Seriously. Corporations are writing PA’s laws.
This is not just hyperbole. At this very moment, in New Orleans, there is a group of corporate lobbyists writing what they call “model bills.” Their plan is to get your state senator and representative to introduce and pass these bills.
So they have invited hundreds of state legislators to this secretive confab to play golf and be wined and dined. It’s possible your legislator is with them right now.
Who is this shadowy organization? They are called the American Legislative Research Council (ALEC); and they write legislation for corporate lobbyists - much of it introduced here in Pennsylvania. Most disturbingly, it is often introduced word for word. (See our report on ALEC’s influence on PA here).
http://www.keystoneprogress.blogspot.com/
ALEC is behind the efforts in Pennsylvania to pass bills that strip away union rights, scale back child labor laws, attack the regulation power of environmental agencies, suppress voter rights with strict identification requirements, eliminate the social safety net, and privatize public services. This model of spoon feeding legislators is a corruption of representative, open government and is an abrogation of duty on the part of our elected legislators.
Several PA legislators have introduced ALEC’s “model bills” pretending that they wrote them, including;
Rep. Matt Baker (R, Bradford, Tioga) pretended that he wrote the “Freedom of Choice in Healthcare Act” (HB42). In fact, it was written by lobbyists from the healthcare industry to kill implementation of healthcare benefits for families and small business.
Rep. Seth Grove (R, York) submitted the “Council on Efficient Government Act” as his own work. It was really written by corporations that want to privatize public services.
Sen. Mike Folmer (R, Lebanon) introduced the lobbyist-written “High-Risk Health Insurance Pool Act.”
We know there are at least 36 Pennsylvania legislators who are members of ALEC. We suspect there are many more. But because ALEC is so secretive, it makes it difficult to get to the truth about who is involved and how they are influencing PA’s legislation.
That’s why we need a team of citizen researchers. The real strength of Keystone Progress is its members, not its staff. We provide the information and the tools, but you have taken over 500,000 actions in the last three years.
Help us protect our democracy by asking your Senator and Representative about their involvement with ALEC....
Thank you in advance for your support.
Together we will win!
Michael Morrill
for the Keystone Progress Team
Names of PA ALEC members lifted from the link at:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Matt Baker
David J Brightbill
Craig Dally
Charlie Dent
John R Evans
Robert J Flick
Michael Fitzpatrick
Matt Gabler
Stewart J Greenleaf
James D Greenwood
James Gerlach
Glen Grell
Melissa Hart
Dick Hess
Robert C Jubelirar
Dennis Leh
Ronald Marsico
Daryl Metcalfe
Ronald Miller
Jerry Nailor
Fred Noye
Michael A O’Pake
John E Peterson
Ron Peterson
John M Perzel
Merle Phillips
John Pippy
Joseph R Pitts
Todd Platts
Harry Readshaw
Robert Robbins
Samuel Rohrer
Matther Ryan
Stan Saylor
Donald E (Buz) Snyder
Dick Stevenson
Elinor Taylor
Mike Turzai
PA people please use this list and let me know of errors I've made.