MADISON — Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir has released documents
related to her work with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council as part of a settlement of an open records lawsuit filed by the liberal Center for Media and Democracy.
The group’s attorney, Brendan Fischer, told the Wisconsin State Journal that the documents provide the first evidence that an effort by ALEC to rebrand itself as being legislator-driven is “just a sham.”
The more than 100 pages of records show Vukmir sponsored a model bill under the direction of a Florida lobbying group, after voting last spring on an ALEC policy allowing only lawmakers, and not lobbyists, to introduce model bills.
“This demonstrates that ALEC is really a lobbyist-driven organization,” Fischer said. “The lobbyists are the ones calling the shots. The legislators are just following along.”
