NCSL meeting draws lawmakers, corporate backing
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As lawmakers from around the country gather in Minneapolis this week to share policy ideas on topics ranging from energy and and climate change to taxation and agriculture, some say the event gives lobbyists and interest groups too much of a chance to influence elected officials.
The goal of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual gathering is for lawmakers from both parties to network and bring new ideas to their states.
“The overall intent of this week is very good,” said Common Cause Minnesota executive director Jeremy Schroeder.
But he also sees a downside to the conference. “What we see is the same thing we see everywhere: by allowing corporate influence, it has this way of changing the dialog.”
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Indeed, some of Minnesota’s most well-known corporations including 3M and General Mills are sponsoring events during the week-long conference. And representatives of companies like Comcast and Cargill will sit next to legislators and public officials from all over the country on policy panels.
Funding for the conference comes from a variety of sources, including registration fees.
Minnesota House Speaker Paul Thissen is a member of the event’s host committee, which is in charge of raising money for the convention center, social events, local transportation, and family programs. He said a big part of his job was convincing Minnesota’s top companies to help fund the conference, including Xcel Energy and Hubbard Broadcasting.
But he said that the level of influence those firms have over discussions at the convention is minimal, in part because attendees are rarely meeting over a specific piece of legislation.
“The opportunity to learn from experts in any number of fields... is good learning experience for legislators,” Thissen said. “Because you’re not focused on particular legislation but on broader policy issues, that brings a different spin to it.”
While members of the private sector are welcome to participate in the meeting, NCSL spokesman Mick Bullock said that the organization maintains autonomy by barring members of the private sector from becoming too involved in NCSL’s decisions. For instance, no members of the private sector are allowed on the organizations’ executive committee and they do not control the content of the meeting’s sessions or programming.
Mary Bottari of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy said those are key differences between the NCSL and the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that brings together legislators and lobbyists to hash out model legislation. It is known for having a conservative bent, supporting legislation having to do with gun rights and right-to-work laws, among other things.
“These are very different institutions,” she said. “ALEC is largely funded by corporations. And corporations are members of ALEC with the same standing as legislators.”
That’s the not the case with NCSL, she said.
Sponsorship of NCSL convention events isn’t limited to corporations, either. At this year’s event, philanthropic foundations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Wallace Foundation, are paying for sessions as well.
Campaign Finance Board executive director Gary Goldsmith, who is speaking at the conference, said it is likely that some organizations and firms will host unofficial gatherings during the conference. At those events, Minnesota legislators will have to follow the state's ban on lobbyist gifts by paying for their own food and beverages.