Sunday, December 9, 2012

Groups challenge lawmakers' lack of transparency with ALEC

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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