National legislative group convenes in N.O.

The largest nonprofit association of state lawmakers in the U.S. is meeting in New Orleans this week and drawing the attention of major media outlets. The American Legislative Exchange Council is convening amid some publicized controversy about the influence it wields. In recent years, new information has surfaced about the way brainstorming sessions are conducted at ALEC’s annual meetings. These sessions usually result in “model legislation” for lawmakers to sponsor back home: bills that were written with corporate players at the table. Lawmakers are joined on ALEC’s membership roster by the likes of Pfizer, ExxonMobil and other private companies. Roughly 200 ALEC-drafted bills annually are passed by governmental bodies in various states: One example is Arizona’s controversial immigration law. Louisiana state Rep. Noble Ellington, R-Winnsboro, is serving as national chairman of ALEC this year and recently told NPR in an interview (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/21/138575665/national-chairman-of-alec-responds-to-report) that it’s all much ado about nothing. Only member lawmakers can vote to approve an ALEC-backed model bill, he argued. “And [bills] may start out in the corporation and [with] the ALEC members, but then only legislative members approve model legislation—not the private sector advisory board,” Ellington told NPR. “They don’t approve the legislation. Only the public sector members have the final say.” To hear the interview, click here. To further fuel the controversy surrounding ALEC’s influence, a press conference will be hosted tomorrow by “whistleblowers”: a teacher, a small business owner, a minister and a “disenfranchised voter.” A press release says the group will “unveil the real human toll of ALEC’s model bills.” To learn more about the American Legislative Exchange Council and the ongoing annual meeting in New Orleans, visit alec.org. —Jeremy Alford