ALEC Conference: Newt Gingrich, Big Business and Arizona legislators

by David Safier

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) met a few days ago in D.C., buoyed by Republican victories. Here's a description of ALEC from a recent NPR expose:

It's a membership organization of state legislators and powerful corporations and associations, such as the tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil and the National Rifle Association. Another member is the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country.

SB1070 was drafted there. Russell Pearce carried it, word for word, to the Arizona legislature. That's what ALEC does: draft legislation for conservatives to take back to their states and pass into law. The Council pays for legislators' plane fare, wines and dines them and does all the work. What a deal!

Here's a description of ALEC's latest meeting:

How many legislators were here? I asked, and was at first told that around 900 people were in attendance, which would include a lot of private sector attendees, then told that number of legislators was not public information. But I talked to several legislators who informed me how many of their peers had shown up for three days of briefings on topics like "EPA's Regulatory Assault" and "A Tax in Sheep's Clothing: How Extended Producer Responsibility Mandates Can Hurt Consumers and Businesses." The election swept in 25 new Republican members of the Wisconsin state assembly; five of them were here.

Newt Gingrich spoke, by the way. He talked about "his master plan to achieve total 'replacement of the left.'"

A reliable source told the Arizona Guardian how many Arizona legislators were there: More than 30, according to Bob Burns, who said it was the largest delegation from any state.

Expect ALEC-based legislation to be a big part of the next session.