With less than two months until Trump begins his second term, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is meeting in Washington, D.C., this week for its annual States and Nation Policy Summit. ALEC state politicians, corporate lobbyists, and right-wing operatives are gathering at the four-star Grand Hyatt Washington to discuss and vote on model policies and resolutions to further climate delayism and preserve the use of fossil fuels, alter state election codes, protect purveyors of misinformation, privatize education, and push their extremist agenda in other ways.
U.S. Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-R) and Ron Estes (KS-R), Trump’s pick to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Vivek Ramaswamy, Univision CEO Daniel Alegre, insurrectionist Cleta Mitchell, and GOP pollster Scott Rasmussen are all scheduled to speak at the summit.
Following the summit, attendees are invited to stay on for the 2024 ALEC International Freedom Academy, which focuses on “Defending the States and Supporting Israel,” according to an invitation obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). There, lawmakers will learn how to “defend their states” against China and “address the spike in campus anti-Semitism without sacrificing free speech.”
A number of model bills and resolutions circulated at the meeting this week target China. The Act Relating to Prohibited Applications on Government-Issued Devices and An Act Restraining State and Local Governmental Use of Mobile or Online Software Applications and Electronic Devices Under Control of a Foreign Adversary could both be used to ban the use of TikTok and other Chinese apps, software, and websites on government devices.
The sweeping Model Policy to Protect Select US Land from Ownership by America’s Foreign Adversaries would prevent entities controlled or owned by “foreign adversaries” — defined as China, Iran, and North Korea — from owning land in the U.S. Foreign nationals from those countries would have to submit “security notices” to a State Homeland Security Council for approval and would be banned from owning farmland or property near “critical infrastructure.” . Even single-family homes bought or inherited by people from the covered countries would require “prior written notice of approval” from the Security Council for property above an unspecified amount of acreage. Properties that fail to pass this hurdle would be taken by eminent domain.
ALEC will again look to work with lawmakers at the academy to restrict the right to protest, this time targeting anti-war student protesters demanding that Israel halt its collective punishment of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
Last summer, ALEC adopted two related model bills, an Act to Prohibit Anti-Semitism in State K–20 Educational Institutions and an Act to Adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Anti-Semitism.
The first bill states that, “The Working Definition of Anti-Semitism adopted by the International Holocaust Alliance (IHRA) that contains contemporary examples of anti-semitism may also be used to identify anti-semitism.”
Opponents fear that relying on this definition — which references “hatred towards Jews” that may be manifested rhetorically or physically and includes certain types of criticism of Israel — will expose anti-war and humanitarian activists to possible prosecution or charges of hate crimes for simply speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza or its occupation of Palestine.
The second model bill would officially adopt the IHRA definition. ALEC, along with representatives from the Israeli government and the Heritage Foundation, has been pushing state lawmakers to adopt the IHRA definition since as early as 2021.
For decades, ALEC has operated as a pay-to-play group that brings together corporate lobbyists and state lawmakers to vote as equals on model policies that advance corporate interests at the state level, but in recent years it has also advanced the interests of foreign governments such as Israel and Taiwan.
ALEC annual meeting materials from 2022 obtained and reviewed by CMD revealed a menu of opportunities for sponsors to purchase access to lawmakers at ALEC’s annual conferences, including buying “special” pre- and post-conference meetings for an unspecified price. ALEC keeps its funders and sponsors of meeting sessions secret.
Sponsors of ALEC’s 2024 summit include the Only Citizens Vote Coalition, Altria, Consumers’ Research, Honest Elections Project, PhRMA, Stand Together Trust, and the State Financial Officers Foundation, according to a list obtained by CMD.
Climate Delayism and Fights Over Public Lands and Water
Numerous model policies, resolutions, and statements that will likely accelerate the unfolding climate emergency will be considered at the meeting this week. Many of them center around climate delayism or the “systematic and coordinated strategy to bring about unwarranted concern regarding a wide range of climate actions for the purpose of slowing down or indefinitely suspending those actions.”
The Utility Scale Solar Plants – Preserving Environment Open Spaces and Fairness Act would place restrictions on the development of solar farms out of purported concern for ecosystems, farmland, and endangered species. ALEC has advocated for “Congress to amend the Endangered Species Act upon its re-authorization to require a stronger role for the states and a stronger consideration of the social and economic consequences” in a model resolution last amended in 2013.
ALEC’s Tenth Amendment Resolution introduced this week would allow states to declare “tenth amendment sanctuary” counties within their borders that refuse to adhere to certain federal regulations, a move that would likely cue up legal fights with the federal government.
The resolution argues that the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution places power in the hands of the states over everything from education to water management — anything not explicitly included in the federal government’s enumerated powers. For this model, it states that “the board affirms it will not enforce against any citizen any Federal law that unconstitutionally infringes upon the right of People of _____________ County to keep and use their non-navigable Water.”
On a related note, ALEC is holding a roundtable on the Utah v. United States case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Utah is challenging the perpetual federal retention of unappropriated public lands within its borders, arguing that doing so is unconstitutional.
The roundtable description states that, “Experts from western states and the Federalist Society expert whose BYU Law Review article provided the basis for Utah’s action will lead a robust discussion on the suit and how federal mismanagement has exacted both an economic and environmental cost preventing states from maximizing their economic potential and contributing to devastating wildfire seasons year after year in the American West.”
A couple of other model bills circulated this week would ensure the continued use of fossil fuels. The Energy Choice Resolution, Natural Gas would have counties express their support for the use of propane and natural gas in new residential and commercial buildings.
The Statement of Principles on Housing argues for government “flexibility” on choosing heating systems and appliances to ensure that people have affordable housing choices. “Too many state and even local governments are seeking to come inside your home or business to require standards that restrict your choice of heating systems, appliances and energy efficiency methods (from insulation, to windows, to sprinkler systems),” the policy states.
Another model, the Resolution in Support of Recycling, argues against bans and mandates on packaging materials in favor of “market-driven incentives that promote sustainable packaging design and reduce waste.” ALEC passed a model policy in 2015 that would prevent local or municipal governments from prohibiting, taxing, or regulating the use or sale of single-use plastic.
Finally, ALEC meeting attendees will again have the opportunity to attend a workshop on “woke capitalism” — this one called “Battles Won, War Continues: The Left, ESG and State Policy.”
Since the summer of 2021, CMD has repeatedly documented ALEC’s consideration and promotion of multiple model bills punishing companies and public entities that embrace environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG) in their business and investing practices.
Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild is now a regular speaker at ALEC meetings since the group became a major sponsor, and ALEC has, in turn, promoted his attacks against ESG.
At ALEC’s annual meetings, Hild presents the Consumer Champion Award to state lawmakers for passing anti-ESG legislation. The 2024 award went to Arkansas State Representative Mindy McAlindon (R) and the 2023 award went to Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes (R).
Voter Suppression Strategizing Continues
While no voter suppression models are on the table this week, ALEC summit participants will still have opportunities to strategize on restricting voting in the name of “election integrity.”
Attendees will discuss the topic at a breakout breakfast as well as at a workshop on “Restoring Voter Confidence in Elections” that will “focus on key principles of election integrity that can improve state election codes.”
Prior to the summit, ALEC lawmakers had the opportunity to attend an “Honest Elections Project Academy” at the beginning of the week, as a 2024 ALEC Academies calendar obtained by CMD indicates.
Honest Elections Project, the group ALEC partnered with fore its voting agenda, is a dark money operation formed in February 2020 to push for voting restrictions and spread baseless and dangerous claims about election fraud that laid the groundwork for Trump’s attempt to overturn the election. It is a project of The 85 Fund, the legal name for the Judicial Education Project, a group linked to Leonard Leo that played a central role in Trump’s effort to pack the Supreme Court and the entire federal judiciary with right-wing judges.
An Honest Elections Project Academy was also held prior to ALEC’s annual meeting last summer.
Public Dollars for Private Education
ALEC has a long history of promoting school privatization schemes, from backing Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), or universal, tax-funded school vouchers, to drafting this year’s Microschool Education Act, which would give home-based or microschool entities of 100 or fewer students the same rights as private and charter schools.
This week, ALEC politicians will consider the Education Tax-Credit Act. The bill would give parents sending their kids to private schools a tax credit on their income taxes equal to the average base educational aid provided by the state.
In the workshop “How Education Marketplaces Drive Quality and Cost Efficiency,” meeting attendees will hear how “market-driven education is also delivering cost savings,” and why “to maintain a dynamic market, [lawmakers] must avoid imposing price controls.”
ALEC lawmakers will also discuss the Standardized Testing Choice Act, which would add the Classic Learning Test (CLT) administered by Classic Learning Initiatives to the ACT and SAT tests required for admission to most universities and colleges.
Already used in Florida and by the University of New Mexico, the CLT puts greater “emphasis on the Western canon and Christian thought.” In April, the Iowa Board of Regents recommended not approving the CLT as a requirement for admissions.
Protecting Vehicles of Misinformation
ALEC state lawmakers will also consider the Statement of Principles on News Censorship this week, which argues that any attempt to identify misinformation or disinformation “is an inherently political determination that chills free speech” and that “government has a First Amendment obligation not to engage in such censorship or otherwise support organizations engaged in such activities.”
Misinformation and disinformation campaigns by foreign or domestic actors left unchecked will make it more difficult for public health officials to keep citizens safe, for environmentalists to move policies that address the unfolding climate emergency, or for election administrators to ensure the integrity of voting systems, among a host of other challenges.
ALEC apparently agrees with former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway that false claims are “alternative facts.” It states in its model that the “private sector is already leading on this issue” with features like “community notes” on social media platforms. However, the American public disagrees.
“A national survey commissioned by the media reform group Free Press found that 79 percent of people polled worry the information they are seeing online is ‘false, fake, or a deliberate attempt to confuse,’” Truthout reported in June.
A 2021 University of Chicago and Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that “almost all Americans see the spread of misinformation as a problem, and significant majorities believe social media users, social media companies, and U.S. politicians are responsible for spreading misinformation.”
Other New Drafts Up for Consideration:
- By-Right Housing Development Act
- Defend the Guard Act
- Dental Access Model Act
- Efficiency in Permitting, Licensing, and Certification Processes Act
- Entrepreneurial Freedom Restoration Act
- E-Verify Requirement Act
- Internet Free Speech Act
- Internet Safety Resource Act
- Limiting Student Use of Cell Phones in K–12 Classrooms
- Live Event Ticketing Consumer Protection & Reform Act
- Model Domestic Material Circularity Act
- Model Policy to Regulate the Use of the Colorimetric Presumptive Field Drug Test
- Pharmacy and Patient Protection Act
- Ratepayer Protection from Large Electricity Users Model Policy
- Resolution Ensuring Consumer Freedom and Promoting Innovations in Protein
- Resolution in Support of Farming and Energy Production
- Resolution on Enhancing Data on Crime and Clearance Rates
- Resolution to Oppose the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) Misuse of United Nations Resolution 2758 to Delegitimize Taiwan and Exclude Taiwan from International Organizations
- Statement of Principles on Broadband Internet Access Service Non-Regulation
- Statement of Principles on Establishing an Interstate Compact Regarding Competitively Bid Transmission Projects
- Statement of Principles on the Gig Economy (and Home Sharing)
- Ten Guiding Principles for Consideration of Grants
- The Safe Harbor from Excessive Exactions Act
- Third-Party Challenges to Development Permits
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