Corporations that Have Cut Ties to ALEC

To see a list of corporations and other groups known to be connected with ALEC now or in the past, please see ALEC Corporations.

As of January 2014, at least 72 corporations and 19 non-profits -- for a total of 91 private sector members -- have publicly announced that they cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) (three of those corporations have subsequently returned to ALEC, and many of the non-profits listed by ALEC as "lapsed" in August 2013 share an ideological agenda with and noted their desire to return to ALEC):

Corporations

 * Coca-Cola Company: Gave a statement to the Washington Examiner on April 4th stating that it had "elected to discontinue its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council"
 * Pepsi: Informed Color of Change in a letter dated January 25th that they would not renew their membership in ALEC in 2012.
 * Kraft: Announced in an email on April 6th that "Our membership in ALEC expires this spring and for a number of reasons...we have made the decision not to renew."
 * Intuit: Told the Center for Media and Democracy on April 6th that they did not renew their membership when it expired in 2011.
 * McDonald's: Initially defended its membership in ALEC Announced on April 10th that they had made the decision to withdraw from ALEC at the end of March.
 * Wendy's: Sent an email to the Center for Media and Democracy on April 11th confirming that it is no longer a member of ALEC
 * Mars: Sent an email to Color of Change on April 12th, stating that they had ended their membership with ALEC
 * Reed Elsevier: Told Reuters on April 12th that they had withdrawn "after considering the broad range of criticism being leveled at ALEC,"
 * American Traffic Solutions: Told the Arizona Capitol Times on April 13th that they would not renew their ALEC membership.
 * Blue Cross Blue Shield: Announced on April 19th that it had not renewed its membership in February 2012, but according to an ALEC document, "left after losing on exchanges workshop" and didn't terminate until April 4, 2013.
 * YUM! Brands: Told Color of Change that they would not renew their membership on April 19th.
 * Procter & Gamble: Told Color of Change that it would not renew its membership on April 20th.
 * Kaplan: Wrote Republic Report on April 26th, 2012 to confirm that they were no longer a member of ALEC
 * Scantron Corporation: Told CMD in May 2012 that it was no longer a member of ALEC.
 * Amazon.com: Announced at a shareholder meeting on May 24, 2012 that it had decided not to renew its membership in ALEC this year.
 * Medtronic: Medtronic did not renew its ALEC membership in 2011 or 2012, according to a spokesperson.
 * Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart told Reuters on May 30 that it is suspending its ALEC membership because "we feel that the divide between these activities and our purpose as a business has become too wide," according to Wal-Mart vice president of public affairs and government relations and ALEC corporate board secretary Maggie Sans.
 * Johnson & Johnson: A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told CMD on June 12, "We have been in dialogue with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for some time, and while we acknowledge ALEC’s recent decision to focus only on innovation and growth-supporting policies, we have decided to suspend our participation and membership.”
 * Dell Computers: Dell confirmed on June 21, 2012, that it would not be renewing its ALEC membership.
 * John Deere & Company told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it is leaving ALEC.
 * CVS Caremark told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had discontinued its ALEC membership.
 * MillerCoors told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership in 2012, nor does it plan to.
 * Hewlett-Packard (HP) told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it is not currently an ALEC member.
 * Best Buy told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership in 2012.
 * Express Scripts/Medco (two ALEC members that merged in April 2012) told the Center for Media and Democracy and ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it had dropped its ALEC membership. An August 2013 ALEC board document later suggested that it had not terminated its ALEC membership until January 14, 2013, "b/c of PBM issue."
 * Connections Academy, which had been co-chair of ALEC's Education Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it withdrew from ALEC's Education Task Force in mid-May 2012 in order to align "our affiliations with organizations whose central focus is education."
 * General Motors (GM), which had been a member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and its Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it had "decided to discontinue relations with ALEC at this time."
 * Walgreens, which had been a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force, told ColorOfChange.org in July 2012 that it "will not be renewing its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council."
 * Louis Dreyfus, which sponsored ALEC's 2012 annual meeting, told CMD it had decided not to fund ALEC this year.
 * Amgen, which was a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force, announced its determination not to renew its ALEC membership on August 3 in response to a letter from a group of concerned shareholders and advocates led by Walden Asset Management and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
 * General Electric (GE), which was a member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force as of March 2011, told ColorOfChange.org (CoC) that it decided not to renew its ALEC membership in July 2012.
 * Western Union, which was a member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force as of June 2011, told CoC that the company was only an ALEC member in 2011 and chose not to renew in May 2012.
 * Sprint Nextel, which was a member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force in July 2011, told CoC in August 2012 that it did not renew its ALEC membership in 2012.
 * Symantec, which was a member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force, told CoC in August 2012 that the company's membership expired June 2010 and was not renewed.
 * Reckitt Benckiser Group, which was a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force as of June 2011, told CoC in August 2012 that it is no longer an ALEC member.
 * Entergy, which was a member of ALEC's Civil Justice Task Force as of June 2011, told Walden Asset Management in August 2012 that it did not renew its ALEC membership in 2012.
 * Merck, which told the New Jersey Star-Ledger in September 2012 that it would not renew its ALEC membership after 2012.
 * Sanofi, which confirmed to CMD that it was cutting ties to ALEC in October 2012.
 * Bank of America, which told Walden Asset Management that it was cutting ties to ALEC in November 2012.
 * WellPoint, which announced on March 1, 2013 that it had not attended an ALEC meeting nor supported ALEC financially since the summer of 2011 and has "no current plans to support ALEC or attend any of their meetings," but according to an August 2013 ALEC board document, terminated April 22, 2013 and was then "considering giving funds outside of membership."
 * Bristol-Myers Squibb, which confirmed in March 2013 that it had not renewed its ALEC membership at the end of 2012.
 * Brown-Forman Company, which confirmed in April 2013 that the company declined to renew its ALEC membership in 2012
 * Publix Super Markets, which announced on June 24, 2013, via social media that it had "not been a member of ALEC since 2011."
 * GlaxoSmithKline, whose CEO, Sir Andrew Witty, said in a response to a shareholder's question at the company's annual meeting in May 2013 that the company had decided to sever its relationship with ALEC
 * Unilever, whose president, Kees Kruythoff, stated in a letter to shareholders sent earlier this year, "Unilever is not a member of ALEC following a review undertaken at the end of 2011. We took the decision that ALEC's agenda did not align with our business objectives and values focused on social, economic, and environmental sustainability, and withdrew as a member."
 * ConocoPhillips spokesperson Daren Beaudo confirmed to CMD in June 2013 that the company is no longer a member of ALEC, did not fund ALEC in 2012, and has no plans to do so in 2013.
 * Sallie Mae announced quietly in September 2013 that it had cut ties with ALEC, after a student-led campaign demanded its exit, gathering nearly 15,000 petition signatures in August.
 * Visa told Boston Common Asset Management, which had been engaging with the company over the past year on lobbying disclosure, that it had dropped its ALEC membership in December 2013.
 * Xcel Energy, the ALEC corporate state chair of Wisconsin as of August 2011, told the Boulder Weekly in January 2014 that it was a member of ALEC until 2011 and that it hadn't funded ALEC since 2010.
 * Endo Pharmaceuticals, a member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force as of April 2012, announced that it had cut ties with ALEC in January 2014 after engagement with Trillium Asset Management

An August 2013 ALEC board document released by The Guardian in December 2013 listed the following additional corporations as "LAPSED Members" of ALEC, with the accompanying "termination date," and any notes added by ALEC:


 * Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, 1/14/2013
 * Roche Diagnostics Corporation, 1/14/2013
 * Ryan, Inc. (a tax services firm, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 1/14/2013
 * SICPA Product Security LLC (supplier of security inks for banknotes and other documents, such as cigarette excise stamps), member of ALEC's now-defunct [[Public Safety and Elections Task Force; terminated its membership on January 14, 2013 while "waiting to see what issues emerge in JPP [ALEC's Justice Performance Project, which replaced the Public Safety and Elections Task Force]; cigarette" (?).
 * Taser International (member of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force and Civil Justice Task Force), 1/14/2013
 * Home Depot, Inc. (member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force, 1/14/2013
 * AGL Resources, Inc. (natural gas company, member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force), "did not want to renew," 1/18/2013
 * Academic Partnerships (an online higher education company, member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 3/18/2013
 * Macquarie Capital USA (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), 3/17/2013
 * LoanMax (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), "told us they do not want to renew" 3/19/2013
 * McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP (law firm), 3/19/2013
 * Coventry Health Care (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "joined for single issue," terminated 4/4/2013
 * Bridgepoint Education (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 4/16/2013
 * Cintra US (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), "will not renew" 4/16/2013
 * Dr Pepper Snapple Group, 4/22/2013
 * EMD Serono (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "budget cuts" 4/22/2013
 * Lowe's Companies, Inc. (home improvement chain, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 4/22/2013
 * Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "contact difficult to get a hold of; possibly did not renew because only interested in diabetes related issue" 4/22/2013
 * UnitedHealth Group (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "left along with BCBS" 4/22/2013

Trade Associations and Non-Profits

 * Gates Foundation: Gates spokesman Chris Williams, while careful to note that Gates has never been a formal ALEC member, told Roll Call on April 9, 2012 that it does not plan to renew its financial support for ALEC's education initiatives. "We have made a single grant, narrowly and specifically focused on providing information to ALEC-affiliated state legislators on teacher effectiveness and school finance," said Williams.
 * National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): In an official statement sent to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) on May 1, 2012, NBPTS spokesperson Brian Lewis said, "Given recent events, the new NBPTS President and CEO decided to discontinue engagement with ALEC. As a result, NBPTS terminated its membership as an Education Task Force Member of ALEC effective April 18, 2012, and also withdrew from participating in the upcoming ALEC conference. . . . The decision to participate in ALEC had been made by previous NBPTS leadership."
 * National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA): On May 14, 2012, NACSA issued a press release announcing that, "As part of our annual review processes, however, we determined that alternative strategies would be more effective in achieving these policy objectives. Thus we will not be renewing our membership in ALEC when it expires next month."
 * Lumina Foundation for Education: A Lumina spokesperson told CMD on May 23, 2012, "Lumina Foundation last paid annual dues to ALEC on 10/08/10. No staff member was able to attend meetings in 2011. We decided not to renew our membership, because we were not participating."
 * Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): In December 2012, SEIA said in an email to supporters that it had joined ALEC earlier in 2012 to promote bipartisan energy policies, but had decided not to renew its membership. An August 2013 ALEC document noted that SEIA "left because their bill did not pas the task force."
 * American Wind Energy Association (AWEA): In January 2013, AWEA dropped out of ALEC and warned state lawmakers not to be taken in by ALEC's message, one that AWEA spokesperson Peter Kelley told Greenwire is driven by fossil fuel companies.

An August 2013 ALEC board document released by The Guardian in December 2013 listed the following additional trade groups and non-profits as "LAPSED Members" of ALEC, with the accompanying "termination date" listed in ALEC's spreadsheet, as well as any notes made by ALEC (NOTE: MANY OF THESE GROUPS SHARE IDEOLOGICAL AIMS WITH ALEC):


 * American Council of Trustees & Alumni (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 1/14/2013
 * Associated Builders and Contractors (member of ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force), 1/14/2013
 * James Madison Institute (a member of the State Policy Network (SPN) and member of ALEC's Education Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), "former SPN members- SPN did not renew membership," 2/13/2013
 * Commonwealth Institute (an SPN member and member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force), "former SPN members- would like to join again if can fit in budget," 3/9/2013
 * Pioneer Institute (an SPN member and member of ALEC's Education Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "kicked out of ALEC (?) because of education issue," 3/18/2013
 * Center for Competitive Politics (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force), "JPP no longer works on issue," 3/19/2013
 * Citizens Against Government Waste (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force and Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), 4/12/2013
 * AARP, 4/16/2013
 * Bill of Rights Institute (member of ALEC's Education Task Force), 4/16/2013
 * National Center for Policy Analysis (SPN associate member and member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force and Health and Human Services Task Force), "Budget cutbacks," 4/16/2013
 * Doctor-Patient Medical Association (member of ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force), "unable to reach contact; history of being late on payments," 4/22/2013
 * U.S. Chamber of Commerce Campaign for Free Enterprise (member of ALEC's Education Task Force; NOTE: other U.S. Chamber of Commerce projects/subsidiaries remain members of ALEC), 4/22/2013
 * John Locke Foundation (SPN member, member of ALEC's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force and Education Task Force), "Former SPN members- would like to join again if can fit in budget," 5/11/2013

Corporations that Claimed They Were Cutting Ties but Returned to ALEC

 * Wells Fargo, which was a member of ALEC in 2011, told CMD in September 2012 that it declined to renew its ALEC membership in 2012, and then subsequently sponsored ALEC's 2013 Annual Meeting in Chicago.
 * Arizona Public Service told the Arizona Capitol Times on April 12th that its membership expired that summer and they would not renew it, then rejoined ALEC in November 2012, paying "$7,000 in membership fees and an additional $3,000 to have a seat on ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force," again according to the Arizona Capitol Times.
 * EnergySolutions, which had been a member of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force, told CMD in July 2012 that it had been an ALEC member but was no longer "in a position to contribute at this time," but still listed as member of host committee in July 25-29, 2012 meeting brochure and rejoined ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force on June 12, 2013.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
 * ALEC Corporations
 * ALEC Non-Profits
 * ALEC Trade Groups
 * ALEC Law Firms
 * Legislators Who Have Cut Ties to ALEC
 * ALEC Politicians