At this week’s Public Affairs Discussion Group, Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, will lead a conversation titled “The Wizard Behind the Curtain: ALEC and State Legislatures in 2014.”
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the country, is barely visible to the American public. ALEC focuses on state legislation and is organized as a tax-exempt membership organization for state legislators. It receives almost all of its budget (more than $9 million in 2011) from corporations and conservative donors. Task forces of both legislators and private sector members draft model legislation, which its members then propose in their states. Hanauer, who is not an ALEC supporter, will discuss ALEC’s current agenda and role in Ohio and other states’ politics.
Hanauer is the founding executive director of Policy Matters Ohio. Before starting Policy Matters in 2000, Amy did research and policy work in Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington, D.C. In addition to running Policy Matters, Hanauer does research on work, wages, tax policy, energy policy and other issues.
The discussion will take place Friday, Feb. 14, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Guilford House first floor lounge. Please note: This is an alternate location for the discussion group.
Since 1989, faculty, emeriti, students and staff have gathered on Fridays for a brown-bag lunch and to discuss topics in public affairs.
For updates and more information about the Friday lunch schedule, visit fridaylunch.case.edu.