Close ties between ALEC and state government

Jonathan Williams, director of the tax and fiscal policy task force for the American Legislative Exchange Council, is scheduled to testify today before the House and Senate tax committees, presumably in support of Gov. Sam Brownback's tax-reform proposal. ALEC is a corporate-funded group that provides "model" legislation to states on issues ranging from taxes to voter ID to climate change. Williams also is to speak at a luncheon today for state lawmakers sponsored by the Kansas Policy Institute, Americans for Prosperity-Kansas and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. About 50 Kansas legislators are ALEC members, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. Several groups are planning a protest in Topeka on Feb. 15 about the close ties between ALEC and the Brownback administration. "ALEC is the primary influence on the current administration, not Kansans," Kansans United in Voice and Spirit said in a statement.

This story was originally published February 7, 2012 at 6:01 AM with the headline "Close ties between ALEC and state government."