Groups challenge lawmakers' lack of transparency with ALEC
CASPER, Wyo. — Late last month, 17 newly elected Wyoming legislators
attended a three-day meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington,
D.C. The event was sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange
Council, or ALEC.
On Dec. 3, the nonprofit citizen lobbyist
organization Common Cause and the Center for Media and Democracy
released a report that said legislators from Wyoming were among the top
10 states in the amount of corporate "scholarships" lawmakers receive to
attend ALEC meetings.
According to Common Cause accounts, the
legislators pay $50 per year to belong to ALEC and in return receive
free travel to and from and lodging at meetings where they are wined and
dined by various corporation representatives and are cajoled into
introducing ALEC model bills when they get home.
Common Cause
refers to the scholarships as corporate donor "slush funds." The
organization is challenging ALEC's nonprofit, tax-free status with the
Internal Revenue Service on grounds it is a lobby and not a charity.
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