a coalition of extreme liberal activists committed to silencing anyone who disagrees with their agenda".<ref name=atlantic/><ref name=Guardian20131203/> Doug Clopp of Common Cause credited ALEC Exposed for the successful campaign, saying that "for 40 years you couldn't get the kind of accountability we're seeing now because ALEC, its members, its legislators, its bills were secret."<ref name=atlantic/>

Former [[Visa Inc.]] lobbyist,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/0313/politicoinfluence10158.html|title=Center for American Progress adds Carmel Martin – Visa revamp continues – Bloom hangs a shingle – Tackett founds Wexford Strategic Advisors|publisher=[[Politico]]|date=March 5, 2013|first1=Byron|last1=Tau|first2=Anna|last2=Palmer|access-date=December 12, 2014|archive-date=December 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227035601/http://www.politico.com/politicoinfluence/0313/politicoinfluence10158.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Newt Gingrich]] aide, and [[GOPAC]] executive director, Lisa B. Nelson, succeeded Scheberle as CEO of ALEC in 2014.<ref name=wapo07082014>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/08/alec-the-free-market-group-liberals-love-to-hate-gets-a-new-boss/|title=ALEC, the free-market group liberals love to hate, gets a new boss|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 8, 2014|first=Niraj|last=Chokshi|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807160905/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/08/alec-the-free-market-group-liberals-love-to-hate-gets-a-new-boss/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late 2014, a number of technology-oriented companies such as [[Google]], [[Microsoft]], [[Facebook]], [[eBay]], and [[Yahoo!]] announced that they were ending their ties to ALEC. Multiple companies cited environmental concerns as a point of contention with the organization.<ref name=dentists/> Google Executive Chairman [[Eric Schmidt]] remarked that ALEC was "just literally lying" about [[Global warming|recent global climate change]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/19/ebay-google-dumps-alec-climate-change-denial|title=Ebay joins Google and others in dumping Alec over climate stance|first=Anna|last=Codrea-Rado|date=December 19, 2014|access-date=February 16, 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=March 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320144927/http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/19/ebay-google-dumps-alec-climate-change-denial|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/22/google-were-parting-with-the-climate-change-skeptics-at-alec|title=Google: We're parting with the climate change skeptics at ALEC|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 22, 2014|first=Brian|last=Fung|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=June 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605101256/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/22/google-were-parting-with-the-climate-change-skeptics-at-alec/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/facebook-abandons-rightwing-lobby-group-alec|title=Facebook set to become latest tech giant to abandon rightwing lobby group Alec|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106175952/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/24/facebook-abandons-rightwing-lobby-group-alec|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="usnews">{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2014/09/29/silicon-valleys-done-with-american-legislative-exchange-council |title=Silicon Valley's Done With American Legislative Exchange Council |work=U.S. News |date=September 29, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107004002/https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2014/09/29/silicon-valleys-done-with-american-legislative-exchange-council |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Yahoo!]], [[Uber]], and [[Lyft]] also announced withdrawals later that same week.<ref name="usnews" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/24/yelp-facebook-google-and-microsoft-reconsider-their-relationship-with-free-market-group-alec|title=Yahoo, Yelp, Facebook, Google and Microsoft reconsider their relationship with free-market group ALEC|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 6, 2017|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106180954/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/24/yelp-facebook-google-and-microsoft-reconsider-their-relationship-with-free-market-group-alec/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/silicon-valley-companies-follow-googles-lead-by-cutting-ties-with-alec/|title=Silicon Valley Companies Follow Google's Lead By Cutting Ties with ALEC|publisher=vice.com|access-date=November 5, 2017|date=2014-09-25|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022107/https://news.vice.com/article/silicon-valley-companies-follow-googles-lead-by-cutting-ties-with-alec|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Occidental Petroleum]] and [[Northrop Grumman]] also cut ties with ALEC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/09/large-oil-company-bolts-from-alec/443706|title=Large Oil Company Bolts From ALEC|first1=Dustin|last1=Volz|first2=Clare|last2=Foran|date=September 29, 2014|work=National Journal|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-date=February 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220013007/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/09/large-oil-company-bolts-from-alec/443706/|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the departure of Northrop Grumman, an ALEC spokesperson said, "Like any other membership group, membership in ALEC ebbs and flows, and in 2014 we gained far more private-sector members than we lost."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/northrop-grumman-cuts-ties-with-alec-20150128|title=Northrop Grumman Cuts Ties With ALEC|magazine=[[National Journal]]|date=January 28, 2015|first=Dustin|last=Volz|url-access=subscription|access-date=February 7, 2015|archive-date=February 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207032739/http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/northrop-grumman-cuts-ties-with-alec-20150128|url-status=live}}</ref> [[T-Mobile US|T-Mobile]] and [[BP]] severed ties with ALEC in 2015.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/t-mobile-drops-membership-in-conservative-group-alec-20150408|title=T-Mobile Drops Membership in Conservative Group ALEC|magazine=[[National Journal]]|date=April 8, 2015|first=Dustin|last=Volz|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 7, 2015|archive-date=May 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512183335/http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/t-mobile-drops-membership-in-conservative-group-alec-20150408|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/bp-ends-involvement-with-american-legislative-exchange-council|title=BP Ends Involvement With American Legislative Exchange Council|agency=[[Reuters]]|date=March 23, 2015|first=Michael B.|last=Marois|access-date=March 5, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014938/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-23/bp-ends-involvement-with-american-legislative-exchange-council|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2023, ALEC held its fiftieth anniversary celebrations in Washington, D.C. The celebrations included a gala event at the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]].<ref>Pearson, Arn; Armiak, David, ''[https://prospect.org/power/2023-10-04-alec-50-years-right-wing-law-factory/ After 50 Years, This Right-Wing Law Factory Is Crazier Than Ever: The American Legislative Exchange Council is where corporations and far-right groups go to buy government policy]'', ''[[The American Prospect]]'', October 4, 2023</ref>

ALEC is a member of the advisory board of [[Project 2025]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advisory Board |date=February 2, 2023 |url=https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119034220/https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/ |archive-date=November 19, 2023 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]]}}</ref> a collection of [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] and [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] policy proposals from the [[The Heritage Foundation]] to reshape the [[Federal government of the United States|United States federal government]] and consolidate [[Executive (government)|executive power]] should the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee win the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]].<ref name="Mascaro-20234">{{Cite news |last=Mascaro |first=Lisa |date=August 29, 2023 |title=Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision |url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922112031/https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-conservatives-trump-heritage-857eb794e505f1c6710eb03fd5b58981 |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |work=[[Associated Press News]]}}</ref>

==Organization==
{{See also|List of members of the American Legislative Exchange Council}}
[[File:2900 Crystal Drive, Arlington VA April 2019.jpg|thumb|ALEC's headquarters in the [[Crystal City, Virginia|Crystal City]] section of [[Arlington County, Virginia]]]]
As of December 2013, ALEC had more than 85 members of Congress and 14 sitting or former governors who were considered "alumni".<ref name=Guardian20131203 /> The majority of the ALEC legislative members belong to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name=governing2011/><ref name="stealth"/> Membership statistics presented at an ALEC board meeting in 2013 indicated that the 1,810 members represented 24% of all state legislative seats across the U.S., and that ALEC members represented 100% of the legislative seats in Iowa and South Dakota.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/841593-alec-docs.html|title=ALEC documents collection|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-date=October 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021024111/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/841593-alec-docs.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It also has approximately 300 corporate, foundation, and other private-sector members.<ref name=dentists>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-05/the-corporations-and-dentists-that-still-love-alec|title=The Corporations, and Dentists, That Still Love ALEC|newspaper=[[Bloomberg Politics]]|date=December 6, 2014|first=Julie|last=Bykowicz|access-date=April 8, 2015|archive-date=April 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413010844/http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-12-05/the-corporations-and-dentists-that-still-love-alec|url-status=live}}</ref> The chairmanship of ALEC is a rotating position, with a new legislator appointed to the position each year. {{as of|2012}}, 28 out of 33 of its chairs had been Republicans.<ref name=dailybeast/>

ALEC has nine task forces that generate model bills that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures. Private sector members effectively have [[veto power]] over model bills drafted by the task forces.<ref name=governing2003/><ref name=pssst/>

The ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force, which promoted [[Stand-your-ground law|stand your ground gun laws]] and [[Voter identification laws|voter identification requirements]], was disbanded in April 2012. Thereafter, the [[National Center for Public Policy Research]] announced the creation of a voter ID task force to replace the one discontinued by ALEC.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Voter Identification Task Force Announced |url=http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-VoterID_041812.html |work=[[National Center for Public Policy Research]] |date=April 18, 2012 |access-date=April 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423054948/http://www.nationalcenter.org/PR-VoterID_041812.html |archive-date=2012-04-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Ryan J. Reilly, [http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/alec_voter_id_national_center_for_public_policy_research.php "Conservative Group With Abramoff Scandal Ties Picks Up Voter ID Issue Where ALEC Left Off"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422041656/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/alec_voter_id_national_center_for_public_policy_research.php |date=April 22, 2012 }} [[Talking Points Memo]]</ref>

Bills drafted by the task forces must be approved by the ALEC board of directors, composed exclusively of legislators, before they are designated as model bills.<ref name=pssst/> ALEC also has a Private Enterprise Advisory Council, which meets whenever the board of directors meets.<ref name=pssst/> Council members include representatives from prominent corporations such as [[ExxonMobil]], [[Pfizer]], [[AT&T]], [[SAP]], [[State Farm Insurance]] and [[Koch Industries]].<ref name=wapo08072014/> ALEC statements assert that the council provides advice to the board of directors.<ref name=wapo08072014>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/nations-largest-small-business-group-faces-fresh-skepticism-over-new-link-to-alec/2014/08/06/15cdd8a8-1d7f-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html|title=Nation's largest small-business group faces fresh skepticism over new link to ALEC|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 7, 2014|first=J.D.|last=Harrison|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=March 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310085935/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/nations-largest-small-business-group-faces-fresh-skepticism-over-new-link-to-alec/2014/08/06/15cdd8a8-1d7f-11e4-ab7b-696c295ddfd1_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Former ALEC co-chairman [[Noble Ellington]] said in 2011, "I really kind of think of us as one board," although he added, "It's certainly not our goal to sit there and do everything that business wants to have done."<ref name=pssst/>

Day-to-day operations are run from ALEC's [[Arlington County, Virginia]], office by an executive director and a staff of approximately 30. ALEC's bylaws specify that "... full membership shall be open to persons dedicated to the preservation of individual liberty, basic American values and institutions, productive free enterprise, and limited representative government, who support the purposes of ALEC, and who serve, or formerly serve, as members of a state or territorial legislature, the United States Congress, or similar bodies outside the United States."<ref name="scribd.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/51770890/ALEC-s-2009-IRS-Form-990 |title=ALEC's 2009 IRS Form 990 |publisher=Scribd.com |date=2012-03-01 |access-date=2012-08-15 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305184629/https://www.scribd.com/doc/51770890/ALEC-s-2009-IRS-Form-990 |url-status=live }}</ref>

ALEC also has a Board of Scholars that advises staff and members. The board is composed of [[Arthur Laffer]], an economist who served on [[Ronald Reagan]]'s [[Economic Policy Advisory Board]]; Victor Schwartz, chair of Public Policy at [[Shook, Hardy & Bacon]];<ref>{{cite news |first=Emily |last=Holden |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/22/scott-pruitt-where-are-his-emails-664285 |title=New Pruitt Question: Where-are-his-emails? |work=[[Politico]] |date=June 22, 2018 |access-date=June 22, 2018 |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314232756/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/22/scott-pruitt-where-are-his-emails-664285 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Richard Vedder]], economics professor emeritus at [[Ohio University]] and adjunct scholar at the [[American Enterprise Institute]]; and [[Rob Natelson]], a constitutional scholar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leadership |url=https://alec.org/about/leadership/ |website=American Legislative Exchange Council |access-date=10 April 2023}}</ref>

ALEC also has ties to the [[State Policy Network]] (SPN), a national association of conservative and [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarian]] think-tanks. SPN is a member of ALEC,<ref>{{cite news |title=Corporate Money in Network of Right-Wing State Policy Think Tanks |first=Rick |last=Cohen |date=November 14, 2013 |access-date=February 16, 2015 |url=https://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/23239-corporate-money-in-network-of-right-wing-state-policy-think-tanks.html |work=Nonprofit Quarterly |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028161818/https://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/23239-corporate-money-in-network-of-right-wing-state-policy-think-tanks.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ALEC is an associate member of the SPN.<ref name=politico>{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-brothers-think-tank-report-99791.html |title=Report: Think tanks tied to Kochs |publisher=[[Politico]] |date=November 13, 2013 |first=Tal |last=Kopan |access-date=February 23, 2015 |archive-date=February 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215002658/http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-brothers-think-tank-report-99791.html |url-status=live }}</ref> SPN encourages its members to join ALEC,<ref>{{cite web|title=SPN & ALEC: A Model Relationship |url=http://www.spn.org/publications/spn-alec-a-model-relationship |publisher=[[State Policy Network]] |access-date=February 16, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217084813/http://www.spn.org/publications/spn-alec-a-model-relationship |archive-date=February 17, 2015 }}</ref> and many members of SPN are also members of ALEC. Some of the think tanks in the SPN write model legislation, which then is introduced at ALEC private meetings.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blumenthal|first=Paul|date=November 14, 2013|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/state-policy-network-kochs_n_4275899.html|title=Meet The Little-Known Network Pushing Ideas For Kochs, ALEC|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=March 11, 2014|archive-date=March 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313042109/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/state-policy-network-kochs_n_4275899.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ALEC is "SPN's sister organisation" according to ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name=Guardian12052013>{{cite news |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |last2=Goldenberg |first2=Suzanne |title=State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax |newspaper=The Guardian |location=[[London]] |date=December 5, 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/state-conservative-groups-assault-education-health-tax |access-date=February 16, 2015 |archive-date=March 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301201741/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/state-conservative-groups-assault-education-health-tax |url-status=live }}</ref> ALEC is also a member of the [[Atlas Network]], a global organization of free-market think tanks.<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |last1=Westervelt |first1=Amy |author1-link=Amy Westervelt |last2=Dembicki |first2=Geoff |author2-link=Geoff Dembicki |date=2023-09-12 |title=Meet the Shadowy Global Network Vilifying Climate Protesters |magazine=The New Republic |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/175488/meet-shadowy-global-network-vilifying-climate-protesters |access-date=2023-09-16 |issn=0028-6583}}</ref>

As of 2012, ALEC is registered as a charity in 37 states.<ref name=oregonian/>

==Notable policies and model bills==
The ALEC website states that its goal is to advance "the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government, and federalism".<ref name=about>{{cite web|url=http://www.alec.org/about-alec/|title=About ALEC|publisher=American Legislative Exchange Council|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205023422/http://www.alec.org/about-alec/|archive-date=2012-02-05}}</ref> In 2003, [[Donald Ray Kennard]], then a Louisiana state representative and ALEC national chairman, said, "We are a very, very conservative organization... We're just espousing what we really believe in."<ref name=governing2003/> Craig Horn, a North Carolina state representative and ALEC member, said of ALEC in 2013, "It's a lightning rod organization because it has a decidedly conservative bent—there’s no doubt about it."<ref name=newsobserver>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/06/2875525/private-group-carries-sway-in.html|title=Private conservative group ALEC carries sway in legislature|newspaper=[[The News & Observer]]|date=May 6, 2013|first=John|last=Frank|access-date=June 18, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713172516/http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/06/2875525/private-group-carries-sway-in.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although ALEC originally focused on social issues such as [[abortion]], which it opposed, in more recent years{{When|date=January 2024}} the group has focused more on business and regulatory matters.<ref name=governing2011/><ref name=governing2003/> According to [[John Nichols (journalist)|John Nichols]] of ''[[The Nation]]'', ALEC's agenda "seems to be dictated at almost every turn by multinational corporations. It's to clear the way for lower taxes, less regulation, a lot of protection against lawsuits, [and] ALEC is very, very active in [the] opening up of areas via privatization for corporations to make more money, particularly in places you might not usually expect like public education."<ref name="NPR FreshAir 21July2011">{{cite web |title=Who's Really Writing States' Legislation? |work=[[Fresh Air]], WHYY |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/07/21/138537515/how-alec-shapes-state-politics-behind-the-scenes |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=July 21, 2011 |access-date=April 7, 2012 |archive-date=April 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407055512/http://www.npr.org/2011/07/21/138537515/how-alec-shapes-state-politics-behind-the-scenes |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[Brookings Institution]] study of state legislation introduced in 2011–2012 found that ALEC model bills that became law were linked most often to controversial social and economic issues. The study concluded that this phenomenon has hurt ALEC because, "Dirtying its hands with social issues undermines ALEC's ability to exercise influence over fiscal ones."<ref name=brookings/>

According to research by Columbia University political scientist Alex Hertel-Fernandez, ALEC model legislation during the late 1970s focused primarily on social issues, such as abortion, drugs, gun laws, religious freedom and anti-busing.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799|title=State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alex|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=9780190870799|pages=37–38|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174018/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 1980s, the focus was primarily on criminal justice.<ref name=":03" /> By the 1990s, the focus was overwhelmingly on business deregulation.<ref name=":03" />

==='Stand Your Ground' laws===
[[Stand-your-ground law]]s expanded to 30 states through the support of ALEC, after Florida passed its law in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Fisher, Marc|author2=Eggen, Dan|title='Stand Your Ground' laws coincide with jump in justifiable-homicide cases|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/stand-your-ground-laws-coincide-with-jump-in-justifiable-homicide-cases/2012/04/07/gIQAS2v51S_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 7, 2012|quote=This sharp turn in American law—expanding the right to defend one's home from attack into a more general right to meet force with force in any public place—began in Florida in 2005 and has spread to more than 30 other states as a result of a campaign by the National Rifle Association and a corporate-backed group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which promotes conservative bills.|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919080051/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/stand-your-ground-laws-coincide-with-jump-in-justifiable-homicide-cases/2012/04/07/gIQAS2v51S_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ryan J. |last=Reilly |url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/alec-nra-pushed-stand-your-ground-legislation-at-center-of-trayvon-martin-killing |title=ALEC, NRA Pushed 'Stand Your Ground' Legislation At Center Of Trayvon Martin Killing |work=Talking Points Memo |date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701031420/https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/alec-nra-pushed-stand-your-ground-legislation-at-center-of-trayvon-martin-killing |url-status=live }}</ref> After the Florida law had been passed, ALEC adopted a model bill with the same wording.<ref name=fcir>{{cite news|url=http://fcir.org/2012/03/23/nras-behind-the-scenes-campaign-encouraged-stand-your-ground-adoption-across-the-country/|title=NRA's Behind-the-Scenes Campaign Encouraged 'Stand Your Ground' Adoption|date=March 23, 2013|publisher=[[Florida Center for Investigative Reporting]]|first=Howard|last=Goodman|access-date=November 27, 2013|archive-date=April 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404154558/http://fcir.org/2012/03/23/nras-behind-the-scenes-campaign-encouraged-stand-your-ground-adoption-across-the-country/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the wake of the [[killing of Trayvon Martin]] in 2012, ALEC's support for Stand Your Ground laws ultimately led to the departure of high-profile corporate members such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Bank of America, and General Motors.<ref name=Guardian20131203 />

=== Voter ID laws ===
After Obama's victory in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], ALEC's internal publication (which it provides to paying members) asserted, without evidence, that voter fraud contributed to his victory. ALEC said that groups like [[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now|ACORN]] had engaged in voter-registration fraud whereby fake voter registrations were submitted.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799|title=State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alex|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=9780190870799|pages=54|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174020/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prior to 2012, legislation based on ALEC model bills was introduced in many states to mandate or strengthen requirements that voters produce state-issued photographic identification. The bills were passed and signed into law in six states.<ref name="governing2011" /> Voter identification bills introduced in 34 states would have made voting more difficult for students, the elderly, and the poor.<ref name="pssst" /> According to research by Columbia University political scientist Alex Hertel-Fernandez, "Of the 62 ID laws states considered during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, more than half were proposed by lawmakers who... were all participants in the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. In exchange for their payments of $50 per year in membership dues, those legislators had access to a draft proposal for strict voter ID requirements".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799|title=State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alex|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=9780190870799|pages=3|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174019/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Immigration===
{{expand section|date=August 2014}}
The "[[Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act]]", an Arizona law commonly known as "SB 1070", was drafted during an ALEC meeting in December 2009 and became an ALEC model bill.<ref name=nprprison>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2010/10/28/130833741/prison-economics-help-drive-ariz-immigration-law|title=Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=October 28, 2010|first=Laura|last=Sullivan|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=April 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408134142/https://www.npr.org/2010/10/28/130833741/prison-economics-help-drive-ariz-immigration-law|url-status=live}}</ref> Enacted in 2010, SB 1070 was described as the toughest [[illegal immigration]] law in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html|title=Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 23, 2010|first=Randal C.|last=Archibold|access-date=February 5, 2017|archive-date=January 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101060624/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Portions of SB 1070 were held by the Supreme Court to be preempted by federal law in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-rules-on-arizona-immigration-law/2012/06/25/gJQA0Nrm1V_story.html|title=Supreme Court upholds key part of Arizona law for now, strikes down other provisions|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 25, 2012|first=Robert|last=Barnes|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820114847/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-rules-on-arizona-immigration-law/2012/06/25/gJQA0Nrm1V_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bills similar to SB 1070 were passed in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Utah, and have been introduced in 17 other states.<ref name=pssst/>

A 2018 study characterized ALEC as highly influential in the spread of policies intended to curb [[Sanctuary city|sanctuary cities]] (jurisdictions where immigration enforcement is not a law enforcement priority).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Collingwood|first1=Loren|last2=El-Khatib|first2=Stephen Omar|last3=Gonzalez O’Brien|first3=Benjamin|s2cid=158569247|date=2018-11-28|title=Sustained Organizational Influence: American Legislative Exchange Council and the Diffusion of Anti-Sanctuary Policy|journal=Policy Studies Journal|volume=47|issue=3|pages=735–773|language=en|doi=10.1111/psj.12284|issn=0190-292X}}</ref>

===Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act===
One of ALEC's model bills is the "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act", which classifies certain property destruction, acts of intimidation, and [[civil disobedience]] by environmental and [[animal rights]] activists as [[terrorism]]. This model bill appeared across the U.S. in various forms since it was drafted in 2003. The federal "[[Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act]]" has notable similarities, and at points almost verbatim language, to ALEC's model "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act". The Senate version of the "[[Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act]]" was sponsored by Senator [[James Inhofe]], a long-time member of ALEC.<ref>{{cite web |first=Will |last=Potter |url=http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/ag-gag-american-legislative-exchange-council/5947/ |title='Ag Gag' Bills and Supporters Have Close Ties to ALEC |work=Green is the New Red |date=April 26, 2012 |access-date=August 14, 2013 |archive-date=July 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723050623/http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/ag-gag-american-legislative-exchange-council/5947/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many [[ag-gag]] bills are also similar to ALEC's model "Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act", which would make it against the law to film, videotape, or take photographs on livestock farms in order to "defame the facility or its owner". People found to be in violation would be put in a "terrorist registry".<ref>{{cite news|author=Oppel Jr., Richard A.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html|title=Taping of Farm Cruelty Is Becoming the Crime|date=April 6, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 7, 2013|archive-date=April 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407164714/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[Bill Moyers]]. [http://billmoyers.com/2013/07/10/alec-activists-and-ag-gag/ Ag-Gag Laws Silence Whistleblowers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716015505/http://billmoyers.com/2013/07/10/alec-activists-and-ag-gag/ |date=July 16, 2013 }}. [[Moyers & Company]], July 10, 2013.</ref>

===Criminal sentencing and prison management===
According to ''Governing'' magazine, "ALEC has been a major force behind both privatizing state prison space and keeping prisons filled."<ref name=governing2003 /> ALEC has developed model bills advancing "[[tough on crime]]" initiatives, including "[[truth in sentencing]]" and "[[three-strikes laws|three strikes]]" laws.<ref name="Pat Beall">{{cite news|first=Pat|last=Beall|date=November 22, 2013|url=http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/big-business-group-behind-push-that-filled-florida/nbYTc/|title=Big business, legislators pushed for stiff sentences|newspaper=[[The Palm Beach Post]]|access-date=May 21, 2014|archive-date=May 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521105535/http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/big-business-group-behind-push-that-filled-florida/nbYTc/|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics argue that by funding and participating in ALEC's Criminal Justice Task Force, [[private prison]] companies directly influence legislation for tougher, longer sentences. [[Corrections Corporation of America]] and [[Wackenhut Corrections]], two of the largest for-profit prison companies in the U.S. ({{as of|2004|lc=y}}), have been contributors to ALEC.<ref>Cheung, Amy (September 2004) [http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/inc_prisonprivatization.pdf "Prison Privatization and the Use of Incarceration"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714063407/http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/inc_prisonprivatization.pdf |date=2007-07-14 }}. The Sentencing Project.</ref> ALEC also has worked to pass state laws to allow the creation of private-sector for-profit prisons.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Elk|last1=Mike|first2=Sloan|last2=Bob|year=2011|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/162478/hidden-history-alec-and-prison-labor|title=The Hidden History of ALEC and Prison Labor|journal=[[The Nation]]|access-date=July 13, 2013|archive-date=July 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710043607/http://www.thenation.com/article/162478/hidden-history-alec-and-prison-labor|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Marie Gottschalk]], professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, said that ALEC has played a major role in "liberating the private sector to employ penal labor and expand the privatization of corrections."<ref>Marie Gottschalk. ''[http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10731.html Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524215455/http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10731.html |date=May 24, 2017 }}''. Princeton University Press, 2014. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CzDFCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 p. 61] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214114730/https://books.google.com/books?id=CzDFCgAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA61 |date=December 14, 2019 }}</ref> Economist [[Paul Krugman]] wrote in 2012 that ALEC had "a special interest in privatization—that is, on turning the provision of public services, from schools to prisons, over to for-profit corporations," and as such played a significant role in the "[[Prison–industrial complex|penal–industrial complex]]". As an example, Krugman wrote that the [[American Bail Coalition]] had declared publicly that ALEC was its "life preserver."<ref>Paul Krugman (March 25, 2012). [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/krugman-lobbyists-guns-and-money.html?_r=0 Lobbyists, Guns and Money] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109115028/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opinion/krugman-lobbyists-guns-and-money.html?_r=0 |date=November 9, 2016 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved December 20, 2014.</ref>

By 2013, ALEC disbanded the task force that favored harsh sentencing and supported reducing [[prison overcrowding]] and lowering the costs associated with the criminal justice system.<ref name="Pat Beall" /> At that time, ALEC promoted investing taxpayer money in alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic monitoring.<ref name="Pat Beall" />

===Energy and the environment===
ALEC pushed for [[deregulation]] of the electricity industry in the 1990s. Maneuvering between two private sector members, the former energy trader, [[Enron]], and the  utilities trade association, [[Edison Electric Institute]] (EEI), resulted in EEI withdrawing its ALEC membership. Enron's position on the matter was adopted by ALEC and subsequently, by many state legislatures.<ref name=governing2003/>

In 2011, ALEC adopted model legislation having to do with public "[[right to know]]" laws regarding what fluids are used in [[hydraulic fracturing]] (also known as "fracking") that was promoted as a victory for the right of consumers to know about potential [[drinking water pollution|drinking water contaminants]], in spite of the fact that the bill contained "loopholes that would allow energy companies to withhold the names of certain fluid contents, for reasons including that they have been deemed trade secrets".<ref name=stealth/>

ALEC has promoted a model bill that called plans in 2011 by the federal [[Environmental Protection Agency]] to regulate [[greenhouse gas emissions]], a "train wreck" that would harm the economy, and it has supported efforts by various states to withdraw from regional [[climate change]] compacts.<ref name=governing2011/> In 2013, their resolution stated "Alec is very concerned about the potential economic impact of greenhouse gas regulation on electricity prices and the harm EPA regulations may have on the economic recovery".<ref name=guard2013/> ALEC also has promoted a model bill that would call on the federal government to approve the proposed [[Keystone XL]] project, which would extend a [[synthetic crude oil]] [[pipeline transport|pipeline]] from [[oil sands]] in Alberta, Canada to Nebraska.<ref name=verma>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/republican-legislative-council-pushes-for-keystone-approval/article15968657/|title=Republican legislative council pushes for Keystone approval|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=December 13, 2013|first=Sonia|last=Verma|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=May 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180506002836/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/republican-legislative-council-pushes-for-keystone-approval/article15968657/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/842268-alec-2013-annual-meeting-policy-report.html ALEC 2013 Annual Meeting Policy Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615151221/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/842268-alec-2013-annual-meeting-policy-report.html |date=June 15, 2016 }} via The Guardian</ref>

In 2013, ALEC planned legislation that would weaken state clean energy regulations and penalize homeowners who install their own solar panels and [[Net metering|redistribute the electricity back into the grid]], whom ALEC has described as "freeriders" because they do not pay for the infrastructure costs of recirculating their generated power.<ref name=guard2013>{{cite news|last1=Goldenberg|first1=Suzanne|last2=Pilkington|first2=Ed|date=December 4, 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy|title=ALEC calls for penalties on 'freerider' homeowners in assault on clean energy|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202012517/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also in 2013, ALEC adopted a model bill saying that the role of human activity in causing [[climate change]] was uncertain, that man-made climate change could be "deleterious, neutral or possibly beneficial," and that the cost of regulating [[greenhouse gas emissions]] could cause "great economic dislocation." ALEC also has invited [[climate change deniers]], such as [[Craig Idso]], to speak at its national meetings. In 2015 [[Common Cause]] and the [[League of Conservation Voters]] pointed to such behavior to accuse ALEC of [[climate change denial|denying climate change]]. ALEC responded by threatening legal action, denying that ALEC supports climate change denial, and saying it has more recently welcomed debate on the subject and supported [[renewable energy]] and [[carbon tax]] policies to curb global warming.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Tom|last1=Hamburger|first2=Joby|last2=Warrick|first3=Chris|last3=Mooney|title=This conservative group is tired of being accused of climate denial — and is fighting back|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/04/05/this-conservative-group-is-tired-of-being-accused-of-climate-denial-and-is-fighting-back/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 5, 2015|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=October 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016064430/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/04/05/this-conservative-group-is-tired-of-being-accused-of-climate-denial-and-is-fighting-back/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Several corporations have announced that their affiliations with ALEC will be allowed to lapse over disagreement with the group's opposition to action on climate change. These include [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/ford-quits-alec-lobby-conservative-environment|title=Ford becomes latest corporation to sever ties with conservative Alec lobby|first=Ed|last=Pilkington|date=17 February 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=July 4, 2016|archive-date=July 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729064343/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/ford-quits-alec-lobby-conservative-environment|url-status=live}}</ref> [[BP]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/23/alec-bp-british-petroleum-companies-conservative-lobbyist|title=BP joins list of companies fleeing Alec|first=Amy|last=Westervelt|date=23 March 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=July 4, 2016|archive-date=June 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602110027/http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/23/alec-bp-british-petroleum-companies-conservative-lobbyist|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Microsoft]], [[Google]] and [[Shell plc|Shell]]. A statement by Shell said "its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own...We have long recognized both the importance of the climate challenge and the critical role energy has in determining quality of life for people across the world." An ALEC spokesperson responded "Climate change activists have conflated our opposition to the government picking winners and losers as climate change denial."<ref>[https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/250569-shell-to-leave-alec-over-climate-change-stance/ Shell to leave ALEC over climate change stance] . [[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]], 7 August 2015.</ref>

In December 2016, [[Tesla Motors]] (not an ALEC member) hosted an ALEC event in Washington, D.C., where ALEC promoted its "Energy Innovation Project", that was partly funded by the [[ClearPath Foundation]]. The project guides states toward innovation and entrepreneurship surrounding U.S. energy resources.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-01/tesla-hosts-lobbying-group-shunned-by-ford-over-climate-stance |title=Tesla Hosts Lobby Group Shunned by Ford Over Climate Stance|work=Bloomberg.com |date= December 1, 2016 |access-date= December 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161202164521/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-01/tesla-hosts-lobbying-group-shunned-by-ford-over-climate-stance |archive-date= December 2, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-hosts-lobbying-group-shunned-202417431.html |title= Tesla Hosts Lobbying Group Shunned by Ford Over Climate Stance (Mirror) |publisher= Bloomberg/Yahoo |date= December 1, 2016 |access-date= December 2, 2016 |archive-date= December 2, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161202234122/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-hosts-lobbying-group-shunned-202417431.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

ALEC has promoted draft bills for restrictions on [[single-use plastic]] [[drinking straw]]s. The draft bill contains exemptions for [[fast food restaurant|fast food]] and [[Fast casual restaurant|fast casual]] restaurants, and preempts municipalities from imposing stricter regulations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-business-groups-are-fighting-wave-anti-plastic-straw-laws-n977196|title=How business groups are fighting a wave of anti-plastic straw laws|website=NBC News|date=March 2019 |language=en|access-date=25 July 2019|archive-date=April 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420170814/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-business-groups-are-fighting-wave-anti-plastic-straw-laws-n977196|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Telecommunications and information technology===
AT&T and Verizon drafted ALEC model legislation prohibiting public broadband services and "sunsetting" the [[Public Switched Telephone Network]] (PSTN).<ref name=huff>{{cite news|last=Kushnick|first=Bruce|title=ALEC, Tech and the Telecom Wars: Killing America's Telecom Utilities|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/alec-tech-and-the-telecom_b_1696830.html|access-date=22 April 2014|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=July 24, 2012|archive-date=September 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926181221/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/alec-tech-and-the-telecom_b_1696830.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2017}} Names of its 172-member task force, the agenda of a December 2010 meeting, and its minutes that included a resolution regarding [[traffic pumping]] were published by [[Common Cause]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Telecommunications & Information Technology Task Force Meeting ALEC States & Nation Policy Summit – Washington, DC |url=http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7BFB3C17E2-CDD1-4DF6-92BE-BD4429893665%7D/telecom_35daymailing%20DC.pdf |publisher=Common Cause |access-date=April 22, 2014 |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205084203/http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7BFB3C17E2-CDD1-4DF6-92BE-BD4429893665%7D/telecom_35daymailing%20DC.pdf |archive-date=December 5, 2013 }}</ref> In February 2014, Senate Bill 304 in Kansas was introduced, "prohibiting cities and counties from building public broadband networks and providing internet service to businesses and citizens".<ref name=wichita>{{cite news|last=Lefler|first=Dion|title=Proposed bill to outlaw community broadband service in Kansas met with opposition|url=http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/01/3262071/proposed-bill-to-outlaw-community.html|access-date=April 22, 2014|newspaper=Wichita Eagle|date=February 1, 2014|archive-date=May 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507155938/http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/01/3262071/proposed-bill-to-outlaw-community.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The bill contains an "underserved area" exemption for public wi-fi, but the exemption criterion is not met anywhere in Kansas. The city of [[Chanute, Kansas]], which has led broadband development since the 1980s, financed through its public electricity company, including free wi-fi in its college, hospital, and public spaces, and a 4g mobile data network, felt under attack by the bill.<ref name=wichita/> The bill failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/cable-co-blames-misinformation-for-failure-of-municipal-internet-ban/|title=Cable co. blames "misinformation" for failure of municipal Internet ban|year=2014|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024093827/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/cable-co-blames-misinformation-for-failure-of-municipal-internet-ban/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Health care===
ALEC opposes the [[individual mandate|individual health insurance mandate]] enacted by the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (commonly known as the "ACA" or "Obamacare"). ALEC filed an [[amicus brief]] in ''[[National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius]]'', urging the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] to strike down the [[individual mandate]] of the ACA. In 2011, ALEC published the "State Legislators Guide to Repealing ObamaCare", which has served as a road map for [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act#Repeal efforts|repeal efforts]].<ref name=governing2011/> ALEC also has drafted a variety of model bills designed to [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act#Non-cooperation|block implementation of the law]].<ref name=governing2011/>

In August 2013, ALEC approved the "Health Care Freedom Act" as a model bill that aims to strip [[health insurers]] of their licenses to do business at the federal [[health care exchange]]s of ACA if they accepted any subsidies under the system. Sean Riley, the head of the ALEC Health and Human Services task force, said the aim of the proposed legislation was to protect businesses from the ACA's [[employer mandate]].<ref name=pilkington/> ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' journalist [[David Weigel]] has called the bill a "sneak attack" on the ACA.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/12/legal_case_against_obamacare_halbig_v_sebelius_and_state_legislatures.html|title=Obamacare Is Over (If You Want It)|journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=December 17, 2013|first=David|last=Weigel|access-date=December 21, 2013|archive-date=December 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221071450/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/12/legal_case_against_obamacare_halbig_v_sebelius_and_state_legislatures.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Health insurance experts have predicted that if the bill were widely adopted by Republican-controlled states, it would seriously disrupt the exchange and threaten the ACA.<ref name=pilkington/> [[Wendell Potter]], former health insurance executive and CMD fellow, said, "You cannot build the healthcare system based on the free market unless you have subsidies. If they are taken away the whole thing collapses."<ref name=pilkington/>

In 1989, ALEC published the draft "HIV Assault Act", which made it a crime for someone who is knowingly infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) to have sex with a person who is not infected, without disclosing the HIV infection. The bill made having such sex without disclosure a criminal offense, even when HIV was not transmitted. Alan Smith, who worked on the draft, said the proposed law was a response to worries that people with AIDS were deliberately infecting others, "to make sure more people got it so more research money could be devoted to curing it".<ref name=propubhiv>{{cite news|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/hiv-criminal-transmission|title=Sex, Lies and HIV: When What You Don't Tell Your Partner Is a Crime|first=Sergio|last=Hernandez|publisher=[[ProPublica]]|date=December 1, 2013|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=June 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630200125/https://www.propublica.org/article/hiv-criminal-transmission|url-status=live}}</ref>

===LGBT rights===
In the 1980s, ALEC pushed anti-gay propaganda, and urged legislators to oppose attempts to "homosexualize society."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799|title=State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alex|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=9780190870799|pages=32–33|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174041/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref> ALEC said that homosexual relations were "probably some of the most destructive and degrading institutions in America today". ALEC claimed homosexuality caused psychological harm, led to pedophilia, and that homosexuals sought to recruit the young.<ref name=":0" />

An investigation by the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] and [[The Center for Media and Democracy]] found that ALEC is part of a coalition of groups called Back to Neutral who oppose "'woke' corporations that act to diversify their leadership or take a public stance on social and democracy issues." According to the SPLC, the Back to the Neutral coalition includes "right-wing think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations and two anti-LGBTQ hate groups."<ref name="Southern Poverty Law Center 2021">{{cite web | first1=Michael Edison | last1=Hayden | first2=Raven | last2=Hodges | title=Leading Free-Market Policy Network Enabling Anti-LGBTQ Hate | website=Southern Poverty Law Center | date=7 December 2021 | url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/12/07/leading-free-market-policy-network-enabling-anti-lgbtq-hate | access-date=4 June 2022 | quote=... shows Nelson telling the private audience of activists and lawmakers: “Four or five years ago we had a session just like this, and out of that, there are a number of really good organizations. It’s not our day job to fight that issue, but we have a new coalition called the Back to Neutral coalition that is really, really active. ... We are certainly a part of that.” ... The Back to Neutral coalition brings together right-wing think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations and two anti-LGBTQ hate groups, ...}}</ref>

===Other issues===
ALEC has worked to privatize public education,<ref name=nprpilkington>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/12/10/249956329/how-alec-serves-as-a-dating-service-for-politicians-and-corporations|title=How ALEC Serves As A 'Dating Service' For Politicians And Corporations|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=December 10, 2013|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=February 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227043024/https://www.npr.org/2013/12/10/249956329/how-alec-serves-as-a-dating-service-for-politicians-and-corporations|url-status=live}}</ref> frequently promoting model bills that expand public-private partnerships in education.<ref name=governing2011/>

It has provided model legislation that led to the enactment of [[Kansas Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117|aggressive personal and corporate income tax cuts in Kansas in 2012]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/capitol-report/2013/dec/17/brownback-says-perception-of-alec-influe/|title=Brownback says perception of ALEC influence is 'overblown'|newspaper=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|date=December 17, 2013|first=Scott|last=Rothschild|access-date=October 21, 2014|archive-date=December 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217083515/http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/capitol-report/2013/dec/17/brownback-says-perception-of-alec-influe/|url-status=live}}</ref> Governor [[Sam Brownback]], who promoted and signed the legislation, was advised by the [[supply-side economist]] and ALEC board member, [[Arthur Laffer]], who said at the time that the cuts would pay for themselves and lead to increased growth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/article1097282.html|title=Economist Arthur Laffer says tax cuts will help Kansas grow|newspaper=[[The Wichita Eagle]]|date=August 14, 2012|first=Brent D.|last=Wistrom|access-date=October 21, 2014|archive-date=November 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113133014/http://www.kansas.com/news/article1097282.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By fall 2014, however, the tax cuts had led to the depletion of a $700 million budget surplus, and although Kansas had experienced 6.6% job growth from 2010 to 2013, that figure lagged behind the nation's overall 8.8% job growth for the same period.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-03/brownback-faces-blowback-as-kansas-tax-cuts-shutter-classrooms.html|title=Brownback Faces Blowback as Kansas Tax Cuts Shutter Classrooms|magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]|date=November 2, 2014|first1=Tim|last1=Jones|first2=Jennifer|last2=Oldham|access-date=March 5, 2017|archive-date=January 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112233302/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-03/brownback-faces-blowback-as-kansas-tax-cuts-shutter-classrooms.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

It also has promoted a model bill that [[tort reform|limits liability]] for [[parent companies]] that acquire [[subsidiaries]] responsible for [[asbestos]]-related injuries.<ref name=pssst/>

===Smoking===
{{Further|Tobacco industry playbook}}
In 1986, while ALEC was funded by the [[tobacco industry]], it disputed the science linking tobacco smoke to [[Health effects of tobacco|health harms]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799|title=State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alex|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|isbn=9780190870799|pages=36|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719174038/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/state-capture-9780190870799?cc=us&lang=en&|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2012, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that ALEC had taken action to oppose [[plain cigarette packaging]] laws outside the United States, including the UK and Australia.<ref name=doward>{{cite news|first=Jamie|last=Doward|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/15/cigarettes-plain-packets-alec-koch-brothers|title=US free market group tries to halt sales of cigarettes in plain packets in UK|work=The Guardian|date=July 14, 2012|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221143206/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/15/cigarettes-plain-packets-alec-koch-brothers|url-status=live}}</ref> Karla Jones, a task force director for ALEC, said that the brands were the corporations' most valuable assets. ALEC stated that generic cigarette packaging increased cigarette consumption, rather than reduced it.<ref name=doward/> ALEC's advocacy against "plain packaging" of tobacco products was cited as partial motivation for an academic study on the effectiveness of plain packaging, which found that "plain packaging can reduce positive perceptions of smoking and dissuade tobacco use."<ref>Collin N. Smith, John D. Kraemer, Andrea C. Johnson & Darren Mays, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4396458/ Plain packaging of cigarettes: do we have sufficient evidence?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908003034/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4396458/ |date=September 8, 2018 }}, ''Risk Management and Healthcare Policy'' 2015, 8: 21–30. [[doi:10.2147/RMHP.S63042]].</ref>

== Training and assistance ==
In addition to providing a forum for the drafting of model legislation that may be adapted easily, ALEC also provides assistance and training to its legislative members. The Oregon co-chairman of ALEC, [[Gene Whisnant]], described the organization in 2012 as a "great resource" for part-time legislators with limited staff resources.<ref name=oregonian/> [[Mark Pocan]], a Democratic congressman from Wisconsin and former member of the [[Wisconsin Assembly]], said in 2012 that ALEC advises members, "'Don't just introduce a single piece of legislation, introduce 14.' That way people can't oppose any one bill."<ref name=rizzo2>{{cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/at_arizona_gathering_alec_teac.html|title=At Arizona gathering, ALEC teaches lawmakers how to turn conservative ideas into law|newspaper=[[The Star Ledger]]|date=April 1, 2012|first=Salvador|last=Rizzo|access-date=August 8, 2014|archive-date=June 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629191226/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/at_arizona_gathering_alec_teac.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At one ALEC meeting, media experts gave messaging advice and taught legislators how to use [[Twitter]] to move ALEC bills through their chambers.<ref name=rizzo2/> Attendants also offered to write [[op-ed]] articles in local newspapers for the legislators and to put lawmakers in touch with other subject matter experts.<ref name=rizzo2/>

==Secrecy and transparency==
Although ''Governing Magazine'' reported in 2003 that ALEC meetings traditionally had been open to the public,<ref name=governing2003/> news organizations have reported since then that many meetings are held in private. ALEC policy seminars are open to reporters and other nonmembers, but public conference agendas, unlike those distributed to members, do not include the names of presenters, the lists of legislative and private-sector board chairs, nor the corporate sponsors of the seminars.<ref name=rizzo1/><ref name=pssst/> Task force meetings and bill-drafting sessions are held behind closed doors.<ref name=rizzo1/><ref name=pssst/> Bloggers from [[ThinkProgress]] and [[AlterNet]] were removed from conferences for attempting to take photographs of such sessions and [[tweeting]] the names of ALEC members who participated.<ref name=pssst/> In 2013, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Dana Milbank]] was turned away from the ALEC annual policy summit and told by spokesperson Bill Meierling that subcommittee meetings and task force meetings were closed-door. Meierling said ALEC was introducing transparency gradually, but it "can't just kick the doors open".<ref name=milbank>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-alec-stands-its-ground/2013/12/04/ad593320-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html|title=ALEC stands its ground|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Dana|last=Milbank|date=December 4, 2013|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018074756/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-alec-stands-its-ground/2013/12/04/ad593320-5d2c-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly after the Milbank incident, the [[Brookings Institution]] reported that ALEC's activities during its closed-door meetings are "still a mystery", and that "ALEC could have a tremendous influence over lawmaking in the American states, or it could have none at all—we just don't know."<ref name=brookings>{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2013/12/06-american-legislative-exchange-council-jackman|title=ALEC's Influence over Lawmaking in State Legislatures|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|date=December 6, 2013|first=Molly|last=Jackman|access-date=August 10, 2014|archive-date=August 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812210151/http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2013/12/06-american-legislative-exchange-council-jackman|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, Nebraska legislator and former ALEC member [[Jeremy Nordquist]] described ALEC as a "faceless organization", saying, "It's allowing these corporate interests to just duck and cover, and hide from really stepping into the public square and putting their ideas forward."<ref>{{cite episode|url=http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/why-alec-is-so-effective-124965955771|title=Why ALEC is so effective|network=[[MSNBC]]|date=January 22, 2014|series=[[All In with Chris Hayes]]|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-date=May 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511023752/http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/why-alec-is-so-effective-124965955771|url-status=live}}</ref>

ALEC does not disclose its membership list nor the origins of its model bills.<ref name="Bloomberg"/><ref name=dentists/> Lawmakers generally propose ALEC-drafted bills in their states without disclosing the ALEC authorship.<ref name=governing2011/><ref name=governing2003/> For instance, in 2012 ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'' analyzed more than 100 bills and regulations previously proposed by the administration of [[New Jersey]] governor [[Chris Christie]] and found a pattern of similarities with ALEC model bills that was "too strong to be accidental". The connections were based "not on similarity of broad ideas, but on specific numbers, time frames, benchmarks and language". Legislative staffers in the Christie administration had "mined ALEC for advice on budgetary matters, Medicaid changes and privatizing government services...beginning in the earliest days of Christie's governorship". [[William Schluter]], vice chairman of the New Jersey Ethics Commission and a former Republican state senator, said there was a "clear connection between ALEC and the proposed New Jersey legislation". A Christie spokesperson denied any connection between the two.<ref name=rizzo1>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/alec_model_bills_used_in_nj_la.html |title=Some of Christie's biggest bills match model legislation from D.C. group called ALEC |newspaper=[[The Star Ledger]] |date=April 3, 2012 |first=Salvador |last=Rizzo |access-date=June 23, 2014 |archive-date=June 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630035539/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/alec_model_bills_used_in_nj_la.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One exception to this pattern came in November 2011, when former Florida State Representative [[Rachel Burgin]] introduced legislation to call on the federal government to reduce its corporate tax rate. She mistakenly included the [[Boilerplate text|boilerplate]] "WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council to advance Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty..."<ref name=atlantic/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://fcir.org/2012/04/18/alec-under-fire-in-florida/|title=ALEC Under Fire in Florida|publisher=[[Florida Center for Investigative Reporting]]|date=April 18, 2012|first=Howard|last=Goodman|access-date=June 23, 2014|archive-date=July 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702025458/http://fcir.org/2012/04/18/alec-under-fire-in-florida/|url-status=live}}</ref> When the inclusion of the ALEC mission statement was discovered, the bill was withdrawn and resubmitted without the phrase. ''[[The American Prospect]]'' journalist Abby Rapoport wrote that the incident "seems to confirm what many have assumed was occurring in state legislatures—and while Burgin's bill was hardly a major piece of legislation, ALEC's reach in important policy areas seems hard to overestimate."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://prospect.org/article/case-you-were-underestimating-alecs-role|title=In Case You Were Underestimating ALEC's Role|work=[[The American Prospect]]|date=February 3, 2012|first=Abby|last=Rapoport|access-date=November 28, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203063909/http://prospect.org/article/case-you-were-underestimating-alecs-role|url-status=live}}</ref>

Critics sometimes argue that by adopting ALEC model bills without disclosure, state officials are handing off the duty of doing their own work to a business-centered lobby.<ref name=rizzo1/> In early 2012, Democratic lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin introduced the "ALEC Accountability Act of 2012", which would have required corporations to disclose ALEC funding.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/alec-accountability-act-arizona-wisconsin_n_1268714.html|title=ALEC Accountability Act In Arizona, Wisconsin Would Make Conservative Group Disclose Funding|work=[[Huffington Post]]|date=February 10, 2012|first=John|last=Celock|access-date=October 4, 2014|archive-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007054929/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/alec-accountability-act-arizona-wisconsin_n_1268714.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Arizona House of Representatives#Leadership information|Arizona House of Representatives Assistant Minority Leader]] [[Steve Farley]], sponsor of the Arizona bill, argued that corporations have the right to present arguments, but not secretly.<ref name="BM">{{cite web|url=http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-united-states-of-alec/|title=Full Show: United States of ALEC|publisher=Moyers & Company|access-date=September 30, 2012|archive-date=May 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510121826/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-united-states-of-alec/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Prior to 2013, access to ALEC model bills was restricted, and its website required a password to access them.<ref name=rizzo1/><ref name=governing2003/> On July 13, 2011, the [[Center for Media and Democracy]], in cooperation with ''[[The Nation]]'', posted 850 model bills created during a 30-year period, and created a web project, ''ALEC Exposed'', to host these model bills.<ref name=governing2011/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/2011/12/21/gIQA9ccRLP_story.html|title=Ghostwriter at work for Virginia's assembly?|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 27, 2011|first=Anita|last=Kumar|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921192857/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/2011/12/21/gIQA9ccRLP_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nichols">{{cite news |last=Nichols |first=John |date=July 13, 2011 |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/161978/alec-exposed/ |title=ALEC Exposed |access-date=July 14, 2011 |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714093032/http://www.thenation.com/article/161978/alec-exposed |url-status=live }}</ref> The leak has been credited with triggering critical coverage about ALEC in both left-wing and mainstream media outlets.<ref name=governing2011/> ALEC subsequently published its model bills on its website,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holding American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Accountable |url=https://www.commoncause.org/our-work/money-influence/alec/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Common Cause}}</ref> although the Brookings Institution wrote in 2013 that there was "reason to believe" its list was incomplete.<ref name=brookings/>

On October 1, 2012, [[Common Cause]], a liberal [[political advocacy group]], along with the [[Center for Media and Democracy]] (CMD), filed a lawsuit under a Wisconsin open records law alleging five Republican lawmakers did not disclose whether they had used personal e-mail accounts for correspondence with ALEC.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_21682498/wisconsin-groups-sue-over-lawmakers-emails-contact-conservative|title=Wisconsin: Groups sue over lawmakers' emails, contact with conservative organization ALEC|agency=Associated Press|date=October 2, 2012|access-date=November 25, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230229/http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_21682498/wisconsin-groups-sue-over-lawmakers-emails-contact-conservative|url-status=live}}</ref> In one instance, a Wisconsin legislative representative had requested of ALEC in June 2012 that all correspondence be sent to his personal account.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/group-sue-5-gop-lawmakers-over-email-records-c272lu2-172169791.html Groups sue 5 GOP lawmakers over email records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004234105/http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/group-sue-5-gop-lawmakers-over-email-records-c272lu2-172169791.html |date=October 4, 2012 }}, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Patrick Marley, October 1, 2012.</ref> According to CMD, the legislators settled the suit in late October 2012, allowing their personal e-mails to be searched for such contacts and paying $2,500 in court costs as part of the settlement.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/10/11828/cmd-and-common-cause-prevail-open-records-lawsuit-against-alec-legislators-wiscon|title=CMD and Common Cause Prevail in Open Records Lawsuit Against ALEC Legislators in Wisconsin|publisher=[[Center for Media and Democracy]]|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=December 2, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235705/http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/10/11828/cmd-and-common-cause-prevail-open-records-lawsuit-against-alec-legislators-wiscon|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, ALEC's North Carolina state chairman Jason Saine described the organization as "a resource for experts you can tap that follow a philosophy that you do from a less government viewpoint", and said, "It's not just some big secretive organization that it's been portrayed."<ref name=newsobserver/>

==Corporate influence and allegations of lobbying activity==
===Corporate influence===
The level of influence that the ALEC private-sector members hold over its public-sector members has been controversial. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', special interests have effectively turned ALEC's lawmaker members into "stealth lobbyists" for conservative causes.<ref name="stealth"/> ''[[The Guardian]]'' has described ALEC as "a dating agency for Republican state legislators and big corporations," to set rightwing legislative agendas.<ref name="pilkington"/> The ''[[Free Lance-Star]]'' has reported that ALEC had become "one of Big Business's most effective lobbying tools".<ref name=freelancestar>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20020610&id=PfEyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6087,2665669|title=ALEC's friends bill taxpayers: Biggest industries come to control lobbying council|date=June 10, 2002|newspaper=[[The Free Lance-Star]]|page=A1|first=Hank|last=Shaw|access-date=June 3, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308194902/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20020610&id=PfEyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6087,2665669|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' described the organization as a "bill laundry" that "offers companies substantial benefits that seem to have little to do with ideology."<ref name=pssst/> [[Chris Taylor (Wisconsin politician)|Chris Taylor]], a Democratic Wisconsin state assemblyman who attended an ALEC conference in 2013, said, "In my observation, it was the corporations and the right-wing think tanks driving the agendas. Corporations have as big a say as the legislators in the model legislation that is adopted."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/jessica_vanegeren/what-madison-rep-chris-taylor-learned-at-the-alec-conference/article_479f4ad0-0136-11e3-9e5b-0019bb2963f4.html|title=What Madison Rep. Chris Taylor learned at the ALEC conference|first=Jessica|last=VanEgeren|date=August 10, 2013|newspaper=The Cap Times|access-date=June 10, 2014|archive-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228160713/http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/jessica_vanegeren/what-madison-rep-chris-taylor-learned-at-the-alec-conference/article_479f4ad0-0136-11e3-9e5b-0019bb2963f4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

ALEC legislative members generally deny being overly influenced by the organization or its model legislation, and argue that corporate input in the drafting process helps to promote business growth.<ref name=governing2011/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/09/meet-the-new-head-of-alec-the-free-market-group-of-state-legislators/|title=Meet the new head of ALEC, the free-market group of state legislators|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 9, 2014|first=Niraj|last=Chokshi|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=March 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311083044/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/07/09/meet-the-new-head-of-alec-the-free-market-group-of-state-legislators/|url-status=live}}</ref> "ALEC is unique in the sense that it puts legislators and companies together and they create policy collectively," said [[Scott Pruitt]], then an Oklahoma state representative and ALEC task force chair.<ref name=governing2003/> [[Vance Wilkins]], a former Republican speaker of the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] and ALEC member, said in 2002, "Just because business writes a bill doesn't make it bad. We get bills from all angles. And we still have to debate the issue."<ref name=freelancestar/> Whisnant, ALEC's Oregon co-chair, acknowledged in 2012 that corporations sometimes write model bills to promote their own interests and added, "But that doesn't mean I'll support them."<ref name=oregonian/> [[Harvey Morgan]], another former Virginia delegate and ALEC member, said of ALEC conferences, "You know before you go that the big-business view will prevail, and that's not necessarily bad. I still would like them to be a little more objective."<ref name=freelancestar/>

[[Alan Rosenthal]], a former [[Rutgers University]] [[political science]] professor and expert on state legislatures and lobbying,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/alan_rosenthal_influential_new_jersey_academic_dies.html|title=Alan Rosenthal, politically influential New Jersey academic, dies|date=July 11, 2013|work=[[The Star-Ledger]]|first=Matt|last=Friedman|access-date=December 2, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203190207/http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/alan_rosenthal_influential_new_jersey_academic_dies.html|url-status=live}}</ref> said in 2012, "Legislators don't sit down with a quill pen and draft legislation. I think legislators should have the right to turn to wherever they want to get the ideas they prefer... I have some confidence that they're not being flimflammed."<ref name=oregonian/>

Experts agree that, regardless of its propriety, the ALEC model has been very effective. ''[[Bloomberg Politics]]'' reported in 2014 that ALEC had "no equal" in accessing conservative policymakers.<ref name=dentists/> Rosenthal said of ALEC, "You've had the interest groups having access and sitting on other task forces, but here you've really perfected it... You've not only got them gaining access and interacting with legislators but you have them shaping policy together. It seems to me that's a pretty major advance."<ref name=governing2003/> Edwin Bender, executive director of the nonpartisan<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-virginia-factbox-idUSBRE9A40FC20131105|title=Factbox: Candidates, money in Virginia governor's race|work=Reuters|date=November 5, 2013|first=Ian|last=Simpson|access-date=July 5, 2021|archive-date=March 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313042645/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-virginia-factbox-idUSBRE9A40FC20131105|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-29/san-jose-pension-crush-spurs-bid-to-ease-california-pacts.html|title=San Jose Pension Crush Spurs Bid to Ease California Pacts|date=November 28, 2013|publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]|first=Alison|last=Vekshin|access-date=March 5, 2017|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006081943/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-29/san-jose-pension-crush-spurs-bid-to-ease-california-pacts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[OpenSecrets]] has said, "What makes ALEC different is its effectiveness in not just bringing the people together but selling a piece of legislation that was written by the industry and for the industry and selling it as a piece of mainstream legislation."<ref name=governing2003/>

=== Allegations of lobbying activity ===
In April 2012, [[Common Cause]] filed a complaint with the [[Internal Revenue Service]] objecting to ALEC's tax status as a nonprofit organization and alleged that lobbying accounted for more than 60% of its expenditures. ALEC formally denied lobbying,<ref name=Bloomberg /><ref name="AP Common Cause">{{cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/advocacy-group-files-irs-complaint-152625689.html|title=Advocacy group files IRS complaint against ALEC|publisher=Associated Press|date=April 23, 2012|first=Mike|last=Baker|access-date=January 15, 2017|archive-date=November 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118014346/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/advocacy-group-files-irs-complaint-152625689.html|url-status=live}}</ref> although Delores Mertz, who had previously served as chairwoman of the ALEC board, said she was "concerned about the lobbying that's going on, especially with [ALEC's] 501(c)3 status".<ref name=dailybeast /> Reporting on the allegations, ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' compared ALEC's work to that of lobbyists, noting, "part of ALEC's mission is to present industry-backed legislation as grass-roots work," and that being a nonprofit rather than a lobby group allows deductibility of membership dues and freedom from disclosing the names of legislators who attend its educational seminars or the executives who give presentations to those legislators.<ref name=Bloomberg /> William Schluter, vice chairman of the New Jersey Ethics Commission and a former Republican state senator, said of ALEC's activities, "When you get right down to it, this is not different from lobbying. It is lobbying. ...Any kind of large organization that adds to public policy or has initiatives involving public policy should be disclosed—not only their name, but who is backing them."<ref name=rizzo1 /> According to ''[[Governing (magazine)|Governing]]'' magazine, ALEC legislators often have their travel expenses paid as "scholarships" and are "wined and dined and golf-coursed" by private sector members.<ref name=governing2011 /> In July 2013, Common Cause submitted a supplemental brief to the IRS complaining about these practices.<ref name=ccsupplemental>{{cite web|url=http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=8755339 |title=Supplemental Submission IRS Whistleblower complaint on ALEC |date=July 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331201937/http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=8755339 |archive-date=March 31, 2014}}</ref>

ALEC responded to the original Common Cause complaint by denying it engaged in lobbying, while saying that liberal groups were attacking ALEC because "they don't have a comparable group that is as effective as ALEC in enacting policies into law."<ref name="bw">{{cite news |work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |title=Republican Group Subject of IRS Complaint on Lobbying |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-23/republican-group-subject-of-irs-complaint-on-lobbying |first=Jonathan |last=Salant |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203030127/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-23/republican-group-subject-of-irs-complaint-on-lobbying |url-status=dead }}</ref> {{as of|2015}}, the IRS investigation remained open.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/07/02/alec-11alive-atlanta-report/29632701/|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150709000829/http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/07/02/alec-11alive-atlanta-report/29632701/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 9, 2015|title=A charity for lawmakers? ALEC feeds them bills|publisher=[[WXIA-TV]]|date=July 3, 2015|first=Brendan|last=Keefe}}</ref>

Statutes in Colorado, South Carolina, and Indiana exempt ALEC, specifically by name, from having to register as a lobbyist and report lobbying expenditures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/05/08/8828/alec-exempted-lobbyist-status-three-separate-states|title=ALEC exempted from lobbyist status in three separate states|publisher=[[Center for Public Integrity]]|date=May 8, 2012|first=Paul|last=Abowd|access-date=November 26, 2014|archive-date=May 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513001538/http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/05/08/8828/alec-exempted-lobbyist-status-three-separate-states|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, ALEC created a [[501(c) organization#501(c)(4)|501(c)(4) organization]] called the "Jeffersonian Project" that, according to ''The Guardian'', "would allow Alec to be far more overt in its lobbying activities than its current charitable status as a 501(c)(3)".<ref name=Guardian20131203>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/alec-funding-crisis-big-donors-trayvon-martin |title=ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row |first1=Ed |last1=Pilkington |first2=Suzanne |last2=Goldenberg |date=December 3, 2013 |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 13, 2016 |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110142811/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/alec-funding-crisis-big-donors-trayvon-martin |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Funding==
{{as of|2011}}, corporation, think tank, and trade group members accounted for almost 99% of ALEC's $7 million budget.<ref name=pssst/> Legislators pay $100 in biennial membership dues, or $50 per year, while non-legislators pay $7,000 to $25,000 to join, and more to participate in the task forces.<ref name=governing2011/><ref name=rizzo1/><ref name=newsobserver/> In 2010, [[NPR]] reported that tax records showed that corporations had collectively paid as much as $6 million a year to ALEC.<ref name=npr2010>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2010/10/29/130891396/shaping-state-laws-with-little-scrutiny|title=Shaping State Laws With Little Scrutiny|publisher=[[NPR]]|first=Laura|last=Sullivan|date=October 29, 2010|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401003837/https://www.npr.org/2010/10/29/130891396/shaping-state-laws-with-little-scrutiny|url-status=live}}</ref> ALEC's total revenue in 2011 was $9 million.<ref name=newsobserver/>

In 2010, ALEC received $100,000 each from [[AT&T]], [[Allergan]], and [[RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company]] to be named as "president level" sponsors at its annual meeting.<ref name=pssst/> Eleven other members, including Pfizer (PFE) and the [[Institute for Legal Reform]], paid $50,000 each to be named as "chairman level" sponsors.<ref name=pssst/> {{as of|2011}}, [[Altria]], the [[Blue Cross Blue Shield Association]], and [[BP America]] were also $50,000 chairman level sponsors.<ref name=pssst/>

[[ExxonMobil]]'s foundation donated $30,000 to ALEC in both 2005 and 2006. Alan Jeffers, an ExxonMobil spokesman, said the company paid $39,000 in dues in 2010 and sponsored a reception at the annual meeting in San Diego for $25,000. In August 2011, Exxon spent $45,000 to sponsor a workshop on natural gas.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fitzgerald |first=Alison |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-21/koch-exxon-mobil-among-corporations-helping-write-state-laws.html |title=Koch, Exxon Mobil Among Corporations Helping Write State Laws |magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |date=2011-07-21 |access-date=2012-08-15 |archive-date=January 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110192817/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-21/koch-exxon-mobil-among-corporations-helping-write-state-laws.html |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[Center For Public Integrity]], ALEC received $150,000 from Charles and David Koch in 2011.<ref name=abowd>{{cite web|last=Abowd|first=Paul|title=Koch brothers pour more cash into think tanks, ALEC|url=http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/01/31/12105/koch-brothers-pour-more-cash-think-tanks-alec|work=January 31, 2013|date=January 31, 2013 |publisher=[[The Center for Public Integrity]]|access-date=November 21, 2013|archive-date=December 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011204/http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/01/31/12105/koch-brothers-pour-more-cash-think-tanks-alec|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Greenpeace]] claims that ALEC has received $525,858 from Koch foundations between 2005 and 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/american-legislative-exchange/|title=Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)|work=Greenpeace |publisher=[[Greenpeace]]|access-date=June 14, 2014|archive-date=June 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607221953/http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/american-legislative-exchange/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Corporate members also pay $3,000 to $10,000 for seats on task forces.<ref name=pssst/>

According to a December 2013 article in ''[[The Guardian]]'', ALEC faced a funding shortfall after "losing more than a third of its projected income" when some 400 state legislators left its membership, along with more than 60 corporate donors.<ref name=Guardian20131203/> The organization's 2013 tax return indicated a 13% drop in total revenue from $8.4 million to $7.3 million.<ref>[http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2013/520/140/2013-520140979-0aba236c-9.pdf 2013 Form 990] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924041409/http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2013/520/140/2013-520140979-0aba236c-9.pdf |date=September 24, 2015 }} from [[GuideStar]]</ref>  On its 2016 tax return ALEC reported an increase in total revenue from $9.0 million the prior year to $10.3 million.<ref>[https://www.alec.org/about/public-reporting/ 2016 Form 990] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235900/https://www.alec.org/about/public-reporting/ |date=October 6, 2018 }} from ALEC website</ref>

==Further reading==

* Alex Hertel-Fernandez. 2019. ''State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation.'' Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780190870799

==See also==
{{Portal|Conservatism}}
* [[Council of State Governments]]
* [[National Conference of State Legislatures]] (NCSL)
* [[Project Blitz]]
* [[Regulatory capture]]
* [[State Government Affairs Council]]
* [[State Innovation Exchange]] (SiX) (formerly the [[American Legislative and Issue Campaign]]), an organization that produces model legislation from a progressive standpoint

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.alec.org ALEC] official website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150929231800/http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/520140979/popup/1 Organizational Profile] – [[National Center for Charitable Statistics]] ([[Urban Institute]])
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|520140979}}

{{State Policy Network}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1973 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Conservative organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Government-related professional associations in the United States]]
[[Category:Legal organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Arlington County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1973]]