Investigating Corporate Influence
In May 2017, petroleum refiner and pipeline operator Valero Energy placed a phone call to then-Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, asking for support on HB 1123. The measure increased criminal penalties for those who trespass on a “critical infrastructure facility,” including pipelines, refineries, storage facilities and electrical power generating facilities. “They think it will help deter …
Robert Murray, CEO of the coal company Murray Energy Corporation, will host a private fundraising event for President Trump in Wheeling, West Virginia on July 24, 2019, according to an event invitation obtained by Documented. The event has been widely reported. Documented is the first to publish the invitation to the event as well as …
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The oil refinery lobbying group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) drafted a joint Governors’ letter “vigorously” supporting the Trump Administration’s proposed rule that would rollback Obama-era Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and asked for signatures from the Governors of Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The email correspondence, obtained by Documented through a public records …
A membership list detailing the names of more than 200 members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals dozens of legislators not previously associated with the group. The list of members on the ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development (CIED) task force, was obtained by Documented through an Ohio public records request. The CIED …
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The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), which receives substantial funding from numerous fossil fuel industry entities, will host an “oil and gas summit” in Houston, Texas on Monday, April 8. A copy of a heavily redacted draft agenda, obtained by Documented via a pubic records request from the North Dakota Attorneys General office, outlines a …
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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will not hold its long-standing Spring Task Force Summit, according to an email obtained by Documented through a state public record request. The event was one of three annual ALEC events where lawmakers and corporate lobbyists gather at high-end hotels to vote as equals behind closed doors on “model” …
President Trump’s Energy Secretary Rick Perry will headline an event at a Washington, D.C. steakhouse hosted by RealClearPolitics. The post describes the event as “presented by” two coal lobbying groups, the National Mining Association (NMA) and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). According to the most recent financial disclosures filed with the IRS, obtained …
Bill Wehrum, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation and a former industry lawyer, continued to meet with fossil fuel interests regulated by the agency, according to five months of scheduling records from 2018 obtained by Documented. While the EPA makes some calendars for senior staff publicly available, including …
Last month, the New York Times published an in-depth investigation detailing the oil industry’s efforts to build support for the Trump Administration’s proposed rule that would roll back Obama-era corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE) aimed at curbing climate change. New emails obtained by Documented reveal similar efforts by the oil refinery lobbying group, American …
Last fall, Marathon Petroleum lobbyist Stephen Higley teamed up with climate change denier Myron Ebell on a “model” resolution for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) praising President Trump’s “energy and environmental policy accomplishments.” The purpose of “model” resolutions in ALEC is for legislators to introduce them in statehouses across the country to declare the …
Continue reading “Fact-Checking ALEC: Where Do Its “Model” Bills Come From?”