Corporations that Have Cut Ties to ALEC
Learn more about corporations VOTING to rewrite our laws. |
About ALEC |
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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.
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To see a list of corporations and other groups known to be connected with ALEC now or in the past, please see ALEC Corporations.
As of May 2019, at least 114 corporations and 19 non-profits -- for a total of 133 private sector members -- have publicly announced that they cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (three of those corporations have subsequently returned to ALEC, and many of the non-profits listed by ALEC as "lapsed" in August 2013 share an ideological agenda with and noted their desire to return to ALEC):
Contents
Corporations
- First Solar: On June 23, 2021, First Solar's Colin Meehan wrote to Common Cause, "I wish to clarify that First Solar has made no donations to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) since 2019...Organizations that seek to disenfranchise American voters and undermine our nation’s democratic values have no place in our engagement strategy."
- Pfizer: In June 2021, wrote to Common Cause in June 2021 that it had "decided to discontinue our membership in ALEC. Pfizer has not provided any financial support to ALEC in 2021.”[1]
- Dominion: On May 20, 2021, Dominion emailed the Center for Media and Democracy, "We are not members of ALEC and have not paid dues in many years."
- Mary Kay: On July 6, 2020, Mary Kay notified the Center for Media and Democracy by email that it, "does it not currently fund, sponsor or support ALEC."
- JC Penny: On June 25, 2020, JC Penny's Senior Vice President of Communications Brooke Buchanan informed the Center for Media and Democracy via email, "JCPenney is not now, and has never been, a member of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council).”
- Boehringer Ingelheim On May 19, 2020, a Boehringer Ingelheim spokesperson told Common Cause that “Boehringer Ingelheim is currently not affiliated with ALEC and will not be making any financial contributions in 2020.”
- Comcast In May 2019, an SEC filing examined by CMD confirmed that Comcast left ALEC.
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals In May 2019, Takeda confirmed to Common Cause that it "is not a member of ALEC. Please be assured that Takeda is committed to diversity and inclusion – treating everyone regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, disability, or any other personal characteristic fairly and equally.”
- Cox Communications. In May 2019, Cox confirmed to Common Cause that it has "no affiliation with, nor provide any support for ALEC.”
- AT&T. In November, 2018, AT&T confirmed to The Intercept that it would discontinue its ALEC membership.
- Dow Chemical Company. In November, 2018, Dow confirmed to The Intercept that it would discontinue its ALEC membership.
- Honeywell. In November, 2018, Honeywell confirmed to The Intercept that it would discontinue its ALEC membership.
- Diageo: Sent an email to Common Cause on August 29, 2018 stating that it is no longer a member of ALEC.
- Verizon Communications, Inc., Informed The Intercept that it was leaving ALEC because ALEC hosted hate monger David Horowitz to speak at the 2018 Annual Meeting.[2]
- ExxonMobil: Confirmed that it will not renew its membership in ALEC in July of 2018.[3]
- Coca-Cola Company: Gave a statement to the Washington Examiner on April 4th, 2012 stating that it had "elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council" [4]
- Pepsi: Informed Color of Change in a letter dated January 25th, 2012 that they would not renew their membership in ALEC in 2012.[5]
- Kraft: Announced in an email on April 6th, 2012 that "Our membership in ALEC expires this spring and for a number of reasons...we have made the decision not to renew." [6]
- Intuit: Told the Center for Media and Democracy on April 6th, 2012 that they did not renew their membership when it expired in 2011. [7]
- McDonald's: Initially defended its membership in ALEC [8] Announced on April 10th that they had made the decision to withdraw from ALEC at the end of March. [9]
- Wendy's: Sent an email to the Center for Media and Democracy on April 11th, 2012 confirming that it is no longer a member of ALEC [10]
- Mars: Sent an email to Color of Change on April 12th, 2012 stating that they had ended their membership with ALEC [11]
- Reed Elsevier: Told Reuters on April 12th, 2012 that they had withdrawn "after considering the broad range of criticism being leveled at ALEC," [12]
- American Traffic Solutions: Told the Arizona Capitol Times on April 13th, 2012 that they would not renew their ALEC membership. [13]
- YUM! Brands: Told Color of Change that they would not renew their membership on April 19th, 2012.[14]
- Procter & Gamble: Told Color of Change that it would not renew its membership on April 20th, 2012.[15]
- Kaplan: Wrote Republic Report on April 26th, 2012 to confirm that they were no longer a member of ALEC[16]
- Scantron Corporation: Told CMD in May 2012 that it was no longer a member of ALEC.[17]
- Amazon.com: Announced at a shareholder meeting on May 24, 2012 that it had decided not to renew its membership in ALEC this year.[18]
- Medtronic: Medtronic did not renew its ALEC membership in 2011 or 2012, according to a spokesperson.[19]
- Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart told Reuters on May 30, 2012 that it is suspending its ALEC membership because "we feel that the divide between these activities and our purpose as a business has become too wide," according to Wal-Mart vice president of public affairs and government relations and ALEC corporate board secretary Maggie Sans.[20]
- Johnson & Johnson: A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told CMD on June 12, 2012, "We have been in dialogue with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for some time, and while we acknowledge ALEC’s recent decision to focus only on innovation and growth-supporting policies, we have decided to suspend our participation and membership.”[21]
- Dell Computers: Dell confirmed on June 21, 2012, that it would not be renewing its ALEC membership.[22]
- John Deere & Company told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it is leaving ALEC.[23]
- CVS Caremark told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had discontinued its ALEC membership.[23]
- MillerCoors told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership in 2012, nor does it plan to.[23]
- Hewlett-Packard (HP) told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it is not currently an ALEC member.[23]
- Best Buy told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership in 2012.[23]
- Express Scripts/Medco (two ALEC members that merged in April 2012) told the Center for Media and Democracy and ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had dropped its ALEC membership.[24][25] An August 2013 ALEC board document later suggested that it had not terminated its ALEC membership until January 14, 2013, "b/c of PBM issue."[26]
- Connections Academy, which had been co-chair of ALEC's Education Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it withdrew from ALEC's Education Task Force in mid-May 2012 in order to align "our affiliations with organizations whose central focus is education."[27]
- General Motors (GM), which had been a member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and its Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it had "decided to discontinue relations with ALEC at this time."[28]
- Walgreens, which had been a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force, told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it "will not be renewing its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council."[28]
- Louis Dreyfus, which sponsored ALEC's 2012 annual meeting, told CMD it had decided not to fund ALEC this year.[29]
- Amgen, which was a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force, announced its determination not to renew its ALEC membership on August 3 in response to a letter from a group of concerned shareholders and advocates led by Walden Asset Management and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).[30]
- General Electric (GE), which was a member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force as of March 2011,[31] told ColorOfChange.org (CoC) that it decided not to renew its ALEC membership in July 2012.[32]
- Western Union, which was a member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force as of June 2011,[33] told CoC that the company was only an ALEC member in 2011 and chose not to renew in May 2012.[32]
- Sprint Nextel, which was a member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force in July 2011, told CoC in August 2012 that it did not renew its ALEC membership in 2012.[32]
- Symantec, which was a member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force, told CoC in August 2012 that the company's membership expired June 2010 and was not renewed.[32]
- Reckitt Benckiser Group, which was a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force as of June 2011,[34] told CoC in August 2012 that it is no longer an ALEC member.[32]
- Entergy, which was a member of ALEC's Civil Justice Task Force as of June 2011, told Walden Asset Management in August 2012 that it did not renew its ALEC membership in 2012.[32]
- Merck, which told the New Jersey Star-Ledger in September 2012 that it would not renew its ALEC membership after 2012.[35]
- Sanofi, which confirmed to CMD that it was cutting ties to ALEC in October 2012.[36]
- Bank of America, which told Walden Asset Management that it was cutting ties to ALEC in November 2012.[37]
- WellPoint, which announced on March 1, 2013 that it had not attended an ALEC meeting nor supported ALEC financially since the summer of 2011 and has "no current plans to support ALEC or attend any of their meetings,"[38] but according to an August 2013 ALEC board document, terminated April 22, 2013 and was then "considering giving funds outside of membership."[26]
- Bristol-Myers Squibb, which confirmed in March 2013 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership at the end of 2012.[39]
- Brown-Forman Company, which confirmed in April 2013 that the company declined to renew its ALEC membership in 2012[40]
- Publix Super Markets, which announced on June 24, 2013, via social media that it had "not been a member of ALEC since 2011."[41]
- GlaxoSmithKline, whose CEO, Sir Andrew Witty, said in a response to a shareholder's question at the company's annual meeting in May 2013 that the company had decided to sever its relationship with ALEC[42]
- Unilever, whose president, Kees Kruythoff, stated in a letter to shareholders sent earlier this year, "Unilever is not a member of ALEC following a review undertaken at the end of 2011. We took the decision that ALEC's agenda did not align with our business objectives and values focused on social, economic, and environmental sustainability, and withdrew as a member."[42]
- ConocoPhillips spokesperson Daren Beaudo confirmed to CMD in June 2013 that the company is no longer a member of ALEC, did not fund ALEC in 2012, and has no plans to do so in 2013.[42] Phillips 66 is separate from Conoco (which does not fund ALEC); Phillips66 became an independent company in 2012. [43]
- Sallie Mae announced quietly in September 2013 that it had cut ties with ALEC, after a student-led campaign demanded its exit, gathering nearly 15,000 petition signatures in August.[44]
- Visa told Boston Common Asset Management, which had been engaging with the company over the past year on lobbying disclosure, that it had dropped its ALEC membership in December 2013.[45]
- Xcel Energy, the ALEC corporate state chair of Wisconsin as of August 2011, told the Boulder Weekly in January 2014 that it was a member of ALEC until 2011[46] and that it hadn't funded ALEC since 2010.[47]
- Endo Pharmaceuticals, a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force as of April 2012, announced that it had cut ties with ALEC in January 2014 after engagement with Trillium Asset Management[48]
- 3M, an ALEC member in the late 1990s,[49] stated as of a company corporate governance disclosure revised in May 2013, "3M has not been a member in groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)."[50]
- Darden Restaurants, a member of ALEC's corporate board as of 2010,[51] confirmed in April 2013 that the company cut ties with ALEC in January 2010 in order to allocate more resources to organizational connections like its involvement with the National Restaurant Association[52] (which, like ALEC, has lobbied to override local paid sick day ordinances).[53]
- IBM confirmed in June 2013 that it is no longer an ALEC member and does not "provide ALEC with any financial support, including financial support for their meetings."[54]
- Intel, an ALEC funder in 2002,[55] stated in June 2013 that it is not a member of ALEC and does not sponsor ALEC[56]
- Nestlé USA Inc. was, according to a company spokesperson, "a low-tier member of ALEC during a several year span in the 1990s ending, as I recall, in 1999, but has "not been a member of ALEC since that time" and does "not foresee a circumstance where we would consider rejoining," as of May 2013.[57]
- AstraZeneca, a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force as well as state corporate co-chair of Delaware, confirmed in response to an April 2013 shareholder question that it decided not to renew its membership in ALEC's task force.[58]
- Ameren, a sponsor of ALEC's 1998 annual meeting as well as of "Missouri Night" at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans during the 2011 ALEC Annual Meeting, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the company is not a member of ALEC in April 2014.[59]
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy (formerly MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company), which had a long history of involvement with ALEC, having sponsored ALEC's 1998 annual meeting, confirmed to Greenpeace in May 2014 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[60]
- PacifiCorp, a member of the ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, confirmed to Greenpeace in May 2014 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[60]
- NV Energy, a member of the ALEC Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force as well as ALEC corporate co-chair of Nevada, confirmed to Greenpeace in May 2014 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[60]
- Alliant Energy, which sponsored ALEC's 1998 annual meeting, confirmed to Greenpeace in May 2014 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[60]
- The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which funded ALEC in at least 2010 and earlier, confirmed to Greenpeace in May 2014 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[60]
- Microsoft, a member of the ALEC Communications and Technology Task Force, confirmed that "in 2014 Microsoft decided to no longer participate in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Communications and Technology Task Force, which had been our only previous involvement with ALEC. With this decision, we no longer contribute any dues to ALEC" in an email to The Sustainability Group of Loring, Wolcott and Coolidge and Walden Asset Management, which had engaged Microsoft over its affiliation with ALEC.[61]
- Google , a member of the ALEC Communications and Technology Task Force, confirmed that it would not renew its ALEC membership at the end of 2014[62] after its chairman, Eric Schmidt, told NPR's Diane Rehm on September 22, 2014, "The consensus within the company was that that was some sort of mistake and so we're trying to not do that in the future.... The company has a very strong view that we should make decisions in politics based on facts -- what a shock. And the facts of climate change are not in question anymore. Everyone understands climate change is occurring and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people -- they're just, they're just literally lying."[63]
- Facebook, a member of the ALEC Communications and Technology Task Force, told the San Francisco Chronicle on September 23, 2014: “We re-evaluate our memberships on an annual basis and are in that process now. While we have tried to work within ALEC to bring that organization closer to our view on some key issues, it seems unlikely that we will make sufficient progress so we are not likely to renew our membership in 2015.” [64]
- Yelp: Yelp rejoined ALEC in 2017. told Common Cause on September 24, 2014 that they are no longer part of ALEC. [65]
- Yahoo Inc. announced on September 24, 2014 -- after Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Yelp dropped ALEC that week and ALEC responded by saying that Google had left because of misinformation -- that it had dropped its membership of ALEC.[66]
- International Paper told Common Cause September 26, 2014 that "we no longer have a membership with ALEC" and confirmed the company also no longer funds ALEC.[67]
- Occidental Petroleum Corporation had "no plans to continue Occidental's membership in, or make further payments to, ALEC" as of September 29, 2014, according to the National Journal.[68]
- News Corporation told Media Matters in response to an article published September 26, 2014 that the company is no longer a member of ALEC.[69]
- Overstock.com terminated its ALEC membership in 2013, according to a spokesperson,[70] but a spokesperson told The Guardian in December 2014, "Overstock.com did re-join Alec recently. Our relationship with Alec is based on the organization's access to lawmakers involved in the internet sales tax issue, which is a very weighty one for us."[71]
- SAP America told German Magazine “Manager Magazin”, on November 5, 2014, that it was ceasing funding of ALEC because of “strange policies” around climate change, renewable energy, guns and voting rights. [72]
- AOL informed Common Cause on November 10, 2014 that it had stopped funding ALEC. [73]
- Emerson Electric Co. told Walden Asset Management that it had cut ties with ALEC in November 2014.[74]
- Amerigroup told Common Cause that the company no longer participates in ALEC in November 2014.[75]
- Wells Fargo, which was a member of ALEC in 2011, told CMD in September 2012 that it declined to renew its ALEC membership in 2012,[35] then subsequently sponsored ALEC's 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago,[76] then told Common Cause in November 2014 that it is not a member or funder of ALEC.[75]
- Union Pacific Corporation confirmed to Common Cause in November 2014 that the company is "not a member of ALEC and pays no annual dues to the organization".[75]
- EZCorp (pawn shops and payday loans), told Common Cause that it is not a funder or member of ALEC as of November 2014[77]
- eBay tweeted on December 18, 2014, "We are not renewing membership in ALEC."[78]
- Northrop Grumman cut ties to ALEC in January 2015 thanks to shareholder engagement from the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin-based Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.[79][80]
- BP announced on March 23, 2015 that it was cutting ties with ALEC. A spokesperson told the National Review, "We continually assess our engagements with policy and advocacy organizations and based on our most recent assessment, we have determined that we can effectively pursue policy matters of current interest to BP without renewing our membership in ALEC."[81]
- T-Mobile told Common Cause on April 8, 2015 that it had cut ties to ALEC.[82]
- Allergan: told Common Cause on May 14, 2015 that it "is no longer an active member of ALEC."[83]
- Shell: released a statement on August 7, 2015 that "Alec advocates for specific economic growth initiatives, but its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own...We have long recognised both the importance of the climate challenge and the critical role energy has in determining quality of life for people across the world. As part of an ongoing review of memberships and affiliations, we will be letting our association with Alec lapse when the current contracted term ends early next year."[84]
- Canadian National Railway: The Guardian reported on August 7, 2015 that CNR "pulled its membership" from ALEC, but had made no public statement.[84]
- Ford Motor Company: confirmed to CMD in February 2016 that it was cutting ties to ALEC. "As part of our annual budget review, we have adjusted our participation in several groups. We will not be participating in ALEC in 2016," wrote Christin Baker, a Ford spokesperson in an email to CMD.[85]
- Expedia Inc.: "confirmed it had severed ties" with ALEC in an email to Common Cause on August 9, 2016.[86]
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car told The Guardian on September 21, 2016 that it would be resigning its membership with ALEC. "We have been carefully listening to those customers and partners who have expressed sincere concern about our ALEC membership." Enterpise spokesperson Laura Bryant said.[87] “In fact, after thoughtful consideration, we have decided to resign our membership
An August 2013 ALEC board document released by The Guardian in December 2013 listed the following additional corporations as "LAPSED Members" of ALEC, with the accompanying "termination date," and any notes added by ALEC:[26]
- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, 1/14/2013
- Roche Diagnostics Corporation, 1/14/2013
- Ryan, Inc. (a tax services firm, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 1/14/2013
- SICPA Product Security LLC (supplier of security inks for banknotes and other documents, such as cigarette excise stamps), member of ALEC's now-defunct [[Public Safety and Elections Task Force; terminated its membership on January 14, 2013 while "waiting to see what issues emerge in JPP [ALEC's Justice Performance Project, which replaced the Public Safety and Elections Task Force]; cigarette" (?).
- Taser International (member of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force and Civil Justice Task Force), 1/14/2013
- Home Depot, Inc. (member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force, 1/14/2013
- AGL Resources, Inc. (natural gas company, member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force), "did not want to renew," 1/18/2013. However, AGL Resources lobbying filings in Georgia reported paying for legislators' meals at the Georgia General Assembly Delegation Dinner at an ALEC policy conference in May 2015.[88][89]
- Academic Partnerships (an online higher education company, member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 3/18/2013
- Macquarie Capital USA (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), 3/17/2013
- LoanMax (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), "told us they do not want to renew" 3/19/2013
- McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (law firm), 3/19/2013
- Coventry Health Care (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "joined for single issue," terminated 4/4/2013
- Bridgepoint Education (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 4/16/2013
- Cintra US (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), "will not renew" 4/16/2013
- Dr Pepper Snapple Group, 4/22/2013
- EMD Serono (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "budget cuts" 4/22/2013
- Lowe's Companies, Inc. (home improvement chain, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 4/22/2013
- Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "contact difficult to get a hold of; possibly did not renew because only interested in diabetes related issue" 4/22/2013
- UnitedHealth Group (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "left along with BCBS" 4/22/2013
Trade Associations and Non-Profits
- Gates Foundation: Gates spokesman Chris Williams, while careful to note that Gates has never been a formal ALEC member, told Roll Call on April 9, 2012 that it does not plan to renew its financial support for ALEC's education initiatives. "We have made a single grant, narrowly and specifically focused on providing information to ALEC-affiliated state legislators on teacher effectiveness and school finance," said Williams.[90]
- National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): In an official statement sent to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) on May 1, 2012, NBPTS spokesperson Brian Lewis said, "Given recent events, the new NBPTS President and CEO decided to discontinue engagement with ALEC. As a result, NBPTS terminated its membership as an Education Task Force Member of ALEC effective April 18, 2012, and also withdrew from participating in the upcoming ALEC conference. . . . The decision to participate in ALEC had been made by previous NBPTS leadership."[91]
- National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA): On May 14, 2012, NACSA issued a press release announcing that, "As part of our annual review processes, however, we determined that alternative strategies would be more effective in achieving these policy objectives. Thus we will not be renewing our membership in ALEC when it expires next month."[92]
- Lumina Foundation for Education: A Lumina spokesperson told CMD on May 23, 2012, "Lumina Foundation last paid annual dues to ALEC on 10/08/10. No staff member was able to attend meetings in 2011. We decided not to renew our membership, because we were not participating."[93]
- Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): In December 2012, SEIA said in an email to supporters that it had joined ALEC earlier in 2012 to promote bipartisan energy policies, but had decided not to renew its membership.[94] An August 2013 ALEC document noted that SEIA "left because their bill did not pas the task force."[26]
- American Wind Energy Association (AWEA): In January 2013, AWEA dropped out of ALEC and warned state lawmakers not to be taken in by ALEC's message, one that AWEA spokesperson Peter Kelley told Greenwire is driven by fossil fuel companies.[95]
An August 2013 ALEC board document released by The Guardian in December 2013 listed the following additional trade groups and non-profits as "LAPSED Members" of ALEC, with the accompanying "termination date" listed in ALEC's spreadsheet, as well as any notes made by ALEC (NOTE: MANY OF THESE GROUPS SHARE IDEOLOGICAL AIMS WITH ALEC):[26]
- American Council of Trustees & Alumni (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 1/14/2013
- Associated Builders and Contractors (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), 1/14/2013
- James Madison Institute (a member of the State Policy Network (SPN) and member of ALEC's Education Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), "former SPN members- SPN did not renew membership," 2/13/2013
- Commonwealth Institute (an SPN member and member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force), "former SPN members- would like to join again if can fit in budget," 3/9/2013
- Pioneer Institute (an SPN member and member of ALEC's Education Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "kicked out of ALEC (?) because of education issue," 3/18/2013
- Center for Competitive Politics (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force), "JPP no longer works on issue," 3/19/2013
- Citizens Against Government Waste (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 4/12/2013
- AARP - rejoined ALEC, see below.
- Bill of Rights Institute (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 4/16/2013
- National Center for Policy Analysis (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "Budget cutbacks," 4/16/2013
- Doctor-Patient Medical Association (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "unable to reach contact; history of being late on payments," 4/22/2013
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Campaign for Free Enterprise (member of ALEC's Education Task Force; NOTE: other U.S. Chamber of Commerce projects/subsidiaries remain members of ALEC), 4/22/2013
- John Locke Foundation (SPN member, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and Education Task Force), "Former SPN members- would like to join again if can fit in budget," 5/11/2013
Corporations that Claimed They Were Cutting Ties but Returned to ALEC
- AARP has rejoined ALEC. 4/16/2013 (AARP was later revealed to be a "Trustee's Level" sponsor of ALEC's 2016 annual meeting held July 27-29 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[96] and AARP paid to attend ALEC's 2017 annual meeting in Denver, CO. AARP announced on August 5, 2016 that it would not renew its ALEC membership.)[97]
- American Electric Power: AEP rejoined ALEC in 2017. Previously, AEP told The Guardian on December 8, 2015 that it would not renew its membership in ALEC. "We are reallocating our resources as we focus on our work with the states around the Clean Power Plan," said a spokesperson.[98]
- Arizona Public Service told the Arizona Capitol Times on April 12th that its membership expired that summer and they would not renew it,[99] then rejoined ALEC in November 2012, paying "$7,000 in membership fees and an additional $3,000 to have a seat on ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force," again according to the Arizona Capitol Times.[100]
- Blue Cross Blue Shield: BlueCross BlueShield rejoined ALEC in 2017. Announced on April 19th, 2012 that it had not renewed its membership in February 2012,[101] but according to an ALEC document, "left after losing on exchanges workshop" and didn't terminate until April 4, 2013.[26]
- EnergySolutions, which had been a member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it had been an ALEC member but was no longer "in a position to contribute at this time,"[27] but still listed as member of host committee in July 25-29, 2012 meeting brochure and rejoined ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force on June 12, 2013.[26]
- Overstock.com terminated its ALEC membership in 2013, according to a spokesperson,[102] but a spokesperson told The Guardian in December 2014, "Overstock.com did re-join Alec recently. Our relationship with Alec is based on the organization's access to lawmakers involved in the internet sales tax issue, which is a very weighty one for us."[103]
Resources
Related SourceWatch Articles
- American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
- ALEC Corporations
- ALEC Non-Profits
- ALEC Trade Groups
- ALEC Law Firms
- Legislators Who Have Cut Ties to ALEC
- ALEC Politicians
References
- ↑ David Armiak, Pfizer Dumps ALEC, ExposedbyCMD, June 16, 2021.
- ↑ Nick Surgey and Lee Fang, VERIZON LEAVES RIGHT-WING LEGISLATIVE GROUP ALEC OVER ITS INVITATION TO ANTI-MUSLIM ACTIVIST DAVID HOROWITZ,The Intercept, September 15, 2018.
- ↑ David Armiak and Mary Bottari, Is ALEC Too Extreme for Exxon? Long-Term ALEC Board Member Dumps ALEC over Climate Denial Policy, PRWatch, July 12, 2018.
- ↑ Washington Secrets: "Coke Caves in the Face of Democratic Threat" Washington Examiner, accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Barbara Liston and Martinne Geller: Coke Withdraws from Group that Backs Stand Your Ground LawReuters, Accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Barbara Liston and Martinne Geller: Coke Withdraws from Group that Backs Stand Your Ground LawReuters, Accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce: Intuit Out of ALEC, Coke, Kraft, and Pepsi too, while Koch stands ground PRWatch, Accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Letter from Pat Harris, Chief Diversity officer at McDonald's Corporation, to Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change. Dated February 29th, 2012
- ↑ Anna Staver & Ryan Grim, McDonald's Says it Left ALEC at the End of March, Huffington Post, April 10, 2012
- ↑ Sara Jerving: Wendy's is the 6th Firm to say it is No Longer a Member of ALEC PRWatch, Accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Color of Change, Press Release: ColorOfChange Applauds Mars Inc.'s Decision to End its Membership in ALEC Released April 12th, 2012. Accessed April 18th, 2012.
- ↑ Reuters: Reed Elsevier, Wendy's drop conservative group Accessed April 19th, 2012
- ↑ Jeremy Duda: American Traffic Solutions leaving ALEC, joining APS Arizona Capitol Times, accessed April 18th, 2012
- ↑ Color of Change, ColorOfChange Applauds Yum Brand's Decision to End its Membership in ALEC, organizational press release, April 19, 2012.
- ↑ Color of Change, ColorOfChange Applauds Procter & Gamble's Decision to End its Membership in ALEC, press release, April 23, 2012, accessed April 2012
- ↑ David Halperin:Exclusive: Washington Post’s Kaplan and Other For-Profit Colleges Joined ALEC, Controversial Special Interest Lobby Republic Report, Accessed April 26th, 2012.
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Scantron 15th Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, May 22, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Amazon.com 16th Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, May 24, 2012
- ↑ Beth Hawkins, What ALEC bills might we see next session?, MinnPost, April 30, 2012
- ↑ Jessica Wohl, Wal-Mart ending membership in conservative group, Reuters, May 31, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Johnson & Johnson 19th Company, 23rd Private Sector Member, to Cut Ties with ALEC, PRWatch.org, June 12, 2012
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, Dude, You're Getting Dumped: Dell Computers is 20th Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, June 21, 2012
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 ColorOfChange.org, Five more major companies will no longer fund ALEC: John Deere, CVS Caremark, MillerCoors, HP, and Best Buy will no longer fund American Legislative Exchange Council, organizational press release, July 10, 2012
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, Express-Scripts is Twenty-Sixth Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, July 13, 2012
- ↑ ColorOfChange.org, ColorOfChange Applauds Express Scripts/Medco's Decision to End its Membership in ALEC: Company is 26th to Leave the American Legislative Exchange Council, organizational press release, July 13, 2012
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting Board Meeting packet, organizational documents, August 6, 2013, released by The Guardian December 3, 2013.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Rebekah Wilce, EnergySolutions and Connections Education are 27th and 28th Corporations to Leave ALEC, PRWatch.org, July 20, 2012
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Rebekah Wilce, ALEC Down 30 Corporations: General Motors and Walgreens Cut Ties, PRWatch.org, July 26, 2012
- ↑ Lisa Graves, A Lot of White Space: Firms Drop Off ALEC's Meeting Brochure, PRWatch.org, July 30, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Amgen Drops ALEC (Number 32) as eBay Comes Under Fire, PRWatch.org, August 8, 2012
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee Roster 2, organizational task force membership directory, March 31, 2011, p. 46, obtained and released by Common Cause April 2012
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 Rebekah Wilce, Six More Corporations Dump ALEC; 38 Companies Have Now Cut Ties with Corporate Bill Mill, PRWatch.org, August 27, 2012
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, American Legislative Exchange Council Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development Task Force 2011 Spring Task Force Summit April 29, 2011 Attendees, organizational document, June 20, 2011, p. 8, obtained and released by Common Cause April 2012
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, HHS Task Force, June 29, 2011, organizational membership spreadsheet, June 29, 2011, p. 32, obtained and released by Common Cause April 2012
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Rebekah Wilce, Merck and Wells Fargo Dump ALEC, While Duke Energy Holds Out, PRWatch.org, September 14, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Sanofi Dumps ALEC, Making 41 Corporations Out, PRWatch, October 2, 2012.
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Bank of America Cuts Ties to ALEC, PRWatch.org, November 29, 2012.
- ↑ WellPoint, WellPoint Statement on American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Participation, corporate statement, March 1, 2013.
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, WellPoint and Bristol-Myers Squibb Cut Ties to ALEC, Making 44 Corporations Out, PRWatch.org, March 18, 2013.
- ↑ Phil Lynch, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Relations, Brown-Forman, RE: Media Inquiry RE: Brown-Forman's ties to ALEC, email to CMD, April 29, 2013.
- ↑ Publix, @xultar Publix has not been a member of ALEC since 2011. ^BK, Twitter, June 24, 2013.
- ↑ Nick Surgey, Coal and Oil Polluters Dominate ALEC Conference, PRWatch, July 31, 2014.
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, After Student Protests, Sallie Mae Becomes 50th Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch, September 9, 2013.
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, ALEC Is Not Where Visa Wants to Be, PRWatch, December 4, 2013.
- ↑ Letters I, Boulder Weekly, January 9, 2014.
- ↑ Jefferson Dodge, New PUC member might hinder Boulder’s municipalization, Boulder Weekly, January 9, 2014.
- ↑ Trillium Asset Management, Endo Health Solutions Exits ALEC, press release, January 8, 2014.
- ↑ Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research, project of the Environmental Working Group, Information on American Legislative Exchange Council, archived organizational profile, archived by Wayback Machine December 2, 2000, accessed August 19, 2011
- ↑ 3M, Political Activities and Issue Advocacy, corporate governance document, revised May 8, 2013.
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, Private Enterprise Board, organizational website, archived in the WayBack Machine on February 10, 2010, accessed September 2012
- ↑ Rich Jeffers, Director of Media Relations, Darden Restaurants, telephone conversation with the Center for Media and Democracy, April 11, 2013.
- ↑ Brendan Fischer and Mary Bottari, Efforts to Deliver "Kill Shot" to Paid Sick Leave Tied to ALEC, PRWatch.org, April 3, 2013.
- ↑ IBM spokesperson, email, June 2013, on file with CMD.
- ↑ Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, "Chapter Four: The Deep Pockets," Corporate America's Trojan Horse in the States: The Untold Story Behind the American Legislative Exchange Council, online report, 2003, accessed April 2012
- ↑ Intel spokesperson, Re: Intel, email, June 11, 2013, on file with CMD.
- ↑ Nestlé spokesperson, RE: Nestle - ALEC Involvement Clarification, email, May 31, 2013, on file with CMD.
- ↑ ShareAction, Astra Zeneca, organizational website, accessed August 2014.
- ↑ Ameren fends off activist shareholder proposals, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 2014.
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 60.4 Greenpeace, Greenpeace Confirms Six Utilities Quietly Dumped ALEC, organizational blog post, May 1, 2014.
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Microsoft and More Leave ALEC, 80 Corporations Out, PRWatch, August 21, 2014.
- ↑ Brian Fung, Google: We’re parting with the climate change skeptics at ALEC, Washington Post, September 22, 2014.
- ↑ Diane Rehm, A Conversation With Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, "The Diane Rehm Show," NPR, September 22.2014.
- ↑ Joe Garofoll, Facebook to cut ties with conservative policy group, San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2014.
- ↑ Jay Riestenberg, 5 Tech Companies That Surprisingly STILL Fund ALEC, Commonblog, accessed Sept. 24, 2014.
- ↑ Niraj Chokshi, Yahoo, Yelp, Facebook, Google and Microsoft reconsider their relationship with free-market group ALEC, Washington Post, September 24, 2014.
- ↑ Jay Riestenberg, Common Cause, International Paper Leaves ALEC: Other Corporations Distance Selves From Controversial Lobbying Group, Democracy Wire blog, September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Dustin Volz and Clare Foran, Large Oil Company Bolts From ALEC, National Journal, September 29, 2014.
- ↑ Denise Robbins, WSJ Editorial Conceals ALEC's Climate Change Denial, Media Matters, September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Email from Overstock.com General Counsel, on file with the Center for Media and Democracy, September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Dominic Rushe, Overstock.com rejoins controversial lobbying group Alec bucking trend, The Guardian, December 23, 2014.
- ↑ Nick Surgey: ALEC Corporate Board Chair Quits Over Climate Change, Renewables and Voting Rights, HuffPost, November 6, 2014
- ↑ Nick Surgey: AOL, Owner of Huffington Post, Quits ALEC, PRWatch, November 11, 2014
- ↑ Nick Surgey, Emerson Electric Latest to Confirm ALEC Exit, PRWatch, November 14, 2014.
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 Jay Riestenberg, Common Cause, More Corporations Distance Themselves from ALEC, Democracy Wire blog, November 20, 2014.
- ↑ Lisa Graves, More Corporations Drop Off ALEC's Conference Brochure, PRWatch, August 15, 2013.
- ↑ Jay Riestenberg, Common Cause, More Corporations Distance Themselves from ALEC, Democracy Wire blog, November 20, 2014.
- ↑ eBay Inc., We are not renewing membership in ALEC," @eBayInc corporate Twitter account, December 18, 2014, 3:01pm.
- ↑ Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, Northrop Grumman Severs Ties with ALEC, press release, January 28, 2015.
- ↑ Brendan Fischer, Fond du Lac Nuns Get Northrop Grumman to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, January 28, 2015.
- ↑ Dustin Volz, "Oil Giant BP Drops Membership With ALEC," National Review, March 23, 2015.
- ↑ Common Cause, T-Mobile Cuts Ties with ALEC, organizational press release, April 8, 2015.
- ↑ Jay Riestenberg, "Allergan Latest Company to Leave ALEC as Pressure Builds on Pfizer," Common Cause, May 14, 2015.
- ↑ 84.0 84.1 Karl Mathiesen and Ed Pilkington, "Royal Dutch Shell cuts ties with Alec over rightwing group's climate denial," The Guardian, August 7, 2015.
- ↑ Nick Surgey, "Ford Becomes Latest Major Corporation to Dump ALEC," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, February 17, 2016.
- ↑ David Armiak, Expedia Latest To Exit ALEC, Exposed by CMD, August 10, 2016.
- ↑ Sam Thielman, Enterprise car rental company leaves Alec after public outcry, The Guardian, September 21, 2016.
- ↑ James Salzer, "Georgia lobbyists dig deep to feed lawmakers at bill-writing meetings," Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 3, 2015.
- ↑ Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, Harriette Edge Ward, Lobbyist Report Forms, May 1-May 31 2015 filing, accessed June 2015.
- ↑ Janie Lorber, Gates Foundation Will No Longer Make Grants to ALEC Nonprofit, Roll Call, April 9, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Cuts Ties to ALEC, PRWatch.org, May 1, 2012
- ↑ National Association of Charter School Authorizers, National Association of Charter School Authorizers Issues Statement Regarding American Legislative Exchange Council, organizational press release, May 14, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Scantron 15th Corporation to Dump ALEC, PRWatch.org, May 22, 2012
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Cuts Ties to ALEC, PRWatch.org, December 3, 2012.
- ↑ Hannah Northey, Wind, solar groups quit ALEC as conservative powerhouse targets clean-energy programs, Greenwire, January 30, 2013.
- ↑ Nick Surgey and Calvin Sloan, "Revealed: AARP Is Funding ALEC," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, July 28, 2016.
- ↑ Jessica Mason, "AARP To Drop ALEC after Members’ Outcry," Exposed by CMD, Center for Media and Democracy, August 5, 2016.
- ↑ Oliver Milman, "American Electric Power quits Alec as it helps states move to clean power," The Guardian, December 8, 2015.
- ↑ Jeremy Duda, APS ending ALEC membership; SRP considers doing same, Arizona Capitol Times, April 12, 2012.
- ↑ Luige del Puerto, Months after publicly leaving ALEC in 2012, APS quietly rejoined, Arizona Capitol Times, November 7, 2013.
- ↑ Julian Pecquet, Blue Cross Blue Shield quits conservative legislative organization ALEC, The Hill, April 17, 2012
- ↑ Email from Overstock.com General Counsel, on file with the Center for Media and Democracy, September 26, 2014.
- ↑ Dominic Rushe, Overstock.com rejoins controversial lobbying group Alec bucking trend, The Guardian, December 23, 2014.