ALEC Exodus Continues As Four More Companies Leave Lobby

Four more corporations have cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a secretive corporate lobbying group. Raytheon, Sempra Energy, Southern California Edison, and Illinois Tool Works all recently told Walden Asset Management that they no longer fund or have any involvement with ALEC.

Raytheon previously contributed to ALEC’s Arizona scholarship fund, which helps pay politicians’ travel and lodging expenses to ALEC’s out-of-state conferences. Sempra Energy, another ALEC funder, acknowledged a letter to Walden that it is “well aware of the controversy concerning ALEC.” Both Southern California Edison and Illinois Tool Works noted that they have not had any recent involvement in ALEC and have stopped funding the organization.

The companies are the latest to join an exodus from ALEC that began after disclosures in 2011 that the group is secretly pushing “model” legislation across the country dealing with voting rights, guns, workers’ rights, environmental protection, and healthcare. To date, more than 90 corporations have decided to leave the controversial organization, including Coca-Cola, Kraft, General Electric, Wal-Mart, General Motors, and Microsoft. A full list is available here.

Common Cause has filled an IRS whistleblower complaint challenging ALEC’s tax-exempt status. The complaint charges that ALEC is masquerading as a charity but operating as a lobby.