Revealed: Names of ALEC Lobbyist and Legislator Members

By Jamie Corey, Senior Researcher with Documented

The names of hundreds of members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”), details of which are closely guarded by the group, are revealed in a document obtained by Documented through a public records request.

The list, made available below, includes hundreds of elected officials, corporations, front groups, and industry trade associations.

[embed]https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4392657-2017-ALEC-AM-Members.html#document/p1[/embed]

The document does not account for the entirety of ALEC’s membership–since not all of ALEC’s members registered for the conference–but hundreds of names are revealed here, many for the first time.

ALEC is an industry-backed group that promotes “model” legislation on a range of topics, much of it controversial. Its agenda includes bills aimed at privatizing education and healthcare, rolling back environmental regulations, and limiting consumer protections. Most recently, ALEC adopted a policy aimed at repealing the 17th Amendment, which provides for the direct election of U.S. Senators.

Increased awareness of ALEC in recent years has led more than 100 corporations to distance themselves from the group since the Center for Media and Democracy started its ALEC Exposed project in 2011 (Note that I previously worked at CMD). Many of those corporations now appear to be re-engaging with ALEC according to this list.

Below are some of the key findings in the document:

• A year after AARP distanced itself from ALEC, 16 AARP representatives from 12 different states and the District of Columbia were listed as registered for the meeting. AARP had the second most registered representatives of any organization at that meeting (Americans for Prosperity had 38 representatives). The AARP Florida state chapter is listed as being a full ALEC member.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield announced in 2012 that it had ended its ALEC membership. The document shows that they have since rejoined.
• Marathon Petroleum is listed as a member for the first time.
• American Electric Power dropped its ALEC membership in 2015 over ALEC’s opposition to the Clean Power Plan. AEP’s State Government Affairs Manager registered to attend the meeting.
• Yelp stated publicly in 2014 that the company was not likely to renew their membership in 2015. Yelp’s Director of Public Policy is listed as being registered for the meeting.
• A lobbyist from Uber called Trevor Theunissen registered for the meeting. The company told Common Cause in 2014 that it had “no plans to participate, fund, or join the organization.”
• Numerous fossil fuel companies and their trade associations are members, including Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Peabody Energy, Chevron, Duke Energy, the Edison Electric Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Gas Association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
• The State Policy Network, along with many of its state think tanks, are listed as members. These organizations play a critical role within ALEC, providing on-the-ground support in states to help pass ALEC legislation.
• The Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), and the Heartland Institute, two groups known for promoting climate change denial, are members.
• Numerous electric utilities are funding ALEC. Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”), Salt River Project and Tucson Electric Power/UniSource Energy Sources are all listed as being members. Florida Power and Light, Indianapolis Power & Light Company and Dominion Energy were listed as being registered for the meeting.

Controversial Legislators Listed as ALEC Members:

• KUNC reported in February 2018 that a sexual harassment complaint was made against Colorado State Senator Jack Tate by a former intern.
• A formal complaint filed in 2017 alleged that Colorado State Sen. Randy Baumgardner slapped and grabbed a legislative aide in 2016.
• Colorado State Representative Lori Saine was arrested in 2017 for having a loaded gun at an airport security checkpoint.
• Four state lawmakers have called on Ohio State Representative Bill Seitz to resign after he made light of a sexual harassment scandal during a former staffer’s going away party. Seitz is a member of ALEC’s board of directors.

You can download the full pdf list here.

Below is a sortable and searchable version of the data compiled by Documented. An alternative version is available here.

This story was originally published in Documented here.