Jodi Hirsh of Pittsburgh writes that ALEC has forty members in the Pennsylvania legislature, and many hold key positions. ALEC is the voice of major corporations, who oppose any sort of government regulations.

She writes that:

“House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, Senate Judiciary Chair Stewart Greenleaf, and House State Government Chair Daryl Metcalfe, as well as the Republican chairs of the Health, Veterans’ Affairs, Educational, Game & Fisheries, Consumer Affairs, Ethics, Commerce, Labor & Industry, State Government, Education, and the Senate’s Law & Justice committees, have all been participants in the organization.”

She says that “If ALEC has its way, Pennsylvanians can look forward to losing paid sick days and minimum wages, forcing schools to teach climate denialism, repealing the capital gains and estate taxesto help the very wealthy, and privatizing education, Medicare, and Medicaid. What kind of state would Pennsylvania become if ALEC’s agenda were fully actualized? Not one that many of us would like to live in.”

ALEC is meeting Wednesday in Chicago for its 40th annual conference. Usually, its meetings are held in remote, luxurious resorts. Chicago is an odd choice for an organization that is at the epicenter of the attack on American public education and on unions, among other issues.