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Moyers & Co.: ALEC Update (privatising ed., anti-renewables, and SD pays for ALEC to interfere)
ALEC makes no bones about its opposition to state Renewable Energy Standards (RES), which require that states derive a certain percentage of energy from renewable sources. Todd Wynn, the director of ALEC’s energy task force, told Bloomberg News outright that ALEC is opposed to such mandates, going as far as to say: “Natural gas is a clean fuel, and regulators and policymakers are seeing how it’s much more affordable than renewable energy.”
ALEC’s anti-renewable rancor has had a powerful effect. This year, several states have considered corporate-friendly efforts to reduce or repeal renewable energy targets. And more often than not, the sponsors of these bills turn out to be verifiable members of ALEC. (Which isn’t to discount the unverifiable ones. ALEC’s legislators tend to keep their membership hush-hush, and ALEC discloses no membership lists.) But the keyword to keep in mind here isn’t “energy,” or “renewable,” or even “law” — it’s “profits,” the real driver behind ALEC’s legislative agendas. With corporations like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the American Electric Power Company and Marathon Oil schmoozing lawmakers at ALEC conferences, it’s no wonder these anti-renewable energy bills have become a staple of the ALEC agenda.
...
Moving west to South Dakota: The Aberdeen News reports that the South Dakota legislature’s executive board has signed off on using taxpayer funds to pay for some state legislators to travel to ALEC conferences where corporate lobbyists and legislators talk policy. The board also approved of the state paying ALEC’s $100 membership dues for each of South Dakota’s 105 legislators. Every single one of them! To recap: ALEC hosts a conference at a fancy hotel; corporate interest groups welcome their legislative friends with open arms — and wallets — and the citizens of South Dakota foot the bill.
On to education: Among ALEC’s 2013 legislative priorities is a call for “improving education” — a goal that, conveniently, can also improve corporate bottom lines. In 2011, Tennessee passed an ALEC-inspired bill allowing taxpayer money to be spent on for-profit education. K12 Inc., an online education company, pounced immediately — and landed a multi-million dollar deal to provide online education to Tennessee students. K12 is one of ALEC’s corporate members and a member of its education task force. The company helped to craft the ALEC model bill that inspired Tennessee’s for-profit education law. And the legislators responsible for introducing the bill? That’s right: they’re ALEC members too.
http://billmoyers.com/2013/05/30/alec-update/
ALEC’s anti-renewable rancor has had a powerful effect. This year, several states have considered corporate-friendly efforts to reduce or repeal renewable energy targets. And more often than not, the sponsors of these bills turn out to be verifiable members of ALEC. (Which isn’t to discount the unverifiable ones. ALEC’s legislators tend to keep their membership hush-hush, and ALEC discloses no membership lists.) But the keyword to keep in mind here isn’t “energy,” or “renewable,” or even “law” — it’s “profits,” the real driver behind ALEC’s legislative agendas. With corporations like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the American Electric Power Company and Marathon Oil schmoozing lawmakers at ALEC conferences, it’s no wonder these anti-renewable energy bills have become a staple of the ALEC agenda.
...
Moving west to South Dakota: The Aberdeen News reports that the South Dakota legislature’s executive board has signed off on using taxpayer funds to pay for some state legislators to travel to ALEC conferences where corporate lobbyists and legislators talk policy. The board also approved of the state paying ALEC’s $100 membership dues for each of South Dakota’s 105 legislators. Every single one of them! To recap: ALEC hosts a conference at a fancy hotel; corporate interest groups welcome their legislative friends with open arms — and wallets — and the citizens of South Dakota foot the bill.
On to education: Among ALEC’s 2013 legislative priorities is a call for “improving education” — a goal that, conveniently, can also improve corporate bottom lines. In 2011, Tennessee passed an ALEC-inspired bill allowing taxpayer money to be spent on for-profit education. K12 Inc., an online education company, pounced immediately — and landed a multi-million dollar deal to provide online education to Tennessee students. K12 is one of ALEC’s corporate members and a member of its education task force. The company helped to craft the ALEC model bill that inspired Tennessee’s for-profit education law. And the legislators responsible for introducing the bill? That’s right: they’re ALEC members too.
http://billmoyers.com/2013/05/30/alec-update/
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