{"id":13189,"date":"2015-05-24T10:23:44","date_gmt":"2015-05-24T14:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=13189"},"modified":"2018-02-05T14:46:50","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T19:46:50","slug":"atlanta-tv-station-exposes-alec-lobbyists-in-savannah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/atlanta-tv-station-exposes-alec-lobbyists-in-savannah.html","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta TV station exposes ALEC lobbyists in Savannah"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\r\nCaught on-camera:\r\nALEC&#8217;s off-duty sheriff&#8217;s deputies getting TV reporters thrown out of their own hotel\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.11alive.com\/story\/news\/local\/investigations\/2015\/05\/21\/investigators-legislators-and-corporate-lobbyists-meet-in-secret-at-georgia-resort\/27695105\/\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;width:300px\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/82d277526692de90a816ce06297ac5409cb76dc0\/c=307-0-1739-1077&#038;r=x404&#038;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2015\/05\/21\/WXIA\/WXIA\/635677635158692898-keefe-backroom520a.jpg\"><\/a>\r\nfor &#8220;taking pictures in the hotel&#8221;, after ALEC&#8217;s marketing droid denied any\r\nlobbying going on, nevermind the lobbyist and\r\nlegislator in a bar spelling out how it works:\r\nALEC gives &#8220;scholarships&#8221; to legislators who then meet in closed rooms\r\nwith corporate reps (including all the companies involved in the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline) who have equal votes\r\non draft bills for legislators to get passed as law in many states.\r\nBills promoting fracking, pipelines, LNG export, and against solar power,\r\nrenewable portfolio standards, not to mention for private prisons\r\nand privatized education and against municipal broadband and country-of-origin labelling, plus many other\r\ncorporate give-aways subsidized by the taxpayers and the environment.\r\nIt&#8217;s time for the IRS to revoke ALEC&#8217;s 501(c)(3) status.\r\nAnd for the Georgia legislature to apply the state&#8217;s sunshine laws to itself.\r\n<p>\r\nBrendan Keefe and Michael King, WXIA-TV, 22 May 2015,\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.11alive.com\/story\/news\/local\/investigations\/2015\/05\/21\/investigators-legislators-and-corporate-lobbyists-meet-in-secret-at-georgia-resort\/27695105\/\">\r\nLegislators and corporate lobbyists meet in secret at Georgia resort<\/a>,<!--more-->\r\n\r\n\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nSAVANNAH, Ga. (WXIA) &mdash; The Georgia Legislature has a message\r\nfor voters: don&#8217;t ask us about our meetings with corporate lobbyists\r\nbehind closed doors.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe 11Alive Investigators tracked lawmakers to a resort hotel in\r\nSavannah last week, where we observed state legislators and\r\nlobbyists mingling in the hotel bar the night before they gathered\r\nin private rooms to decide what new laws would best serve the\r\ncorporations.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nThe meetings were part of the Spring Task Force Summit of the\r\nAmerican Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align:center\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sNA0-GBuunc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<p>\r\nThere&#8217;s lots more in the report, such as:\r\n<blockquote style=\"font-size:100%\">\r\n<p>\r\nA letter House Speaker David Ralston signed in 2013 on ALEC\r\nletterhead, obtained by thinkprogress.org, asked &#8220;members of the\r\nbusiness community&#8221; to help fund these trips. &#8220;Your support of the\r\nscholarship fund is critical, enabling Georgia legislators to join\r\nand attend the annual (ALEC) meetings. Please note that 100 percent\r\nof the raised funds are tax-deductible and are for ALEC expenses\r\ndirectly related to education efforts for legislators.&#8221;\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nSpeaker Ralston&#8217;s office responded to our request by saying &#8220;welcome\r\nto Georgia,&#8221; but did not answer any of our questions.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nHe&#8217;s not the only one. Here&#8217;s\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/Georgia_ALEC_Politicians\">\r\na list of known Georgia ALEC politicians<\/a>.\r\n<p>\r\nALEC is not just a lobbying organization: it&#8217;s a shadow national\r\ncongress in which corporations get equal votes with elected legislators.\r\n<p>\r\nHere are some specific examples of the corporate boondoggles ALEC&#8217;s\r\nshadow congress shops to many states at the same time:\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/the-disclosure-of-hydraulic-fracturing-fluid-composition-act\/\">\r\nto prohibit disclosure of fracking chemicals<\/a>,\r\nto\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/pipeline-replacement-and-infrastructure-modernization-and-enhancement-act\/\">make state PSCs subsidize pipelines<\/a>,\r\na\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/resolution-in-support-of-the-keystone-xl-pipeline\/\">\r\nResolution in Support of the Keystone XL Pipeline<\/a>,\r\na\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/resolution-support-expanded-liquefied-natural-gas-exports\/\">\r\nResolution In Support of Expanded Liquefied Natural Gas Exports<\/a>,\r\na bill\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/08\/alec-responds-to-sierra-club-report.html\">\r\nto revoke renewable energy portfolio standards<\/a>, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/12\/alec-solar-tax.html\">solar generation tax<\/a>,\r\nbills against\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/?post_type=model-legislation&#038;s=water+quality\">water quality<\/a> and\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/legislation-tags\/air-quality\/\">air quality<\/a>,\r\nfor\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/bloomberg-discovers-mandated-prison-beds-for-cca-profit.html\">mandated private prison beds<\/a>,\r\nagainst <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/national-attention-on-ga-hb-282-against-muni-broadband-needs-ga-leg-to-vote-it-down.html\">municipal broadband<\/a>,\r\nthe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/08\/georgias-alec-local-cheap-labor-law.html\">\r\nALEC Model Living Wage Mandate Preemption Act<\/a>,\r\na bill <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/resolution-on-animal-antibiotic-use\/\">whitewashing overuse of antibiotics on livestock in corporate farms<\/a>,\r\na bill\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alec.org\/model-legislation\/the-animal-and-ecological-terrorism-act-aeta\/\">\r\ndefining photographing such practices as &#8220;ecological terrorism&#8221;<\/a>,\r\nand\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/renewable-portfolio-standards-ga-nc-and-alec.html\">\r\nfar more<\/a>.\r\nIf your corporation has money to spend on &#8220;scholarships&#8221; to get legislators\r\nto ALEC meetings, you can probably get some model legislation approved\r\nthat will get shopped to many state legislatures, and likely made into law.\r\n<p>\r\nALEC members include all of the companies involved in all three components\r\nof the Southeast Market Pipelines Project: Sabal Trail (FPL, Spectra, and Duke),\r\nHillabe Expansion Project (Williams Co.), and Florida Southeast Connection (FPL).\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/ALEC_Corporations#D\">\r\nDuke Energy Corp.<\/a> (merged with Progress Energy, another ALEC member),[20] State corporate co-chair of Indiana and South Carolina[15] Member of ALEC&#8217;s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force[106] &#8211; The ALEC Exposed coalition, including Greenpeace, is asking Duke Energy to cut ties to ALEC.[133]\r\n<li>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/ALEC_Corporations#F\">\r\nFlorida Gas Transmission Co.[17]<\/a>\r\n<li>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/ALEC_Corporations#F\">\r\nFlorida Power Corp.[17]<\/a>\r\n<li>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/ALEC_Corporations#S\">\r\nSpectra Energy (natural gas infrastructure company)<\/a>, &#8220;Trustee&#8221; level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[24] ($5,000 in 2010)[25]\r\n<li>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/ALEC_Corporations#W\">The Williams Companies<\/a>  (natural gas company[298]), State corporate co-chair of Oklahoma[15]\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nBut remember: &#8220;Don&#8217;t say nothing.&#8221;\r\n<p>\r\nOr maybe we should say: revoke ALEC&#8217;s 501(c)(3) status\r\nand stop electing ALEC legislators.\r\n<p>\r\n -jsq\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caught on-camera: ALEC&#8217;s off-duty sheriff&#8217;s deputies getting TV reporters thrown out of their own hotel for &#8220;taking pictures in the hotel&#8221;, after ALEC&#8217;s marketing droid denied any lobbying going on, nevermind the lobbyist and legislator in a bar spelling out how it works: ALEC gives &#8220;scholarships&#8221; to legislators who then meet in closed rooms with [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[556,140,141,15,70,8,72,132,20,733,6124,6687,24,55],"tags":[8779,8744,8745,143,8705,8728,8495,6995,1763,308,8701,7690,8730,8741,8702,8710,12,7,8799,562,6076,6597,702,8714,6966,6,8727,8494],"class_list":["post-13189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air","category-alec","category-co2","category-education","category-ethics","category-georgia","category-incarceration","category-internet-access-speed","category-law","category-media","category-natural-gas-2","category-pipeline-2","category-solar","category-water","tag-air","tag-alec","tag-co2","tag-duke-energy","tag-education","tag-ethics","tag-florida-power","tag-florida-southeast-connection","tag-fpl","tag-fracking","tag-georgia","tag-hillabee-expansion-project","tag-incarceration","tag-internet-access-speed","tag-lake","tag-law","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-media","tag-natural-gas","tag-pipeline","tag-sabal-trail-transmission","tag-savannah","tag-solar","tag-spectra-energy","tag-valdosta","tag-water","tag-williams-companies"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-3qJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13189"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19639,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13189\/revisions\/19639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}