ALEC exempted from lobbyist status in three separate states

5-8-2012 National:

This spring has brought constant controversy for the American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative group of legislators and corporations that pushes free-market model legislation in the states -- but it may not be over yet.

The tumult began with pressure from progressive groups Common Cause and Color of Change that caused 14 ALEC members, including Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Procter & Gamble, to drop out of the group. Thirty-four legislators have also quit.

Then ALEC announced in April it would shelve the task force that approved controversial voter identification laws and "stand your ground" gun laws that spread quickly in the states. And on April 20 Common Cause submitted a whistleblower complaint to the IRS, claiming ALEC is "a corporate lobbying group masquerading as a charity" that promises its donors a tax deduction.

It could take several years for the IRS to decide whether ALEC is indeed a lobbyist required to register with that label and disclose how much it spends on influencing legislation. But in three states -- South Carolina, Indiana and Colorado -- it turns out that ALEC has quietly, and by name, been specifically exempted from lobbyist status.

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 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, for instance, Rep. Boyd Brown (D-Fairfield) recently discovered a 2003 state law that exempts ALEC from registering or disclosing its lobbying expenditures. One of the South Carolina House bill's sponsors was ALEC member James Harrison (R-Richland).

As reported in the Columbia Free Times, Brown introduced a bill in late April that would remove ALEC's designation as the only organization in the state's legal code that is exempted by name from lobbying rules.

"I can't get in a car with a lobbyist and drive up the street," said Brown in an interview. "But ALEC can give me a scholarship to fly across the country."

The state's lobbying law prohibits lobbyists from paying a legislator more than $400 a year for lodging, transportation, entertainment or food. At its task force meetings, ALEC covers two nights in a hotel and reimburses travel expenses up to $350. It also draws on corporate money to fund scholarships for legislators' conference registration expenses, which range from $150 to $500.

In Colorado, the late state Rep. Thomas Ratterree successfully introduced a bill back in 1991 to amend ethics laws to exempt ALEC from lobbyist status. As a result, for ALEC legislators, "the expenses of such members for travel, board, and lodging related to such attendance [at ALEC events] may be paid from appropriations," the state law reads.

The law also stipulates that if taxpayers are to foot the bill, then delegations to ALEC events "shall reflect equally the percentage of members from each party of the General Assembly." All 18 of the state's members, however, are Republican. Only a tiny fraction of ALEC's 2,000 legislative members are not in the GOP, though the organization insists it is bipartisan. ..For the rest of this story: by Paul Abowd, iWatch News