Following the May call, the civil justice task force convened an emergency meeting to finalize the suggested legislation, according to David Armiak, research director for the Center for Media and Democracy.
“The fact that they met in an emergency meeting and passed it shows that this was a very, very important issue to them,” Armiak said. “By the time the [annual] meeting happened, it was already finalized.”
ALEC did not respond to a request for comment.
“It’s funny how these groups work, because they claim to be for localized democracy and individual freedoms, but they’re really about solidifying power,” Armiak said.
In Armiak’s view, ALEC exploited the COVID-19 crisis to draft a model bill to protect corporate profits and potentially take away local municipalities’ ability to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change.