ALEC Gets a Break From State Lobbying Laws

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http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/alec-lobbyist-exemption

On April 20, Common Cause submitted a whistleblower complaint to the IRS, claiming that the American Legislative Exchange Council is "a corporate lobbying group masquerading as a charity." The move was the latest salvo in progressive groups' campaign to limit the influence of ALEC, a secretive nonprofit that brings together Republican state legislators and corporations to write and promote pro-business legislation.

It could take several years for the IRS to decide whether ALEC is indeed a lobbying group required to register and disclose how much it spends on influencing legislation. But in three states—South Carolina, Indiana, and Colorado—ALEC has quietly, and by name, been specifically exempted from rules for lobbyists.

The laws in those states allow ALEC to spend millions annually hosting corporate lobbyists and legislators at three yearly conferences, send "issue alerts" to legislators recommending votes on pending legislation, and draft boilerplate press releases for legislators to use when pushing ALEC model bills—all without registering as a lobbyist or reporting these expenditures. Legislators can receive scholarships from ALEC's corporate donors to attend conference events, or they can legally go on the taxpayer dime.

These exemptions are just now coming to light. In South Carolina, Democratic Rep. Boyd Brown recently discovered a 2003 state law that exempts ALEC from registering or disclosing its lobbying expenditures. One of the South Carolina bill's sponsors was ALEC member Rep. James Harrison, a Republican from Richland County

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1. Liars

in CO, our new SOS is forging ahead with ALEC voter ID law.
The guy is truly a jerk - a young Scott Walker type