SPN Ties to ALEC

Learn more about how the State Policy Network aids ALEC and spins disinformation in the states.

Learn more about corporations VOTING to rewrite our laws.

SPN Ties to ALEC is a breakout article from the main article on the State Policy Network (SPN).

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. As of June 2024, SPN's membership totals 167. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2022 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $152 million. Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.

In response to CMD's report, SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told national and statehouse reporters that SPN affiliates are "fiercely independent." Later the same week, however, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer caught Sharp in a contradiction. In her article, "Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?," the Pulitzer-nominated reporter revealed that, in a recent meeting behind closed doors with the heads of SPN affiliates around the country, Sharp "compared the organization’s model to that of the giant global chain IKEA." She reportedly said that SPN "would provide 'the raw materials,' along with the 'services' needed to assemble the products. Rather than acting like passive customers who buy finished products, she wanted each state group to show the enterprise and creativity needed to assemble the parts in their home states. 'Pick what you need,' she said, 'and customize it for what works best for you.'" Not only that, but Sharp "also acknowledged privately to the members that the organization's often anonymous donors frequently shape the agenda. 'The grants are driven by donor intent,' she told the gathered think-tank heads. She added that, often, 'the donors have a very specific idea of what they want to happen.'"

A set of coordinated fundraising proposals obtained and released by The Guardian in early December 2013 confirm many of these SPN members' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes.

Please see the State Policy Network and ALECexposed.org for more.

Below are details of SPN's ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC):

SPN's predecessor, the Madison Group, was "launched by the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC . . . and housed in the Chicago-based Heartland Institute," according to a 1991 report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) found in the University of California-San Francisco's Legacy Tobacco Documents.

The case is strengthened by an October 1987 ALEC directory also available via the Tobacco Documents that says, "The Madison Group is chaired by Mrs. Constance Heckman [now Constance Campanella, founder of the lobbying firm Stateside Associates], Executive Director of ALEC . . ." A speakers list also available in the Tobacco Documents says in Constance Campanella's biography, "She was a co-founder and first President of The Madison Group, the first network of free-market state think tanks."

SPN has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for many years. In the mid-2000s, SPN secured funding for more of its member think tanks to join ALEC in order to help develop model legislation. By 2009, 22 SPN member think tanks were active ALEC members and participants in ALEC task forces, according to an SPN newsletter, and SPN was being rewarded for its services by ALEC. As of 2013, at least 36 SPN member think tanks have demonstrable ties to ALEC in addition to SPN's own ties, and all of SPN's member think tanks push ALEC's agenda in their respective states, according to a review by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) (see below for more).

Executive Director Tracie Sharp and staff member Stephen L. Bowen are members of ALEC's Education Task Force; and Sharp and staff members Joe Coletti and Kathleen O'Hearn are members of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force.

Tracie Sharp receives ALEC's 2009 Private Sector Member of the Year Award, along with lobbyists from UPS, Verizon, and Altria (Source: SPN)

Randolph J. May, President of Maryland's Free State Foundation, also represents SPN on the Communications and Technology Task Force. At the beginning of the Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force meeting at the ALEC 2012 Spring Task Force Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, the meeting started out with "State Policy Network Updates," suggesting that SPN is also a member of that task force.

In addition, SPN has been a "Chairman" or higher level sponsor of ALEC's annual conferences -- which are listed in one of ALEC's funding brochures as costing at least $50,000 per meeting -- in 2013, 2012, and 2010. It also sponsored ALEC's 2012 States & Nation Policy Meeting in Washington, DC. ALEC is also an Associate Member of SPN.

Sharp was the recipient of ALEC's 2009 Private Sector Member of the Year Award. ALEC gave her the award because, according to ALEC "scholar" and founder of SPN member think tank the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, "Not only have SPN members assisted legislators in drafting model legislation, they’ve been key in killing some proposals by ‘rent-seeking’ special interests.”

However, SPN’s tax forms indicate that it does no lobbying.

According to the National Education Association (NEA), "ALEC utilizes the services of the State Policy Network as a clearinghouse to craft model legislation on conservative issues and to provide expert testimony in state capitols once bills are introduced." In addition, it notes, "ALEC and Heritage also serve as a media platform for these state-based think tanks to gain national press attention for research and the legislation and initiatives they introduce."

Of SPN's 64 member state think tanks in 2013, at least 36 have demonstrable ties to ALEC in addition to SPN's own ties, and all of SPN's member think tanks push ALEC's agenda in their respective states. Please see SPN Members for more.

About ALEC

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Follow the Money: SPN Funding to ALEC

SPN’s membership in the controversial organization is not free. Through the years, SPN and its member think tanks have provided ALEC with hundreds of thousands of dollars in membership fees and contributions.

SPN and its member the Texas Public Policy Foundation were "Chair"-level sponsors of the ALEC Annual Conference in 2016 (a Chair-level sponsorship equated to $50,000 in 2010).

Between 2008 and 2011, SPN and its member think tanks also served as a middleman for effectively funneling money from the secretive Koch-funded Donors Capital Fund to ALEC. In just those four years, the Donors groups itemized $688,800 to SPN and 12 member think tanks for participation in ALEC, task force membership fees, and travel expenses to attend ALEC meetings, where special interest legislation is peddled and lawmakers and their spouses are wined and dined.

From 2007 to 2011, Donors Capital Fund and the related DonorsTrust have funded at least 51 SPN member groups in almost every state for purposes including, but not limited to, participating in ALEC, including giving start-up funds for new franchise-like operations in Arkansas, Rhode Island, and Florida, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative news group.

SPN Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Known ties of SPN affiliates to ALEC, current or former, are listed in the chart below:

State	SPN member think tank	ALEC ties*	Personnel representing think tank at ALEC	Task force	Model legislation	Presentations	Other involvement	Notes
AL	Alabama Policy Institute	Task force membership	Michael Ciamarra, Vice President	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force	Ciamarra recommended bill, 2009 SB204, based on ALEC's "Transparency and Government Accountability Act," to the Alabama state legislature
AZ	Goldwater Institute	Task force membership	Jonathan Butcher, Education Director; Matthew Ladner	Education Task Force	* Butcher sponsored the "District and School Freedom Act," which he presented at 2012 Spring Task Force Summit, as well as the "Resolution Opposing the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative," which he presented to the K–12 Education Reform Subcommittee Meeting during the 2011 annual meeting. * Ladner sponsored the "A-Plus Literacy Act" at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Nick Dranias, Director of Policy	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force	Presented "Decentralized Land Use Regulation for Rural Counties" and the "State Sovereignty through Local Coordination Act" at the 2010 annual meeting
			Nick Dranias; Byron Schlomach	Health and Human Services Task Force	* Dranias sponsored the "Health Freedom Compact Act" at 2011 Spring Task Force Summit * Schlomach sponsored the "Insurance Compact Enabling Act" at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit and gave a presentation on "The Evolution of Third-Party Payment in Health Care" at the annual meeting that year.
			Steve Silvinski, Senior Economist	International Relations Task Force	Presented "Constitutional Defense Council Legislation," "Model State Sovereignty Civil Rights Law," and the "Sovereign State Interstate Compact" at ALEC's 2011 annual meeting
			Nick Dranias; Byron Schlomach	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force	* Dranias introduced the "Subsidy Truce Compact" at ALEC's 2011 annual meeting * Schlomach sponsored the "Balanced Budget Certification Act" and the "Spending Evaluation Act" at the 2010 annual meeting and "A Constitutional Amendment Requiring State Approval for Increases in Federal Debt" at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Byron Schlomach	Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force	Introduced “Prohibition on Paid Union Activity (Release Time) by Public Employees Act” and "Public Employee Paycheck Protection Act" at ALEC's 2012 Spring Task Force Summit. Schlomach also introduced the "Insurance Compact Enabling Act” along with Nick Dranias at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
AR	Advance Arkansas Institute	Task force membership	Dan Greenberg, Executive Director	Civil Justice Task Force		Presentation at 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit: "Preventing Settlement Abuse: The Work of CCAF and the Advance Arkansas Institute"
CA	Pacific Research Institute	Task force membership	Lawrence McQuillan, Director of Business and Economic Studies	Civil Justice Task Force		Participated in presentation on ranking state tort systems (“2010 Tort Liability Index”) during 2010 annual meeting
			Vicki Murrary, Education Studies Senior Policy Fellow	Education Task Force		Presented “10 Questions State Legislators Should Ask About Higher Education” at 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			John Graham, Director of Health Care Studies (former)	Health and Human Services Task Force
			Jason Clemens, Director of Research (former) and John Graham	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force		Graham gave a report (“What ObamaCare Means for State Budgets”) at 2010 Spring Task Force Summit
CO	Independence Institute	Task force membership	Ben DeGrow, Policy Analyst	Education Task Force	Sponsored amendments to ALEC's "Open Enrollment Act""	Gave a presentation entitled “Collective Bargaining Transparency” at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Rob Natelson, Senior Fellow	International Relations Task Force		Spoke about convening an Article 5 convention at 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit and gave a presentation on "How States Protect the Constitution" at the 2011 Annual Meeting	Authored an ALEC handbook for state lawmakers entitled "Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States”
			Barry Poulson, Senior Fellow	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force		Participates in the Public Pension Reform Working Group (gave a report on their behalf to the task force at the 2011 annual meeting)
FL	Foundation for Government Accountability	Task force membership	Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO	Health and Human Services Task Force		Gave a talk titled “Florida’s Health Care Reforms: Health and Welfare Successes in the Sunshine State” at the 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit	Christie Herrera, Vice President of Policy for FGA, is the former director of the HHS task force
			Joyce Errecart, Tax Policy Senior Fellow	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force		Gave a presentation on “Tangible Personal Property Business Taxes” at the 2012 States and Nation Policy Summit
FL	James Madison Institute	Task force membership	JMI is a new member as of 2012	Education Task Force
		Through staff					James M. Taylor, a member of its Research Advisory Council, is involved with the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force as a frequent guest speaker
				Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
ID	Idaho Freedom Foundation	Sponsorship (of ALEC)		Health and Human Services Task Force			IFF sponsored a 2012 trip for ALEC officials from the HHS task force to meet with Idaho lawmakers to discuss health care policy
		Public support for ALEC					Executive Director Wayne Hoffman published an article on the foundation's website entitled, "ALEC Helps Promote Good Public Policy"
IL	Illinois Policy Institute	Task force membership	Collin Hitt, Director of Education Policy	Education Task Force	Sponsored the “Local Government Transparency Act” at the 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Amanda Griffin-Johnson	Health and Human Services Task Force	Presented the “State Employee Health Savings Account Act” at the 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Brian Costin, Director of Government Reform, and Ted Dabrowski, Vice President of Policy	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force	Introduced the "Local Government Transparency Act" and the "Pension Funding and Fairness Act," respectively, at the 2011 annual meeting
IA	Public Interest Institute	Board of Scholars					Richard Vedder, a PII advisory board member, is on ALEC's Board of Scholars
KS	Kansas Policy Institute	Task force membership	Dave Trabert, President	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force			Jonathan Williams and Barry Poulson, both adjunct fiscal policy fellows at KPI, are involved in the same task force. Williams is the task force director	Poulson is an advisor through other positions in CO (Independence Institute and the University of Colorado)
KY	Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy	Task force membership	Jim Waters, President	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force	Introduced the "Intrastate Coal and Use Act" at the 2012 States and Nation Policy Summit
LA	Pelican Institute for Public Policy	Sponsorship (from ALEC)					ALEC sponsored the group's "Policy Orientation for the Louisiana Legislature" event in 2011
ME	Maine Heritage Policy Center	Task force membership	Stephen Bowen	Education Task Force				Stephen Bowen is now the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education
		Sponsorship (of ALEC)		Health and Human Services Task Force			Hosted a talk by HHS task force director, Christie Herrera (former) in 2010
MD	Maryland Public Policy Institute	Through staff					Adjunct staff member, Wendell Cox, is former ALEC public policy director
MA	Pioneer Institute	Task force membership		Education
				Health and Human Services Task Force
MI	Mackinac Center for Public Policy	Task force membership	Paul Kersey, Director of Labor Policy (former)	Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force	Presented the “Financial Accountability for Public Employee Unions Act,” the “Election Accountability for Municipal Employees Act,” and the “Decertification Elections Act” at the 2012 Spring Task Force Summit			Paul Kersey now works for the Illinois Policy Institute
		Task force subcommittee chairmanship	F. Vincent Vernuccio, Director of Labor Policy	Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Labor and Business Regulation Subcommittee Private Sector Chair
			Michael Van Beek, Director of Education Policy	Education Task Force
			Russ Harding, Senior Fellow	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force
			Jack McHugh, Senior Legislative Analyst	Health and Human Services Task Force
			James Hohman, Assistant Director of Fiscal Policy	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
MN	Center of the American Experiment	Through board member		Communications and Technology Task Force			CAE board member, John Gibbs, is a private sector member of the task force for Comcast Cable
MO	Show-Me Institute	Through staff					Former policy analyst, Christine Harbin, was a research manager at ALEC
MT	Montana Policy Institute	Through staff		International Relations Task Force			MPI senior fellow, Rob Natelson, is task force member representing another SPN member think tank, the Independence Institute (see CO)
NJ	Common Sense Institute	Sponsorship (of ALEC)		Health and Human Services Task Force			Hosted a talk by HHS task force director, Christie Herrera (former), in 2011
NM	Rio Grande Foundation	Through staff					RGF founder, Hal Stratton, received the ALEC Legislator of the Year Award in 1981
		Sponsorship (of ALEC)		Health and Human Services Task Force			Hosted a talk by former HHS task force director, Christie Herrera, in 2009
NC	John Locke Foundation	Task force membership	Terry Stoops, Director of Education Studies	Education Task Force
			Daren Bakst, Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force		Presentation at 2010 annual meeting: “The Limits of EPA Regulatory Power”
			Joe Coletti, Director of Health and Fiscal Policy Studies	Health and Human Services Task Force	Sponsored "Patients First Medicaid Reform Act" at 2010 annual meeting	Discussed health care providers and health care reform at 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Jon Sanders, Director of Regulatory Studies	Public Safety and Elections Task Force (disbanded)
			Fergus Hodgson, Director of Fiscal Policy Studies	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
	John William Pope Civitas Institute	Task force membership		Public Safety and Elections Task Force
NY	Empire Center for New York State Policy	Through parent organization	Paul Howard, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Senior Fellow			spoke at the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting in a Workshop titled, "Rationing By Any Other Name: Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board"
OH	Opportunity Ohio	Task force membership	Michael C. Carnuccio, Treasurer	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force
OK	Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs	Task force membership	Brandon Dutcher, Vice President for Policy	Education Task Force
			Michael Carnuccio, President	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force
			Jason Sutton, Policy Impact Director (former)	Health and Human Services Task Force
			Jonathan Small	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force		Participated in a panel discussion, "Debunking Tax Myths" at 2012 Spring Task Force Summit
OR	Cascade Policy Institute	Through staff		Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force			Former CPI vice president, Todd Wynn, is now task force director
PA	Commonwealth Foundation	Task force membership	Elizabeth Stelle, Policy Analyst	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force
			Rick Dreyfuss, Senior Fellow	Health and Human Services Task Force
			Nathan Benefield, Director of Policy Analysis	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
RI	Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity	Through staff	Bob Williams and Jonathan Williams	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force			Jonathan Williams is director of the task force and Bob Williams is private sector chair. Both are adjunct scholars at RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity
TX	Texas Public Policy Foundation	Task force membership	Marc Levin, Director, Center for Effective Justice	Civil Justice Task Force	Sponsored “Resolution on Transparency and Accountability in Criminal Law” in 2011 subcommittee conference		Levin is private sector chair of the Overcriminalization Subcommittee
			Dr. Thomas Lindsay, Director, Center for Higher Education	Education Task Force			Vice chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee of of the task force as of November 2013
			Mario Loyola, Director, Center for Tenth Amendment Studies	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force	Introduced “Regional Air Quality Interstate Compact” at 2011 Spring Task Force Summit
			Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director, Center for Health Care Policy	Health and Human Services Task Force	Presented the "Health Professional Modernization Act" at 2010 annual meeting and sponsored "Health Care Compact Act" at 2011 annual meeting
			Marc Levin	Public Safety and Elections Task Force (disbanded)	* Sponsored the “Resolution on the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act” and the “Provisional Licenses for Ex-Offenders Act” at the 2012 Spring Task Force Summit * “Civil Liability Relief for Employers Hiring Ex-Offenders Act,” the “Treating Accused Persons Fairly Act,” and the “Criminal Intent Protection Act” at the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit * “Juvenile Offender Performance Incentive Funding Act” and “Resolution on Transparency and Accountability in Criminal Law” at 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit * “Resolution in Support of Victim Offender Mediation” at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Talmadge Heflin, Director, Center for Fiscal Policy	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
		Public support for ALEC					Wendy Lee Gramm, chairman of the board, and Brooke Rollins, president and CEO, wrote an op-ed in defense of ALEC in the Wall Street Journal in May 2012
UT	Sutherland Institute	Sponsorship (of ALEC)					Co-sponsored ALEC 2012 annual meeting
WA	Freedom Foundation	Task force membership	Trent England, Vice President of Policy	Public Safety and Elections Task Force (disbanded)		Participated in a debate, "Electoral College v. National Popular Vote,” at the 2011 annual meeting and gave presentation on the Electoral College at 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit
			Bob Williams, Founder and Senior Fellow; Amber Gunn	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force	* Williams sponsored the "Defined Contribution Pension Reform Act" at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit and the "Unfunded Pension Liabilities Accounting Act" at the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit * Gunn sponsored the "State Agency Lobbying Reform Act" at the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit	Williams gave two presentations at 2011 meetings: "Broken Budgets in the States" and "State Budget Solutions"	Williams is private sector chair of the Tax task force
			Harry Stille	Education Task Force	Sponsored the "Performance Audit Act" at the Higher Education Subcommittee Meeting of the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit
		Board of Scholars	Bob Williams				Williams is on the Board of Scholars and received the 2011 Private Sector Member of the Year Award
WA	Washington Policy Center	ALEC State Chair of WA	Daniel Mead Smith, President
		Task force membership	Todd Myers, Director, Center for the Environment	Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force	Sponsored the "Resolution in Opposition to the EPA’s 'Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule' and the Treatment of Biomass Energy" at the 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit	Presentation at 2011 and 2010 States and Nation Policy Summits: “Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment” and "A Fresh Start on the Environment: Good Science and Good Policy for New Majorities," respectively
			Carl Gipson, Director, Center for Small Business (former)	Communications and Technology Task Force
			Jason Mercier, Director, Center for Government Reform	Public Safety and Elections Task Force (disbanded)		Presentation at 2011 Annual Meeting: “Principles of Legislative Transparency”
			Jason Mercier	Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force	Sponsored the "Legislative Transparency Act" at the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit
WI	MacIver Institute	Through staff	Brian Fraley, former Director of Communications	Health and Human Services Task Force			Fraley was the former private sector co-chair of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force
WI	Wisconsin Policy Research Institute	Through staff		Health and Human Services Task Force			Leah Vukmir, public chair of the Health and Human Services Task Force in 2011-2012, was a research fellow and contributing author at WPRI
		Through staff					Leah Vukmir is also on the ALEC Board of Directors

* Individual sources for each think tank's ALEC ties are cited in the article on that specific think tank linked in the table.
Please follow the internal links or see the full list of SPN member think tanks for more.

SPN Think Tanks and ALEC's Corporate-Sponsored Legislation

SPN’s role in ALEC is multi-faceted. It is a member and funder, and its member think tanks sit on many ALEC task forces and plan ALEC workshops and trainings. Most importantly, SPN members regularly write bills and bring them to ALEC for consideration as ”model” bills with great success. Click here for a list of recent known “model” bills introduced by SPN think tanks.

Back in the states, when ALEC bills are introduced in state legislatures, the SPN think tanks are standing by to write the studies, spin the most favorable data, provide the expert talking points, put out the media releases, and do the press interviews that give an aura of academia to the efforts.

SPN think tanks have introduced, echoed, presaged, pushed, and reinforced ALEC policies to:

1) Attack Unions: ALEC's "Right to Work Act" seeks to limit union rights. SPN member state think tanks have published articles and reports supporting "right to work" legislation in at least Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Delaware, Oregon, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.

SPN think tanks join ALEC in pushing a broad agenda to undermine other worker protection including tearing down collective bargaining, prohibiting paid union activity in the form of “release time,” and ending the ability to deduct union dues from paychecks for private and public employees (so-called “paycheck protection”). (See, for example, Michigan’s Mackinac Center and Arizona’s Goldwater Institute.)

2) Privatize Education: SPN think tanks join ALEC in pushing a broad education agenda to privatize public schools, including pushing for-profit online schools, for-profit charter schools, using taxpayer dollars for vouchers to for-profit schools, and even so-called “parent triggers” to allow a small group of parents to close a public school for current and future students, and turn the school into a charter school or require a voucher system. (See, for example, Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.)

3) Privatize Public Pension Systems: SPN think tanks join ALEC in pushing to privatize public employee pension systems, making them 401(k)-style defined contribution type accounts rather than defined benefit plans. (See, for example, Connecticut, Wyoming, Washington, and Illinois.)

4) Rollback Environmental Initiatives: ALEC's "State Withdrawal from Regional Climate Initiatives" would allow states to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatative or the Western Climate Initiative, cap-and-trade programs to cut greenhouse gases and carbon-dioxide emissions, and uses language that denies climate change. SPN state think tanks have published articles and reports supporting states' withdrawals from these regional initiatives in at least Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Delaware, Oregon, New Jersey, Montana, Virginia, and Connecticut.

5) Disenfranchise People of Color, the Elderly, and Students: ALEC’s “Voter ID Act” makes it more difficult for American citizens to vote. It would change identification rules so that citizens who have been registered to vote for decades must show certain kinds of ID in order to vote. This bill disenfranchises college students and many low-income, minority, and elderly Americans who do not have driver’s licenses but have typically used other forms of ID. SPN state think tanks have published articles and reports supporting voter ID bills in at least Arkansas, Washington state, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Bills Introduced and Sponsored by SPN Think Tanks, 2010-2012

• Arizona’s Goldwater Institute:
  • "School Choice Directory Act" (2012)
  • "District and School Freedom Act" (2012)
  • "Health Freedom Compact Act" (2011)
  • "Constitutional Defense Council Legislation" (2011)
  • "Model State Sovereignty Civil Rights Law" (2011)
  • "Sovereign State Interstate Compact" (2011)
  • "Subsidy Truce Compact" (2011)
  • "Model Legislation for Universal Regulatory Tax Credits" (2011)
  • "Prohibition on Paid Union Activity (Release Time) by Public Employees Act" (2011)
  • "Public Employee Paycheck Protection Act" (2011)
  • "Comprehensive Legislative Package Opposing the Common Core State Standards Initiative" (2011)
  • "Resolution Opposing the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative" (2011)
  • "Insurance Compact Enabling Act" (2010) - withdrawn by sponsors
  • "The A-Plus Literacy Act" (2010)
  • "State Sovereignty through Local Coordination Act" (2010)
  • "The Balanced Budget Certification Act" (2010)
  • "A Constitutional Amendment Requiring State Approval for Increases in Federal Debt" (2010)
  • "The Spending Evaluation Act" (2010)
• Colorado’s Independence Institute:
  • Amendments to "Open Enrollment Act" (2010)
• Illinois Policy Institute:
  • "Local Government Transparency Act" (2011)
  • "State Employee Health Savings Account Act" (2011)
  • "Pension Funding and Fairness Act" (2011)
• Kentucky’s Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions:
  • "Intrastate Coal and Use Act" (2012)
• Michigan’s Mackinac Center for Public Policy:
  • "Financial Accountability for Public Employee Unions Act" (2012)
  • "Election Accountability for Municipal Employees Act" (2012)
  • "Decertification Elections Act" (2012)
• North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation:
  • "Patients First Medicaid Reform Act" (2010)
• Texas Public Policy Foundation:
  • "Resolution on the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act" (2012)
  • "Provisional Licenses for Ex-Offenders Act" (2012)
  • "Civil Liability Relief for Employers Hiring Ex-Offenders Act" (2011)
  • "Treating Accused Persons Fairly Act" (2011)
  • "Criminal Intent Protection Act" (2011)
  • "Juvenile Offender Performance Incentive Funding Act" (2011)
  • "Resolution on Transparency and Accountability in Criminal Law" (2011)
  • "Regional Air Quality Interstate Compact" (2011)
  • "Health Care Compact Act" (2011)
  • "Health Professional Modernization Act" (2010)
  • "Resolution in Support of Victim Offender Mediation" (2010)
• Washington State’s Freedom Foundation:
  • "Performance Audit Act" (2011)
  • "State Agency Lobbying Reform Act" (2011)
  • "Unfunded Pension Liabilities Accounting Act" (2011)
  • "Defined Contribution Pension Reform Act" (2010)
• Washington Policy Center:
  • "Resolution in Opposition to the EPA’s ‘Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule’ and the Treatment of Biomass Energy" (2010)
  • "Legislative Transparency Act" (2011)

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• State Policy Network:
  • SPN Portal
  • SPN Political Activity
  • SPN Funding
    • SPN 2011 Funding
    • SPN 2010 Funding
    • SPN 2009 Funding
  • SPN Agenda
  • SPN Founders, History, and Staff
  • SPN Members
  • SPN Ties to ALEC
  • Thomas A. Roe
  • Tracie Sharp
  • Byron S. Lamm
  • Roe Foundation
• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
  • ALEC Non-Profits
• DonorsTrust
• Donors Capital Fund
• Koch Family Foundations
• Koch Industries
• Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
• Heritage Foundation
• Think tanks
• Whitney Ball
• Adam Meyerson
• Bridgett Wagner

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• Rebekah Wilce, Tracie Sharp: Bursar of Mystery Money and "IKEA Model" Materials to Stink Tanks, PRWatch.org, November 19, 2013.
• Center for Media and Democracy, Reports Expose Extreme Pressure Groups Masquerading as Think Tanks, press release, November 13, 2013.
• Rebekah Wilce, A Reporters’ Guide to the "State Policy Network": the Right-Wing Think Tanks Spinning Disinformation and Pushing the ALEC Agenda in the States, PRWatch.org, April 4, 2013.
• Sara Jerving, ALEC and Heartland Aim to Crush Renewable Energy Standards in the States, PRWatch.org, November 27, 2012.
• Connor Gibson, Meet the Network Hiding the Koch Money: "Donors Trust" and "Donors Capital Fund", PRWatch.org, October 29, 2012.
• Brendan Fischer, Koch-Funded Mackinac Center Brings Wisconsin Act 10 Provisions to ALEC, PRWatch.org, May 2, 2012.
• Sara Jerving, Franklin Center: Right-Wing Funds State News Source, PRWatch.org, October 31, 2011.

External Resources

• Wall Street Journal, The Spoils of the Republican State Conquest, December 9, 2016, archived by CMD here.
• DeSmog Blog, Stink Tanks: Historical Records Reveal State Policy Network Was Created by ALEC, December 9, 2013.
• The Guardian, State conservative groups plan US-wide assault on education, health and tax, December 5, 2013.
• Portland Press Herald, "Washington County residents have mixed reactions to plan to eliminate taxes," December 5, 2013.
• The Texas Observer, "The Money Behind the Fight to Undermine Medicaid," December 5, 2013.
• Media Matters, North Carolina Newspapers Largely Ignore Conservative Funding Of Sham Think Tanks, December 3, 2013.
• Shepherd Express, Masters of Manipulation: Right-wing Billionaires, Corporations and the Bradley Foundation Pay for Junk Studies that Prop up Their Agenda, November 27, 2013.
• "Moyers & Company," How a Shadowy Network of Corporate Front Groups Distorts the Marketplace of Ideas, November 19, 2013.
• MSNBC "Rachel Maddow Show," November 18, 2013.
• Free Speech TV "Ring of Fire," Facebook, Microsoft, AT&T and Others Supporting Right Wing Propaganda Machine, November 18, 2013.
• Topeka Capital-Journal, Trabert dismisses report tying KPI to Koch agenda, November 16, 2013.
• The New Yorker (Jane Mayer), Is IKEA the New Model for the Conservative Movement?, November 15, 2013.
• Salon, Ted Cruz and Koch brothers embroiled in shadowy Tea Party scheme, November 15, 2013.
• St. Louis Business Journal, Beyond Sinquefield: Who else is funding the Show-Me Institute?, November 15, 2013.
• The Guardian, Facebook and Microsoft help fund rightwing lobby network, report finds, November 14, 2013.
• Huffington Post, Meet The Little-Known Network Pushing Ideas For Kochs, ALEC, November 14, 2013.
• CBS St. Louis, Show-Me Institute’s Ties Questioned in New Report, November 14, 2013.
• Talking Points Memo, Florida Conservative Group Helping Muck Up Obamacare In Alaska, November 14, 2013.
• Mint Press News, Reports Reveal SPN’s Secret Corporate Agenda Through Use ‘Expert’ Testimony, November 14, 2013.
• Media Matters, Shadowy Right-Wing Group Generates Media Coverage For Conservative Policy From Coast To Coast, November 14, 2013.
• The Institute for Southern Studies, Are conservative think tanks breaking lobbying laws?, November 14, 2013.
• Nonprofit Quarterly, Corporate Money in Network of Right-Wing State Policy Think Tanks, November 14, 2013.
• The Progressive, Right-Wing Think Tanks Push Privatization in the States, November 13, 2013.
• Politico, Report: Think tanks tied to Kochs, November 13, 2013.
• Lawrence Journal-World, Reports released by progressive groups are critical of Kansas Policy Institute, November 13, 2013.
• Maine Insights, Report: Maine Heritage Policy Center’s funding connection to Koch Brothers, November 13, 2013.
• The Florida Current, Liberal groups bemoan lobbying by conservative think tanks, November 13, 2013.
• The Oregonian, Cascade Policy Institute benefits from secretive donor group but says it operates independently, November 13, 2013.
• Center for Media and Democracy, EXPOSED: The State Policy Network, The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Arizona Working Families and CMD, A Reporter’s Guide to the Goldwater Institute: What Citizens, Policymakers, and Reporters Should Know, organizational report, updated November 13, 2013.
• Progress Florida and CMD, Lawmaking Under the Influence of Very Special Interests: Understand the role of Florida ‘think tanks’ in driving a Koch-fueled, ALEC-allied corporate agenda, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Maine's Majority Education Fund, Fooling Maine: How national conservative groups infiltrated Maine politics by founding and funding the Maine Heritage Policy Center, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Progress Michigan, Who's Running Michigan? The Far-Right Influence of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Alliance for a Better Minnesota, Who's in Charge: How Nationalized Corporate-Run Think Tanks Influence Minnesota Politics, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Progress Missouri, What Missourians Need to Know About the Show-Me Institute, organizational report, updated November 13, 2013.
• Granite State Progress, Bad Bartlett: The Josiah Bartlett Center and NH Watchdog Answer the Call of the Koch Brothers, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• ProgressOhio, Smoke Screen: The Buckeye Institute, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Keystone Progress, Think tanks or corporate lobbyist propaganda mills?, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Progress Texas, TPPF + ALEC, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• One Wisconsin Now, S is for Shill: Inside the Bradley Foundation's Attack on Public Education, organizational report, November 13, 2013.
• Muncie Voice, Pence and Right-Wing Are Taking Over Public Education, November 13, 2013.
• The Spokesman-Review, Shawn Vestal: Idaho Freedom Foundation pushes limits of word ‘charity’, November 2, 2013.
• AZ Central, When this ‘watchdog’ pitches, taxpayers strike out, October 12, 2013.
• IndyStar, Daniels says speech to partisan group was a mistake, October 10, 2013.
• Muncie Voice, Indiana Policy Review: Not an Independent News Source, October 2, 2013.
• The Spokesman-Review, Idaho Freedom Foundation's charitable status scrutinized, September 15, 2013.
• CounterSpin, Lee Fang on 'The Right Leans In', April 5, 2013.
• FireDogLake, State Policy Network, an umbrella coordinating ALEC, Heritage, Heartland and others, April 4, 2013.
• Thom Hartmann with Lee Fang on MSNBC, The conservative State Policy Network is sneaking into your state & will change America, March 29, 2013.
• Current TV "War Room", Lee Fang discussing the State Policy Network, March 28, 2013.
• The Nation, The Right Leans In, March 26, 2013.
• Democracy Now, Donors Trust: Little-Known Group Helps Wealthy Backers Fund Right-Wing Agenda in Secret, February 19, 2013.
• Paul Abowd, Center for Public Integrity, Donors use charity to push free-market policies in states, Consider the Source, February 14, 2013.
• John R. Mashey, Fake science, fakexperts, funny finances, free of tax 2, DeSmog Blog report, updated October 23, 2012, p. 74.
• Urban Milwaukee, Stealth Conservatives, October 11, 2012.
• Rome News-Tribune, ANALYSIS: Georgia leaders depend on the same well for ideas, October 2012.
• Andy Kroll, The Right-Wing Network Behind the War on Unions, Mother Jones, April 25, 2011.
• Guidestar, State Policy Network, IRS filings and other organizational information about SPN.
• Center for Policy Alternatives, ALEC and the Extreme Right-Wing Agenda, organizational brochure about ALEC and SPN.
• John J. Miller, Fifty Flowers Bloom: Conservative think tanks — mini–Heritage Foundations — at the state level, National Review, November 19, 2007.
• Bridge Project, State Policy Network, online resource listing grants to SPN and SPN's connections to other groups.
• People for the American Way, State Policy Network, RightWingWatch.org, organizational resource.
• Greenpeace, Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group: State Policy Network (SPN), organizational resource.