http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/coal-bills-author-revealed-fullMorefield's resolution is an attempt to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. It's copied verbatim from "model legislation" drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative organization that sponsors conventions in which legislators and corporate lobbyists huddle together and write business-friendly bills.
The group published a report on Feb. 8 called "EPA's Regulatory Train Wreck" that includes the resolution. Morefield put his name on it and filed it in the General Assembly two days later.
Morefield is simply following in the footsteps of his elders. House Speaker Bill Howell, former national chairman of ALEC, has carried legislation penned by the group.
But when Howell was asked about the origins of "model legislation" related to asbestos lawsuits last year, he just mumbled about his leadership role in ALEC and his longstanding concerns about tort reform. He certainly didn't blurt out that his bill was the brainchild of a corporate lawyer trying to get his client out of a legal pickle.
That story also reports that 15 Virginia legislators attended ALEC events last year, with their corporate sponsors picking up $16,800 of the tab, but taxpayers were also billed for these ALEC junkets -- "Taxpayers funded $12,500 in travel expenses."
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