ALEC

Earth Day and Common Cause turn 50 in 2020 and share more than an anniversary -- a deep and abiding commitment to public policy in the common good.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is up to it again: promoting new ways to restrict political representation and undermine one of the central foundations of American democracy.

“It’s a gathering of wealthy corporate funders and the policymakers who protect their interests,” said Anthony Gutierrez, spokesman for Common Cause Texas, which issued a 24-page report this week on ALEC’s influence in Texas, a state with at least 58 affiliated lawmakers, more than any other. The state chairmen are Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, and Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills.“We fully expect new attempts to suppress the vote or gerrymander Texas districts to come out of this conference, and we’ll be standing ready to stop them,”

Just days before the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) annual meeting in Austin, Common Cause and the Center for Media and Democracy released a new report uncovering the recent influence of the secretive special interest lobbying group in the Texas legislature.

The report reveals which members of the Texas legislature have ties to ALEC and which recent state bills can be traced back to the organization. Additionally, the report documents how ALEC abuses its public charity status with the IRS, effectively making its corporate donors eligible for tax breaks for its funding of ALEC.