Another editorial board joins the ranks of those that question ALEC activities... this time a major Florida newspaper, a State where many ALEC models have been put in place for years and years.
Lawmakers should open up about ALEC
Editorial in Orlando Sentinel
August 14, 2011
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-alec-081411-20110812,0,4996583.storyCLIPS:
How they get there is another story. Ask legislators during their campaigns which bills they're planning to write and often you hear, "I'm still working out the details."
How, then, do Florida's Republican legislators manage to craft specific bills that would, for instance, make it tougher for labor unions to collect dues? Or would limit the amount of money the state of Florida can collect, based on population growth and inflation?
Go ask ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a big business-backed nonprofit that drafts model legislation, which is then offered to legislators in Florida and other states.
Talk about influence. Future House speakers Will Weatherford and Chris Dorworth registered for the conference. ALEC's fingerprints were all over Dorworth's bill prohibiting state employers from withholding union dues and requiring members to approve using dues for political campaigns.
Meanwhile, tighter state spending caps, whose fate voters will determine in a 2012 ballot, resemble ALEC recommendations. As does the coming privatization of state prisons that would house 20 percent of Florida's inmates.
If Florida's Republican legislators feel the need to rely on ALEC, it's time they were more up-front with constituents about their shadowy partner.
Not much daylight in that position.
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