Let’s Get Smart About ALEC

Gather a bundle of your inkiest exclamation points to put at the end of the next sentence. An outfit called ALEC, funded by wealthy right-wing ideologues, has put together a collection of model laws that they like, and is trying to get legislatures to pass them!!!!!

So what exactly is so shocking about this? That they have actually written up laws they’d like to see passed? That they are promoting them to like-minded legislators? That they have money? Really? (For an analysis of what we’re missing, go here.)

(For those of you who have been playing online solitaire for the last four years, ALEC, described as a “corporate bill mill,” stands for American Legislative Exchange Council, founded in 1973 as the Conservative Caucus of State Legislators).

Hey, there are as many model laws out there as there are articles “exposing” ALEC. Glance over this fun sampling, and then tell me why ALEC is so outrageous.

Apes & Electrification

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has a “Model Ordinance for Great Apes” as part of its Model Animal Protection Laws Collection. The Energy and Mining Sector Board of the World Bank puts out model laws that promote electrification.

Shellfish & Carry-On Musical Instruments

The Food and Drug Administration puts out a Shellfish Sanitation Model Ordinance. The American Federation of Musicians sought to get provisions of a model law about carrying musical instruments on commercial airlines incorporated into a modernized Federal Aviation Administration Act.

Guns, Adoption, Anatomical Gifts & Organ Transplants

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research put out a Model Handgun Safety Act. The US Uniform Law Commission puts out lots of model laws such as the Uniform Adoption Act and the Anatomical Gift Act, the latter supported by “many organ, eye, and tissue procurement organizations.” The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network offered the National Organ Transplant Act.

Service Dogs & Solar Energy

Assistance Dogs International has an Assistance Dog Model State Law. Solar America Board has offered a Model Statute/Ordinance To Encourage Access to Solar Energy.

Work Zone Safety & Model Model Law

The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances puts out model laws on work zone safety. There is even a model law for models from the Model Alliance, an organization that focuses on fashion model rights. Concerns include child models dropping out of high school, and being pressured for sex by photographers.

Lots of groups and institutions are organized and focused enough to write up and put out model laws, at the local, state, federal, and international levels. (Go here for an example of how to do this “at home.”)

Some work quietly, while others launch major PR campaigns. These model law groups are likely to be funded by, if not started up by, people who stand to benefit or believe they will benefit from the laws they propose.

Many states, and the US, have passed outstanding “green” or “progressive” laws in the past. See my book Gaveling Down the Rabble, or an article about a “green” future, or an article about good state laws, or an article about laws to protect meat quality.

Unfortunately, many of these laws have been declared unconstitutional because of corporate constitutional protections. For an insight into this phenomenon, go here.

So, let’s get smart about ALEC.

1. Get over it. What is accomplished by protracted hand-wringing on how evil ALEC is? Describing the problem is only helpful if you’re talking to people who don’t think there’s a problem.

2. Acknowlege that ALEC has done a great job, especially by keeping a list of model laws on hand for when they may be able to pass them. ALEC is prepared.

3. Learn about ALEC. ALEC gets its power from the government. Specifically, the Illinois law under which ALEC incorporated in the mid-1970s, and the 501(c)(3) portion of the US statutes IRS code. Have you ever read or tried to change either one?

4. Write your own goddam model law. If you’ve got a problem with ALEC, rewrite the law under which it was incorporated to better suit democratic ideals. State laws are out there, and I don’t see a lot of left-of-center groups even reading them, much less rewriting them. Right now, state incorporation statutes are modified every session, as corporate lobbyists march in, hand in their “improvements,” and stand by while legislators pass them. The American Bar Association puts out a Model Business Incorporation Act. Do you have one? (Go here for an example of some great provisions that used to be part of corporate law.)

5. Some good model laws. Here are two recent ones that you might consider emulating, adapting them to your own local issues. It’s part of what is often called the “community rights” movement.

Colorado Community Rights Network

Ever walk into a representative’s or council person’s office with a proposed law in hand? It’s a good feeling. Put it on your 2015 New Year’s Resolutions list.

See you around Ground Hog’s day. jam

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