State's top ALEC officials say group is becoming more transparent
So what is this sh*t???? Give me a break.
Wisconsin Republican leaders say a controversial pro-business organization is becoming more transparent — especially as colleagues have dropped their taxpayer-funded membership in recent years and corporate sponsors have pulled back.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) needs to do a better job telling its story to the public, said Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, who recently became the state Assembly chairman for ALEC.
“They’ve let the folks who disagree with us define who we are. That’s their biggest mistake,” Nygren said of the group. “If that means telling their story more, sharing more information, so be it.”
ALEC has faced increasing scrutiny from liberal critics who have decried the group’s practice of lawmakers and corporate sponsors crafting model state legislation behind closed doors.
Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, the state Senate chairwoman who last week became ALEC’s second vice-chairwoman, defended the group as a valuable resource in developing legislation that supports free markets, limited government and other conservative ideals.
“There have been setbacks, I won’t deny that,” Vukmir said. “And that’s because of this continual attack on the left trying to make this organization out to be something that it’s not.”
ALEC spokesman Bill Meierling said the organization now posts its model legislation, meeting agendas and IRS forms online and no longer stamps communications to members as confidential, a practice that liberal critics such as the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy have highlighted.
Those changes came in the past year as membership in the 40-year-old organization declined, partly due to outcry that erupted after the death of Trayvon Martin and ALEC’s support for stand-your-ground legislation, but also because of member concerns about transparency, Meierling said.
“The fundamental issue is people want to know,” Meierling said. “Critics of the organization and supporters of the organization say let sun shine on everything.”
CMD lawyer Brendan Fischer noted the organization still does not disclose which lawmakers and corporations participate, and the public doesn’t have access to certain ALEC committee meetings where legislators introduce bill drafts and corporate representatives can influence whether they become model bills.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/state-s-top-alec-officials-say-group-is-becoming-more/article_99c279d9-aa63-570e-8edb-f90340898c58.html
I'm not kidding, I'm gonna puke right here, right now. 
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