INSTITUTE INDEX: Will Trayvon Martin killing bankrupt ALEC?

By Sue Sturgis / December 6, 2013

The American Legislative Exchange Council has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, and it appears to be hurting the corporate interest advocacy group's bottom line.

Number of companies that quit the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) after the 2011 shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, whose assailant defended himself under the state's Stand Your Ground law promoted by the group, which brings together state politicians and corporations to promote a pro-business agenda: more than 60

Portion of its projected income ALEC lost in the first six months of this year alone, according to leaked documents obtained by The Guardian: 1/3

Size of the hole in its income ALEC was facing by the end of June 2013: $1.4 million

Number of lapsed corporate members that ALEC is trying to win back through what it's calling its "Prodigal Son Project": 40

Number of state legislators who quit ALEC after the Trayvon Martin shooting: almost 400

Number of state legislators who currently belong to ALEC: 1,810

Portion of all state lawmakers nationwide that number represents: almost 1/4

Number who belonged before Martin's death: 2,200

Date on which ALEC formed the Jeffersonian Project, a new 501(c)(4) group, after critics accused the 501(c)(3) nonprofit of illegal lobbying: 12/21/2012

Number of IRS complaints that have been filed charging ALEC with engaging in illegal lobbying: 3

Year in which ALEC, facing growing pressure to disclose its activities, began stamping materials it gives legislators with a "disclaimer" saying the documents are not subject to state open records law, even though many states have long required lawmakers to disclose communications from outside groups: 2013

Month in which Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, rejected ALEC's claim that sunshine laws threaten its "freedom of association" rights to communication with lawmakers: 9/2013

Number of reporters allowed to attend the task force meetings at ALEC's annual policy summit held this week in Washington, D.C. and sponsored by corporations including Reynolds American, Peabody Energy, AT&T, Chevron and Time Warner Cable: 0

Date on which U.S. Rep. Ted Cruz (R-Fla.), a former ALEC member, addressed the group's annual policy summit and told it to "stand your ground" against criticism: 12/5/2013

Number of new members the group claims it's gotten beyond what was recorded in the leaked documents: 53

(Click on figure to go to source.)

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