The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a corporately-funded group, consisting of conservative state lawmakers and company lobbyists, that composes model bills to disperse to its hundreds of corporate members. This corporate “bill mill” provides model bills to companies as tentative outlines that the companies can amend in order to fit their own interests in a certain state.

There are about 2,000 legislative members and over 300 corporate members in ALEC. ALEC generates extravagant amounts of money from corporate membership fees. Companies pay anywhere from $7,000 to $25,000 annually with additional fees from $2,500 to $10,000 should they want a seat on a legislative task force. The task forces are deliberative groups that organize the model bills’ drafting.

Political influence that’s been facilitated by corporate spending has allowed hundreds of ALEC-created bills to be introduced and passed through the country’s state legislatures. The bills serve corporate interests as they tend to undermine workers’ rights, circumvent environmental protection laws, limit patent rights for pharmaceutical companies, and encourage for-profit educational systems. The people and the environment always end up the losers as a result of these ALEC model bills.

Recent legislative efforts involving ALEC are two fracking chemical disclosure bills that are making their way through the Florida state legislature. One of the bills, the Fracturing Chemical Usage Act (HB 71), will require fracking companies that wish to drill in the state to disclose the chemicals used in the drilling process. However, HB 71 comes with a companion bill. The Public Record/Fracturing Chemical Usag Disclosure Act (HB 157) essentially nullifies HB 71 as it lists fracking chemicals as trade secrets exempted from public disclosure.

Those bills would allow energy companies to ravage the state of Florida freely and without accountability. Similar legislation was passed in Texas nearly three years ago and was sponsored by ExxonMobil. Exxon and hundreds of similarly destructive corporations manipulate the legislative system with help from ALEC and associated conservative lawmakers.

The following is a list of companies that are ALEC members. The list was provided by CommonCause.org and has been updated to reflect remaining members as of September 2013. The list notes the corporations involved, where they are based, and the specific legislative task force with whom they are associated.

 

Corporation

Headquarters

ALEC Task Force Membership

1-800 Contacts, Inc.

UT

Health and Human Services

Allergan, Inc.

CA

Health and Human Services

Altria Client Services

VA

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development , Civil Justice, Tax and Fiscal Policy

American Electric Power Company Inc.

OH

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

AMERIGROUP Corporation

DC

Health and Human Services

AOL Inc.

NY

Tax and Fiscal Policy; Communications and Technology

Apotex Corp.

FL

Health and Human Services

Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, LLC

FL

Tax and Fiscal Policy

Astellas Pharma US, Inc.

IL

Health and Human Services

AstraZeneca Inc.

London, UK

Health and Human Services

AT&T

DC

Communications and Technology, Tax and Fiscal Policy

Bayer

Leverkusen, Germany

Civil Justice; Energy, Environment, and Agriculture; Health and Human Services

Bayer HealthCare

Leverkusen, Germany

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture; Health and Human Services

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CT

Health and Human Services

BP

London, UK

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Celgene Corporation

NJ

Health and Human Services

CenturyLink

LA

Communications and Technology

Charter Communications

MO

Communications and Technology

Chevron

CA

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Cloud Peak Energy

CO

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC

MS

Communications and Technology, Tax and Fiscal Policy

Con-way

MI

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Continental Resources, Inc.

OK

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Corinthian Colleges, Inc.

CA

Education

Cox Communications

GA

Communications and Technology

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

TN

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Crown Cork & Seal

PA

Civil Justice

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

NJ

Health and Human Services

DCI Group, LLC

DC

Communications and Technology

Dezenhall Communications Mgmt. Group, LTD

DC

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Diageo North America, Inc.

MD

Tax and Fiscal Policy

Dominion Resources Services Inc.

VA

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Duke Energy Corporation

NC

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

EBay Inc.

CA

Communications and Technology

Eli Lilly and Company

IN

Health and Human Services

Energy Future Holdings

TX

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

ExxonMobil Corporation

TX

Civil Justice, Energy, Environment, and Agriculture, Tax and Fiscal Policy

Farmers Insurance Group/Companies

CA

Civil Justice

FedEx Corporation

TX

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Georgia-Pacific Corporation

GA

Civil Justice

Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company

IL

Health and Human Services

Honeywell International

NJ

Civil Justice

Insight Schools

OR

Education

International Paper

TN

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

J.R. Simplot Company

ID

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

K12 Inc.

VA

Education

Koch Companies Public Sector

WI

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture; Civil Justice; Public Safety and Elections; Tax and Fiscal Policy

LKQ/Keystone Automotive

IL

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

LogistiCare Solutions, LLC

GA

Health and Human Services

Marathon Oil Company

TX

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

MDU Resources Group, Inc.

ND

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

MedImmune, Company of AstraZeneca

MD

Health and Human Services

Microsoft Corporation

WA

Communications and Technology

MV VeriSol

SC

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

TN

Civil Justice

National Heritage Academies

MI

Education

Norfolk Southern Corporation

VA

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Novartis Corporation

NJ

Health and Human Services

NV Energy, Inc.

NV

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Occidental Oil & Gas Co.

CA

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

CA

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Orchid Cellmark

OH

Public Safety and Elections

PacifiCorp

OR

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Parquet Public Affairs

FL

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Peabody Energy

MO

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Pfizer Inc

NY

Civil Justice; Health and Human Services

Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

AZ

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

Purdue Pharma L.P.

CT

Health and Human Services

Qwest Communications International Inc.

CO

Communications and Technology

ResCare

MD

Health and Human Services

Reynolds American Inc.

NC

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development ; Health and Human Services; International/Federal Relations; Public Safety and Elections; Tax and Fiscal Policy

Salt River Project

AZ

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

SAP America, Inc.

PA

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development ; Communications and Technology

Security Finance Corporation

SC

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development ; Civil Justice

Shell Oil Company

TX

Energy, Environment, and Agriculture

State Farm Insurance Companies

IL

Civil Justice; Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

T-Mobile USA

WA

Communications and Technology

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc.

IL

Health and Human Services

TEVA Pharmaceuticals

PA

Health and Human Services

Texas Roadhouse

TX

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

Time Warner Cable

NY

Tax and Fiscal Policy; Communications and Technology

United Parcel Service

GA

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development

US Oncology

TX

Health and Human Services

Verizon Communications

NY

Communications and Technology; Tax and Fiscal Policy

Wine Institute

DC

Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development ; Public Safety and Elections

Yahoo! Inc.

CA

Communications and Technology