Representatives from the firearms industry and free-market think tanks are criss-crossing the country advocating for legislation that severely curtails—and often outright prohibits—state governments from considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making decisions about investments and contracts.
ALEC
Walmart Heirs, Freedom Foundation Behind Latest Attack on Arkansas Teachers
With very little fanfare, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a host of new legislation in April—including SB 473, a bill that prohibits union dues from being automatically deducted from public school teachers’ salaries.
Federal Covid Relief Funds Fuel Koch-Backed Flat Tax “Revolution”
A decade-long push by Koch’s political and policy network to get more states to flatten or abolish income taxes is finally beginning to pay off, thanks to billions in federal Covid relief funds flowing to the states.
ALEC Is Using Wolf-PAC to Help the Right Rewrite the Constitution
In spearheading far-right efforts to rewrite the U.S. Constitution, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is increasingly counting on an unexpected ally: a campaign finance reform group founded during the Occupy Wall Street protests more than a decade ago.
ALEC’s State Ratings Favor Corporate Policy Wish-List Over Quality of Life
ALEC’s annual economic survey ranks states “rich” based on how closely states track the corporate pay-to-play group’s preferred tax and labor policies as opposed to actual quality of life factors such as wages, poverty rates, and access to healthcare.
Texas “Death Star” Bill on Track to Decimate Local Worker and Consumer Protections
An omnibus regulatory preemption bill in Texas—where versions are currently being considered in both the Senate and the House—would strip local governments of the ability to protect workers, consumers, and the environment.
ALEC Loses Last-Ditch Efforts to Blunt Repeal of Michigan’s “Right-to-Work” Law
Michigan’s Senate and House have both passed legislation to repeal the state’s “right-to-work” law despite attempts by three ALEC-aligned Republican senators to salvage the anti-union legislation the group helped pass more than a decade ago.
Florida Bills Deliver on DeSantis and ALEC Anti-Union Wish Lists
Florida’s 2023 legislative session has kicked off with a pair of bills chock full of new labor regulations long sought after by anti-union activists.
ALEC to SFOF Pipeline Unearthed
One in every four members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF)—the group of Republican state treasurers, auditors, and other financial officers on the frontlines of the campaign against “woke capitalism”—has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Center for Media and Democracy has found.
Utah State Treasurer Compares ESG Policies to Nazism at Heartland’s Climate Misinformation Fest
In his keynote address at The Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change, Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks—a longtime investment banker prior to being appointed state treasurer in 2021—proclaimed key similarities between Hitler’s drive to create a uniform Aryan society and the desire of “global elites” to implement uniform investment practices.