At least 10 Wisconsin lawmakers are headed this week to a national legislative conference in New Orleans that is largely funded by major corporations and industry associations.
Nine of the 10 expected to attend the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual conference from Wisconsin are Republicans, said Sen. Robert Welch (R-Redgranite), chairman of the state’s 53-legislator ALEC chapter.
ALEC is more conservative than the National Conference of State Legislatures, which drew 19 Wisconsin lawmakers to its conference in Philadelphia last week, Welch said. Just three of its Wisconsin’s 53 ALEC members are Democrats.
The organization has more than 300 contributing sponsors. Representatives of major corporations serve on a Private Enterprise Board that advises the ALEC board of directors, which is composed ofstate legislators from across the country.
The enterprise board last year included executives of Coors Brewing, Philip Morris, GTE Corp., Anheuser-Busch, Seagram, Shell Oil, American Express, Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble and R.J. Reynolds. All or most of those companies also contribute to ALEC’s funding, officials said.
