With all eyes on the presidential election, it’s important to keep in mind that many of the laws that affect us most directly — from taxes to marriage equality to voter ID — are made at the state level. The idea that change begins with the states is one of the founding principles of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. In state houses around the country, hundreds of ALEC “model laws” are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers.
Is your representative a member of ALEC? ALEC claims that nearly 2,000 state legislators are members, but doesn’t disclose their names. The Center for Media and Democracy, on their ALEC Exposed site, has a list of nearly 1,000 legislators they believe to be ALEC members. Click on the map or enter your city or street address below (and hit ENTER) to see if your representatives are on the list. If no results are found for your district, help us complete the map by calling your representatives and asking if they belong to ALEC. Then let us know what they say using the pop-up form below, or simply email: editor@ALECexposed.org.
