by Ginger Rough - Nov. 28, 2011 08:11 PM
The Arizona Republic
Arizona's state lawmakers are especially receptive to corporate money and influence, according to a new report from two liberal-leaning advocacy groups.
The 100-page report strives to show how the American Legislative Exchange Council uses "its resources to shepherd legislation from the corporate boardroom to the governor's desk," said Marge Baker, executive vice president at the Washington D.C,-based People for the American Way Foundation.
ALEC describes itself as a nonpartisan national association of state legislators.
Critics, however, say it is a conservative-based partisan organization that brings together about 300 large corporations and 2,000 predominately Republican legislators on task forces to produce model bills.
Lawmakers then take those bills back to their state legislatures in hopes of passing them into law.
The groups released the report, "ALEC in Arizona: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests in the Halls of Arizona's Legislature," as ALEC prepares to hold its "States and Nation Policy Summit" in Scottsdale, beginning Wednesday.
More than 50 Arizona lawmakers are members of the group. Arizona corporations that provide financial support to ALEC include the Salt River Project, Taser International, and Pinnacle West Capital Corp., the parent company of Arizona Public Services Co., the state's largest utility company.
"There's no way ordinary citizens can match the level of access and influence that ALEC provides to these corporations," Baker said. "So Arizonans are subjected to laws that serve the interests of the rich and powerful."
But Kaitlyn Buss, an ALEC spokeswoman, said the organization is merely a "resource" for lawmakers.
"Our main goal and focus is to promote free market, limited government and federalism (ideals)," Buss said. "We do have model legislation. It's a main part of what we do, but that doesn't give it priority over anything else that might be introduced at the Legislature."
The report includes side-by-side comparisons of dozens of "model bills" generated at ALEC conferences, and those introduced at the Arizona Legislature.
In Arizona, lawmakers passed 19 of the 36 model bills introduced in 2010, ALEC officials said.
Typically, ALEC model legislation -- including those highlighted in the report -- focus on anti-immigration, anti-union, and anti-federal health-care reform initiatives.
Occupy Phoenix and other anti-ALEC groups plan to protest what they believe is excessive corporate influence at the state Legislature at the organization's conference, which is being held at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/11/28/20111128arizona-lawmakers-corporate-money.html#ixzz1f6WEG4iy