Arizona Is the "Petri Dish" for Corporate-Influenced Legislature

Arizona State Capitol Bldg

Monday, 16 April 2012 13:30 By Yana Kunichoff, Truthout | Report 

Arizona, with 49 out of 90 legislators with membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), is a darling of the bill drafting body and home to several bills modeled on the council's legislation targeting workers' compensation, unions and public education.

A report by People For the American Way Foundation, Common Cause, the Center for Media and Democracy and Progress Now details the bills drafted by ALEC's large concentration of affiliated legislators in Arizona's State senate, and compares it to model legislation identified as ALEC-drafted in the past in "ALEC in Arizona: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests in the Halls of Arizona's Legislature."
"ALEC-member legislators are unabashedly continuing to push legislation straight from corporate headquarters to Arizona's lawbooks," said Marge Baker, executive vice president at People For the American Way Foundation. "Well-heeled special interests are circumventing the democratic system and bypassing Arizona's citizens, who can't match the level of access that ALEC provides. As a result, Arizonans are facing an endless assault from laws that serve the interests of the rich and powerful instead of everyday people."

Two-thirds of Republican legislative leaders, and at least eight previous Senate presidents in Arizona have been ALEC members, said the report, noting that the lack of a definitive list of legislators involved in the council may be even higher.  READ MORE