The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was founded in 1973 as a clearinghouse to promote legislation at the state level, and it has since developed into a highly prominent lobbying vehicle for hundreds of the US’s leading corporations. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, over 98% of ALEC’s annual revenue comes from corporations and sources other than legislative dues. At national ALEC conferences at posh resorts, at least three times a year, state legislators meet with industry lobbyists to discuss policy and vote on “model” legislation, which is then promoted by ALEC to advance a corporate legislative agenda.
- ALEC model bills introduced across the country have devastating effects on workers, students, voters, consumers, immigrants, and our ability to enjoy clean air and water.
- ALEC has flourished in Republican‐dominated states, but it has a less obvious presence in New Jersey’s Democratic‐controlled state legislature. However, Republican Governor Chris Christie’s former Chief of Staff, Richard Bagger, served on ALEC’s Private Enterprise Board in at least 2002 and 2004 on behalf of Pfizer.iii Bagger now works for Celgene Corporation, another ALEC funder,iv v and was nominated by the Governor to be a paid Commissioner on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,vi confirmed on June 28, 2012.vii New Jersey’s ALEC “public sector” co‐chairsviii are Assemblyman Jay Webber (R‐26) and Senator Steve Oroho (R‐24).
- Despite their claims that “ALEC does not lobby in any state,” the organization tracks the status of its model bills in legislatures and sends its employees to testify in support of its bills in state houses across the country, in addition to materials that it regularly transmits to legislators. This report examines the legislative histories of the New Jersey members with which ALEC has ties and the model legislation that has been introduced, at times word for word, or dangerously close to it.
- In response to ALEC’s extreme agenda, corporations and lawmakers have dropped ALEC in recent months. In New Jersey:
- September 13, 2012–Merck&Co.,founded in 1891 and based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- August 16, 2012–Reckitt Benckiser, created by merger in 1999, US home in Parsippany, New Jersey
- July 13, 2012–St. Louis, Missouri based Express Scripts, which operates Medco, founded in 1983 and based in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
- June 12, 2012–Johnson & Johnson, founded in 1886 and based in New Brunswick, New Jersey
This report concludes that New Jersey‐based corporations and New Jersey legislators with ALEC ties should follow the lead of Merck & Co., Reckitt Benckiser, Express Scripts, and Johnson & Johnson and do the same.
See full report.
