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Florida Watch Protests Koch's "Tentacles Of Influence" Into Florida Newspapers

Florida Watch Action will be protesting the potential sale of the Orlando Sentinel and other Tribune Company newspapers to the Koch Brothers in Orlando this afternoon. 

Protests have been held at other papers owned by the Tribune Company recently as well. At the Los Angeles Times, half their staff threatened to quit, should the Koch's buy the paper, and around 300 labor union members and activists protested earlier this week at an investment firm that holds a 20% stake in the Tribune Company. Last week another protest was held at the Chicago Tribune.

From Florida Watch:

The “billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch have bought more politicians, think tanks, colleges and universities, and media outlets than you can shake a stick at," the group says in a promotion of the planned protest outside the Sentinel set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

"And their tentacles of influence are spreading further," the group said. "Now they are trying to purchase eight daily newspapers, including the Orlando and Sun Sentinel, to further their libertarian anti-government, anti-union agenda.”

The Tribune Company's CEO went on the defensive yesterday and sent an email to employees Wednesday calling speculation about a transaction premature:

“A sale transaction is only one of our possible strategic options, and there are many others.”

The Koch Brothers caused a similar stir when they began funding at Florida State University, funding that was subject to their approval of chosen professors, even though they claimed they would have no agenda or economics influence over the curriculum. They also fund the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Americans for Prosperity, Tea Party groups and the Cato Institute.

If they were to buy the newspapers in Florida, it would push much of the news influence far to the right, especially in the I-4 corridor, the more progressive part of the state. As Progress Florida puts it, it would be tantamount to a Tea Party takeover of Florida news:

The Koch Brothers are chief architects and funders of the extreme right wing political machine. They're behind corporate front group "think tanks" like the Heritage Foundation and the CATO Institute. The Kochs are also the largest funders of the Tea Party movement and are notorious peddlers of falsehoods about Medicare, Social Security, worker’s rights, climate change, and more.

It's important that local newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel remain unbiased sources of reliable news, not as propaganda outlets for the Koch Brothers' extreme ideological machine. But if the Koch Brothers are allowed to purchase the Tribune Company, that is exactly what will happen.

There's a reason why freedom of the press is mentioned in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The health of our democracy is based on a well-informed citizenry. The Koch Brothers' attempt to subvert local media is a direct attack on this fundamental foundation of our country.

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Reactions from Democrats and Progressives to the 2013 Legislative session:

Statement from Progress Florida executive director Mark Ferrulo:

"In dissecting the 2013 legislative session, one thing is clear, Florida has the wrong leaders with the wrong priorities. Floridians want effective and efficient government that improves our quality of life and protects the middle class. What Republican leadership delivered was a 60 day corporate special interest feeding frenzy.

"Floridians want economic fairness, quality public schools and access to health care. What we got instead was a refusal to expand access to health care, more attacks on our public schools, and hundreds of millions in corporate tax giveaways.

"Not only did Gov. Scott and legislative leaders ignore the priorities of working families, they doubled down on a commitment to govern from the far right and at the beck and call of corporate donors."

 

STATEMENT FROM FL DEMS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCOTT ARCENEAUX:

"The 2013 legislative session was a loss for Florida's middle class. It will best be remembered for Governor Rick Scott and House Speaker Will Weatherford's complete failure to expand affordable healthcare to 1.2 million Floridians. Weatherford placed such a premium on catering to the Tea Party that he rejected federal funding and the creation of over 120,000 permanent jobs that Medicaid's expansion would have brought to our state. Scott, who reversed his position on expanding Medicaid just before session, proved that when he said he 'cannot, in good conscience, deny the uninsured access to care,' it was nothing more than an electioneering gimmick. Health care costs for every Floridan will now go up as a result. 

"The Governor refused to lead on this issue and sat silently by as Will Weatherford and House Republicans put politics before a morally and economically sensible policy. The GOP-led House instead spent their time on divisive social issues and doling out hundreds of millions in corporate tax giveaways. With thousands of lives on the line, this refusal to act in the best interests of the people of Florida is unconscionable."

 

Democratic Leader Perry Thurston Calls For A Special Session:

THURSTON: ‘Governor Scott, please order the Florida Legislature into special session’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Legislature adjourned the 2013 regular legislative session Sine Die on May 3 without adequately addressing a crisis of uninsured Floridians. House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston (D-Fort Lauderdale) issued the following statement:

“To save lives and improve health outcomes, to create jobs and grow our economy, Florida House Democratic Caucus members proudly fought throughout the 2013 legislative session, and will continue to fight, for an expansion of health care coverage for working Floridians.

“Unfortunately for our state, the Florida House of Representatives, under Republican leadership, failed to meet the health care needs of our citizens.

“Despite ample opportunities to pass a bipartisan health care solution that enjoys the backing of Republican Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Senate, House Republican leadership dropped the ball.

“By blocking passage this session of a plan that would dramatically help 1.2 million of Florida’s low-income and working families, many Floridians are disappointed and will continue, despite the session’s end, to expect the governor and Legislature to approve a bipartisan health coverage expansion compromise that relies upon available federal funds.

“Therefore, I call on Governor Scott to take prudent action and to please order the Florida Legislature into special session at the earliest convenience to pass a bipartisan health coverage expansion plan for Florida’s working families.”

 

Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach), From the Miami Herald:

Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, said it was difficult to address Florida’s needs when more than a third of the budget is tied up in trust funds that restrict spending to specific line items. That millions get reserved for street beautifications while other health care and elderly care needs go unmet is not acceptable, he said.

“The budget is not plugged into the reality of what’s happening outside this chamber,” Pafford said. 

 

From "Protest" To Praise: Florida Democrats Cave To Republicans, Again

“I would like to thank Mr. Speaker for a bipartisan affair,” said state Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton. “Sorry we had a meltdown for a little bit, but we are real happy.”

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Progress Florida: It's Time For Real Ethics Reform From The Florida Legislature

You've probably heard that Gov. Scott's hand-picked Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll resigned yesterday amid a federal racketeering probe. What you may not have heard is that the legislature is working to pass "ethics reform" that will do little to stop the culture of
corruption that's consuming Florida.

Now more than ever, we need real ethics reform that will stop the worst abuses of the public trust that pervade our government.

Sign our petition to the Florida Legislature demanding real ethics reform.

Ethical scandals have always been a part of politics, but corruption has reached epidemic levels in Florida. Between 2000 and 2010, our state led the nation in federal corruption convictions.¹ Gov. Scott's administration has been no stranger to scandal either, with Chief of Staff Steve McNamara resigning under a dark cloud in 2011.² Just this week, a news investigation revealed that a handful of GOP state representatives helped set up a fly-by-night company which a state auditor said should never have received public funds.³

The Florida Legislature's response so far? A watered down, half baked bill that conveniently ignores key recommendations from Florida's grand jury on public corruption.⁴ The Florida House's version of "ethics reform" would amazingly allow even more money to flood our political process, with all the special interest influence peddling that goes with it. The legislature's ethics reform plan only seems to protect politicians, not the people. Real ethics reform begins with adopting the main components of the grand jury's recommendations:

• When a public official's conviction is over a violation motivated by money, the public official should be charged with a felony.
• The maximum fine for an ethics violation should be raised to $100,000, above the current limit of only $10,000.
• The state ethics commission should be able to launch independent investigations of its own. Currently, a citizen must file a complaint in order for an investigation to be launched.

There's a lot more to be done, particularly with tackling the suffocating power of corporate special interests, but this is where we need to start.

Florida has seen too many pay to play scandals like Lt. Gov. Carroll's. Sign our petition to the legislature and demand real ethics reform.

Gov. Scott and his allies in the Legislature won't enact real ethics reform because it's the right thing to do. Real ethics reform will only happen if Floridians like you demand it.

A government without trust is a government that threatens the integrity of democracy itself. Sign the petition for real ethics reform, and let's demand a better Florida.

For progress,

Mark, Jon, and the Progress Florida team

 

¹"Study ranks Florida No. 1 in government corruption" Tampa Tribune, 5/31/12.

²"Gov. Rick Scott's chief of staff Steve MacNamara resigns" Tampa Bay Times, 5/12/12.

³"Hardee County politicians with no company or product get millions in grant money" WTSP, 3/12/13.

⁴"Rick Scott promised big ethics reform, but nothing has happened" Miami Herald, 3/7/13.

Statewide Rallies Make The Case For True Election Reform

On the same day the Florida House voted on a bill to undo some of the changes made in election laws that caused the voting mess last year, which critics say won't do enough, Awake The State held "Free The Vote" rallies all across Florida to call attention to the need for real election reform.

The rallies were held to to "fight back against laws that left many Floridians waiting hours in line to exercise their right to vote," according to Awake The State:

"The point is to send a clear message to the Legislature that we want to see meaningful election reform during the legislative session," said Damien Filer, of Progress Florida, organizers of Awake the State. 

"The sad thing is that what we're really asking for here with most of these provisions is just to go back to the things were," he said. "We're not asking for anything new. We're just asking them to undo the damage they did in 2011."

Three key points, organizers said are 1) Expanding the number of early voting days back to 14 and allowing 12 hours per day while giving election supervisors more flexibility in opening new polling locations. 2) Reinstitute the 75-word cap on constitutional amendments proposed by the legislature, just as citizen-led initiatives are capped. 3) Voters should be able to update their voter registration address on Election Day if they move from one county to another, just as they could prior to 2011.

The bill  (HB 7013) approved yesterday with a vote of 118-1 doesn't go far enough, however:

It allows early-voting polling places at more kinds of sites, like fairgrounds, civic centers and convention centers. And it sets a 75-word limit on proposed initial ballot summaries to constitutional amendments.

The bill also restores the possibility of early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, when blacks often vote after church in a tradition known as "souls to the polls."]

[House Democrats said they wanted more in the measure, citing online voter registration, automatic voter registration upon renewal of driver's licenses and a path to restoring felons' right to vote.

But the bill as passed is "a good first step," said Janet Cruz of Tampa, the top Democrat on the House Ethics and Elections Subcommittee.

Rep. Dwayne Taylor, a Daytona Beach Democrat, did complain that the bill contains no money to allow local supervisors of elections to get better equipment and hire more staff for longer early voting at more places.

"We've got to allocate those dollars because they're going to need them," he said.

A companion bill (SB 600) is now in the Senate and covers many of the same provisions as the House bill.

At the Free The Vote rally at the Capitol, Senators spoke out against the election problems as well as Rick Scott's handling of them:

Senate Ethics and Elections committee member Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, voiced his frustrations at the embarrassment of the 2012 elections at the Awake the State rally.

“What we are doing is not working and it didn’t work in 2012 when we had six, seven hour lines for people to be able to vote in the state of Florida,” Clemens said. “That is nothing less than criminal and frankly it disgusts me to see people walking around saying it wasn’t that much of a problem as we’ve heard from certain members of the House and certain members of the Senate.”

Rallies were also held in Palm Beach County, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, Jacksonville, Tampa, and other locations.

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Florida Progressives Announce 2013 Middle Class Agenda

Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action, and America Votes have announced their 2013 Middle Class Agenda prior to this year's legislative session, which begins next week.

For two years, they have recognized those members of the legislature who support policies that benefit families in Florida as "Champions of the Middle Class." Last year there were 27, and prior to that, 22.

The 2013 Agenda:

This year, we are announcing our 2013 Middle Class Agenda before the legislative session begins so you know what issues you will be scored on as session convenes. Below, please find the top ten issue areas where your votes will determine whether you are named a "Champion of Florida’s Middle Class":

1. Guaranteeing Free, Quality Public Education – We must ensure Floridians’ constitutionally protected right to a “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools” by rejecting efforts to revive the so-called “parent trigger” bill and curtailing the use of private school vouchers, both of which slash public education funding while privatizing public education for corporate gain. Charter schools should not be funded by taxpayers at the expense of public schools. We cannot continue the practice of cutting K-12 and higher education funding and threaten our state’s Bright Futures Scholarship program.

2. Creating and Protecting Quality Middle Class Jobs – Florida’s Defined Benefit retirement plan is one of the strongest in the nation and should be strengthened and preserved, rather than phased out in favor of risky 401(k) type plans. Florida’s low-income earners should be protected from corporate extremists aiming to preempt local laws designed to prevent wage theft or provide benefits such as earned sick time. Public employees should not face the threat of job loss due to corporate privatization schemes like the prison plan that narrowly failed last year. The legislature should not be placing large corporations over small businesses and middle class working families. Florida should be putting our main street, family owned small businesses first.

3. Ensuring Effective, Efficient Government – Corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. We cannot continue the practice of increasing billion dollar corporate tax breaks and subsidies and pushing for further reductions or the elimination of the corporate income tax altogether while slashing funding for education and neglecting the needs of the state's small businesses.  Large corporations must pay their fair share and corporate tax loopholes should be closed once and for all.  Inefficient government practices, like taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power plants and other handouts to big business that don’t help create jobs, should be stopped. Cutting corporate taxes simply rewards big business and the wealthy and does nothing to aid job creation.

4. Promoting a Stronger Democracy and Protecting Voting Rights – To avoid a repeat of last year’s election fiasco, when voters endured unforgivable wait times of up to eight hours (the longest in the nation), we need to return to a minimum of at least 14 days and 12 hours per day of early voting for all Florida voters. Voters should have the same access to the ballot regardless of what county they reside in. The legislature should be held to the same 75-word maximum for constitutional amendments that citizen-led constitutional amendments are.

5. Ending Corporate Welfare and Protecting Small Businesses – Attracting new businesses and industries to Florida should be a top priority this legislative session, but that goal cannot be achieved without creating a balanced approach to the state's budget problems, making smart investments in education and infrastructure, ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and making sure corporations pay their fair share so that small businesses have a competitive opportunity against large corporations.

6. Reforming Tallahassee’s Culture of Corruption – In order to reach optimal government effectiveness we must clean up the culture of corruption in Tallahassee and push for real ethics reform. These reforms would prohibit the use of Committees of Continuous Existence (CCEs) except to engage in political activities related to the election or re-election of candidates; provide teeth for the Commission on Ethics to go after those current and past elected officials who have been found to have violated ethics and elections laws; eliminate the revolving door of legislators and their staff leaving public service to lobby their former colleagues; and keep contribution limits to candidates low while increasing disclosure and transparency.

7. Providing Access to Affordable Health Care – We must address Florida’s high rate of uninsured residents by extending Medicaid to pay for health care coverage for nearly a million Florida families in dire need. Florida must take advantage of provisions under the Affordable Care Act to set up a state health insurance marketplace in 2014 that will allow millions more Floridians to have access to affordable health care coverage.

8. Protecting Our Land and Water – The successful Florida Forever conservation and recreational land buying program should be restored. Attempts by corporate polluters to influence policy when it comes to protecting our water should be rejected. Any efforts to expand the dirty and dangerous practice of oil drilling on state owned land should also be rejected.

9. Advancing Women’s Rights and Equality – Lawmakers should stop putting politics in the exam room by introducing bills that restrict access to health care services, and instead make it easier for more women to access health care. Florida lawmakers should also support ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations.

10. Protecting Homeowners – Homeowners should be protected from predatory practices that have contributed to the state’s sky-high foreclosure rate. Homeowners should be allowed every opportunity to save their homes and should be afforded their day in court.

Last November voters made clear that we need political leaders who will stand up for Florida’s working and middle class families, and now it is time to heed their call by helping advance the 2013 Middle Class Agenda.

 

New Website Educates Floridians On Health Care Coverage Under The ACA

From Progress Florida:

Progress Florida and Florida CHAIN have launched Health Care for Florida Now to educate Floridians about new health coverage opportunities and to engage public support to protect, implement, and support the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The newly unveiled website is at www.healthcareforflorida.org and acts as a clearinghouse for information on ACA implementation and Medicaid expansion in Florida.

One of the key elements of the ACA is the extension of the Medicaid program, which will address Florida's high rate of uninsured residents. Over a million people will become eligible for coverage - many of whom have jobs but still cannot afford health insurance. Accepting the funds will also help to spur Florida's still stagnant economy. Failure to expand Medicaid will make it much more expensive for the uninsured to obtain coverage and will have a negative impact on local hospitals and nursing homes, which are essential to maintaining strong local economies.

"If Florida rejects the federal Medicaid dollars that have already been put aside for this purpose, hard-working families that can't afford insurance will continue to crowd emergency rooms, straining local economies," said Laura Goodhue, executive director of Florida CHAIN. "Meanwhile, our federal tax dollars will go to other states, pushing Florida health programs to do more with less. Gov. Scott should seize this vital opportunity and we remain hopeful he will do the right thing," added Goodhue.

Another key feature of the ACA is the creation of a health insurance marketplace in 2014 that will allow millions of Florida families to have affordable health care coverage. By providing a competitive health care marketplace, consumers will have more control, higher quality choices and better protections when buying insurance. It brings real competition and greater transparency to the insurance industry. The marketplace will help low and middle-income Floridians qualify for ACA tax credits that will ensure that good coverage is also affordable coverage.

The new website will help Floridians learn how these health care law changes will benefit Florida families and businesses.

(Graphic: Health Care for Florida Now)

Florida 2012 Informed Voters' Ballot Guides

Let This Image Sink In For A Moment

The deadline for voter registration in Florida ended yesterday, and now that absentee and vote by mail ballots are already arriving, it's a good time to remind ourselves how important our votes in this election are. Not just in the Presidential election, but locally as well.

In Florida, there are 11 Constitutional Amendments placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature this election. (A 12th amendment was removed.)

It isn't just the amendments that are of importance to Floridians either. Several Florida Supreme Court Justices have come under attack from Republicans and outside special interests, like the Koch brothers political action committee, Americans For Prosperity. Their targets? Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince, who struck down a 2010 amendment written to nullify the Affordable Care Act. If they're successful, Florida Governor Rick Scott will be free to hand pick new judges as their replacements.

Let that sink in for a moment, Florida:

Rick Scott would hand pick the judges that will make his ideological decisions, for you, for years to come.

These judges are up for merit retention votes on the ballot as well.

The League of Women Voters of Florida is urging voters to say "no" to all 11, along with Progress Florida and many other groups, as are most Florida newspapers, and for good reason. The Amendments were written deceptively in the hopes that voters would perhaps skip reading all the details, or have the time to do their own research.

Don't be fooled. Be informed.

Progress Florida has put together their 2012 Informed Voters' Ballot Guide, which highlights some of the Amendments, and the merit retention votes. You can find it here, and here.

A few points on some of those amendments from Progress Florida, for example:

Amendment 3 makes an unfair tax system even more unfair for families and small businesses. Everyone wants their tax dollars used effectively and to cut wasteful spending, but Amendment 3 is a wolf in sheep's clothing that allows Tallahassee politicians to protect an unfair system that benefits large corporations at the expense of public schools, small businesses and working families.

Amendment 5 is a power grab by Tallahassee politicians and lobbyists to take over our courts. Amendment 5 gives politicians more power over our courts and is opposed by the people who know what works and doesn’t in our justice system – judges and the people that work in our courthouses all across Florida.

Amendment 6 lets politicians interfere in women’s personal medical decisions. Every woman deserves to make her own personal health care decisions based on her values and her doctor’s advice – without politicians interfering.

Amendment 8 isn't really about “religious freedom” at all. Amendment 8 actually allows any religious group or sect to use our tax dollars to fund their own religious schools. Worse, it includes no oversight to safeguard the tax dollars our government will be “giving away,” leaving the door open to massive fraud and abuse.

Here is a guide to why the League of Women Voters is opposed to the Amendments.

Again, don't be fooled, be informed.

That advice may be more important this election than ever before.

Yes, There Is A Progressive, Liberal Alternative To The RNC!

 No, We're Not Going Back

If you don't consider "progressive" and "liberal" to be four letter words, think everyone should have equal rights regardless of the color of their skin, gender, sexual orientation, and religion, recognize that paying taxes is patriotism with an actual purpose, don't jump to bomb or shoot as a solution of first resort, and feel everyone's vote should count, you're not alone. It just may seem that way if you're in Tampa the next few days when the Republicans take over the Bay area. They may have a small tent, but they're loud and carry a big chip on their shoulders, so it may not seem that way this week.

Don't let it get you down, there are alternatives for like-minded liberals and progressives in town.

Progress Florida has put together an interactive guide: A Progressive’s Guide to the RNC, which contains events, links and maps to everything on the progressive's to-do list during the convention. Unlike the "members only" mentality of the Republican Party, you don't even have to be a liberal or a progressive to take part in what the guide has to offer.

Free speech. What a concept!

From the guide:

Here is the definitive guide for progressives who want to stand up for the middle class, oppose the Republican Party’s extremist agenda, and get the unscripted, behind the scenes play-by-play. Inclusion in this guide does not necessarily indicate a Progress Florida endorsed event or viewpoint, but we fully support the right of all Americans to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech. Stand up, show up, get involved, share this guide, stay safe, keep it legal, make it loud, and participate!

There are events sponsored by everyone from Rock The Vote to Planned Parenthood to Wonkette. For those who are realistic and science minded, there's even a tracking map to keep tabs on Tropical Storm, and potential Hurricane Isaac, if you're one who realizes that merely being a "hospitality state" makes you immune to disaster (Like Gov. Rick Scott) and that donning a raincoat or poncho is all the protection you need during a hurricane (Like GOP Chair Reince Priebus.)

So bookmark the guide, have fun, and be safe, but keep your eye on the weather.

Report: ALEC Exerts Unprecedented Influence Over Florida

Today Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action, People for the American Way Foundation, Common Cause and ALEC Exposed released a new report detailing the influence of the corporate front group ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council) has over Florida’s policy makers. The report, entitled ALEC in Florida, documents the growing footprint that ALEC has in Florida, including its unprecedented access to elected officials and the drafting of ‘model’ legislation which compliant lawmakers then push into law.

The release of the report coincides with ALEC’s 39th annual meeting being held in Salt Lake City.

It also comes amid the news that two more coporations, General Motors and Walgreens have just cut ties with ALEC, bringing the total to 30 corporations and four non-profits, 34 total private sector members that have cut ties to the right-wing corporate bill mill. (You can see the entire list here.)

ALEC has a huge influence over Florida's legislators who have passed significant "cookie-cutter" legislation in the state, most notably and recently in the news, the Stand Your Ground gun law being used in the Trayvon Martin case.

ALEC's influence also made news when Republican Rep. Rachel Burgin introduced a bill in November of 2011 calling on the federal government to reduce taxes for corporations. She had received the bill from the ALEC, which was written by the Tax Foundation, corporate members of ALEC’s ‘Tax and Fiscal Policy task force” and a group founded and funded by major corporate interests, including the billionaire Koch brothers. She introduced a bill that was the same as the model word-for-word, forgetting to remove the paragraph naming ALEC and describing its principles. Burgin is now involved in an ugly race for the state Senate against Tom Lee.

Some of the key findings from the ALEC in Florida report:

• ALEC model bills introduced across the country have devastating impacts upon public education, consumer protections, environmental protections, workers’ rights, equitable healthcare systems, just tax policy, and voting rights.
• ALEC has a strong and growing presence in Florida. Out of Florida’s 160 state legislators, 60 have had ties with ALEC since 2010. Florida lawmakers’ attendance at ALEC’s 2011 annual conference held in New Orleans was “one of the strongest delegations in years.”
• ALEC’s corporate-funded scholarship fund contained, as of January 1, 2011, $46,467. This fund is used to sponsor ALEC members to attend ALEC conferences, and is also spent – as documented in the report – to wine and dine ALEC Florida members alongside corporate lobbyists. Corporations’ expenditures for the fund can be written off as 501(c)(3) charitable donations on their tax returns.
• ALEC provides Florida members with “issue alerts,” “talking points,” and “press release templates” expressing support or opposition to state legislation, despite its claims that “ALEC does not lobby in any state.” The organization also tracks the status of its model bills in legislatures and bills it does not like, and sends its employees to testify in support of its bills in state houses across the country. ALEC model legislation has been introduced in Florida’s legislature, at times word for word, with devastating results. Last year, ALEC member Rep. Rachel Burgin (R-56) made an embarrassing and revealing mistake when she introduced HM 685 – she forgot to remove ALEC’s insignia on the bill, leaving the ALEC’s footprint fully intact.
• After Florida lawmakers passed the NRA-sponsored Stand Your Ground law in 2005, ALEC took it and ran with it. The dangerous law was made notorious in Florida by the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Today, due to the influence of ALEC and the gun lobby, Stand Your Ground laws are on the books in 32 states.
• In response to ALEC’s extreme agenda, 26 for-profit corporations – including Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and Kraft – four non-profit groups and over 50 lawmakers have dropped ALEC in recent months. This report concludes that Florida-based corporations and Florida ALEC members should do the same.

While ALEC prefers to operate in secret, last year several Florida members admitted to participation with ALEC, one saying she was there to meet with lobbyists and fund-raise while charging her expenses to her campaign.

Dennis Baxley, the man behind the Stand Your Ground law at the time said this:

"It's a great place to share model legislation and a great place to learn what's going on in other parts of the country," said Baxley, who sponsored a major rewrite of Florida's election laws that's under challenge in court.

 The report highlights Florida members:

Out of Florida’s 160 state legislators, 60 have had known ties to ALEC since 2010. In the House, 46 representatives have been affiliated with ALEC; in the Senate, 14 Senators. And ALEC’s presence in Florida is on the rise – according to released documents from Representative Jimmy Patronis’ office, Florida lawmakers’ attendance at ALEC’s 2011 annual conference held in New Orleans was “one of the strongest delegations in years.

In keeping with its secretive nature, ALEC does not publicize its membership, thus making complete and accurate membership rolls nearly impossible to obtain. However, we know the following Florida lawmakers paid membership dues or attended at least one ALEC conference since 2010 (lawmakers believed to have been dues paying members at least once from 2010‐12 are denoted with an asterisk):

*Sen. Michael Bennett (R‐21) *Sen. Larcenia J. Bullard (D‐39) Sen. Lee Constantine (R‐22) *Sen. Nancy C. Detert (R‐23) *Sen. Mike Fasano (R‐11)

*Sen. Anitere Flores (R‐38) *Sen. Rene Garcia (R‐40)
Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R‐26) *Sen. Alan Hays (R‐25)

*Sen. Dennis Jones (R‐13) *Sen. Garrett Richter (R‐37) *Sen. David Simmons (R‐22) *Sen. Ronda Storms (R‐10) Rep. Larry Ahern (R‐51) *Rep. Ben Albritton (R‐66) *Rep. Frank Artiles (R‐119) *Rep. Dennis Baxley (R‐24) Rep. Michael Bileca (R‐117) Rep. Jeff Brandes (R‐52) *Rep. Jason Brodeur (R‐33)

*Rep. Rachel Burgin (R‐56) *Rep. Matt Caldwell (R‐73) *Rep. Dean Cannon (R‐35) Rep. Richard Corcoran (R‐45) Rep. Fred Costello (R‐26) Rep. Steve Crisafulli (R‐32) Rep. Daniel Davis (R‐13) *Rep. Jose Diaz (R‐115)

*Rep. Chris Dorworth (R‐34) *Rep. Brad Drake (R‐5) *Rep. Anitere Flores (R‐114) *Rep. Clay Ford (R‐3)

*Rep. James C. Frishe (R‐54) *Rep. Rich Glorioso (R‐62)
Rep. Eduardo Gonzalez (R‐102) *Rep. Denise Grimsley (R‐77) Rep. Gayle Harrell (R‐81)

*Rep. Doug Holder (R‐70) *Rep. Mike Horner (R‐79) *Rep. Matt Hudson (R‐101)

Rep. Clay Ingram (R‐2)
*Rep. Paige Kreegel (R‐72)
*Rep. John Legg (R‐46)
*Rep. Ana Rivas Logan (R‐114) *Rep. Debbie Mayfield (R‐80) Rep. Charles McBurney (R‐16) Rep. Peter Nehr (R‐48)
Rep. Bryan Nelson (R‐38)
*Rep. Jeanette Nunez (R‐112) *Rep. Jimmy T. Patronis, Jr. (R‐6) *Rep. Ray Pilon (R‐69)
*Rep. Scott Plakon (R‐37)
*Rep. Stephen L. Precourt (R‐41) Rep. Lake Ray (R‐17)
*Rep. Ron Saunders (D‐120) *Rep. Kelli Stargel (R‐64)
Rep. John Tobia (R‐31)
Rep. Carlos Trujillo (R‐116)
Rep. Will Weatherford (R‐61) *Rep. John Wood (R‐65)
Rep. Dana Young (R‐57)

You can read the entire report here.

Progress Florida Launches Campaign Urging Legislators To Sever ALEC Ties

 

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC has been losing support and funding in light of being exposed as one of the groups behind laws like the Stand Your Ground and those involving the current rash of voter suppression efforts across the country by Republicans.

There's also an effort to start pressuring the legislators who cut and paste those laws that we voters and constituents have to live with, and now Progress Florida has launched a statewide campaign urging lawmakers to sever ties with ALEC.

Mark Ferrulo, Progress Florida executive director, said of starting the effort, “ALEC represents what is essentially an unelected, shadow Legislature in Florida. Responsible lawmakers should disavow the group’s extremist and secretive influence on Florida law making.”

Progress Florida is activating its online network of more than 100,000 concerned Floridians to call on Florida legislators to either drop their membership in ALEC or publicly sever all ties. Due to controversy over the tragic death of Trayvon Martin and the "Shoot First" law along with extreme Voter Suppression laws popping up in states around the country, ALEC’s deep tentacles in state policy making are being exposed.

As a result of public pressure regarding their involvement with ALEC, many corporate backers including Wendy's, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Kraft, Intuit, and McDonald's, have all left ALEC.
 
“Dozens of Florida legislators are either members of ALEC or have attended their conferences,” said Ferrulo. “With such an extremist, anti-middle class track record, there is no excuse for our representatives to continue to have any involvement with ALEC.”

If you're not yet familiar with ALEC, they're the corporate funded group who work with lobbyists and conservative politicians to the write "model legislation" that legislators then bring home to their states and pass into law. ALEC, which is largely funded by the Koch brothers among others. Some of those others, like Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Intuit, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wendy's, and McDonald's have recently cut ties with ALEC. For a full list of companies associated with ALEC, you can go here.

If you would like to see which legislators and politicians are known to "work" with ALEC, you can check the extensive list put together by ALECExposed at SourceWatch. The Florida list is here, national list here.

You can join Progress Florida in urging Florida lawmakers to sever ties with ALEC here.