Submitted by David Armiak on
The American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) annual meeting continues this week online with workshops on rewriting the U.S. Constitution, reopening schools amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and school privatization. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Orlando, but was moved online with cases of COVID-19 surging in the Sunshine State.
ALEC does not disclose its members and donors and keeps the attendees to its meetings secret. A list of the 2020 Annual Meeting attendees and sponsors was obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and is being made publicly available below.
The list was missing some titles and institutions so CMD staff added them where possible. In addition, location information was added so that researchers can pull out state attendees. The list is likely not complete, as some speakers such as Rep. Phil King (R-TX) and Fair Lines America's Adam Kincaid are not listed.
Also, ALEC is offering a $50 workshop pass for this week, according to an email from ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson reviewed by CMD, so those taking up her offer will not be on this list.
In all, the list shows just 50 state lawmakers and their staff as in attendance, meaning legislators are outnumbered four to one by lobbyists and representatives of right-wing groups.
Charles Koch's political network is well represented at the Annual Meeting with 20 staffers identified. Nine attended from Koch's astroturf group Americans for Prosperity, eight from the Koch-founded and funded Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and one each from the Charles Koch Institute, the Cato Institute, and "Yes. Every Kid."
Trump and the federal government again sent attendees to the Annual Meeting. In addition to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and Brooke Rollins, Assistant to the U.S. President for Strategic Initiatives, Justin Faulb, Legal Advisor for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); Sayre Swarztrauber, Policy Advisor for the FCC; Lynn Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; and Steven Winberg, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Fuel Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.
Below is the full list of attendees in searchable form.
2020 Annual Meeting Sponsors
The sponsors of ALEC's 2020 Annual Meeting are disclosed below according to funding level with "Chairman" being the top and "Trustee" the lowest.
Chairman Level
- First Rule
- NetChoice
- Rubin, Turnbull, and Associates
Vice Chairman Level
- Cigar Association of America
- EdChoice
- Foundation for Government Accountability
- K12, Inc.
- Mackinac Center
- Pacific Legal Foundation
- PhRMA
Director Level
- American Federation for Children
- Lilly
Trustee Level
- Florida East Coast Industries
Photo credit: American Legislative Exchange Council's YouTube account.
David Armiak is research director with the Center for Media and Democracy. David joined CMD in 2015, has conducted extensive investigations on dark money, corporate corruption, and right-wing networks, and is responsible for filing and analyzing hundreds of public records requests every year. David has a strong research interest in social movements and political power, and has delivered many talks on the subject.
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