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<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12779 BP Dumps ALEC; Tally at 10212784 WMC Spends $600,000 to Demote Chief Justice as Criminal Probe of Walker Campaign Looms]</h3>

BP announced that it was cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange CouncilWisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the controversial Wisconsin's premier lobby for corporate bill mill. It is tax breaks and low wage jobs, has unleashed a $600,000 ad blitz to strip Wisconsin's independent Chief Justice of her title just as the third major fossil fuel company court prepares to sever ties with ALEC, after Occidental Petroleum take up the "John Doe" criminal probe of Scott Walker and the special interest groups that defended him against recall in 20142012. ExxonMobil remains on  WMC's spending in the recall campaigns is one of key issues in the ALEC private sector boardcase. The case will be be considered in secret without oral arguments by Wisconsin's Supreme Court whose conservative majority was elected by WMC.

[[BP]] (formerly known as "British Petroleum") is a global oil, gas, and chemical company headquartered in London. It is responsible for the largest environmental disaster ever in the United States: the April 20, 2010, blowout of its Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. BP still faces some $13.7 billion dollars in civil liability in the caseYou can’t make this stuff up.

Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12779 12784 here].

<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12778 Voter ID Will Take Effect in Wisconsin-12782 The ALEC-Here's What that MeansBacked War on Local Democracy]</h3>by [[Mary Bottari]] and by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35275/brendan-fischer Brendan Fischer] After the town of Denton, Texas passed a ballot initiative banning fracking in November 2014, the oil and gas industry reacted with outrage and swiftly filed suit. Politicians in the state capitol responded with a fusillade of bills to preempt local authority over public health and safety and to subject local ballot initiatives to pre-approval by the state attorney general. There was even a bill to end local home rule altogether.

The tiny town of Denton was not alone. From New Jersey to Oregon, on topics as diverse as minimum wage, paid sick leave, community broadband, e-cigarettes, and GMOs, state politicians are stepping up their efforts to destroy a bedrock principle of U.S. Supreme Court has declined to strike down Wisconsin's Republicangovernance--backed voter ID restriction, paving the way for the law right of municipal and county authorities to take effect in upcoming electionslegally and appropriately enact and strengthen laws that reflect local needs and priorities.

The ruling is regarded as a victory for Governor Scott Walker, who championed the law in Wisconsin and has boasted about the state's voting restrictions as he makes the case for a presidential run. Walker defended voter ID during the 2014 gubernatorial race, declaring that "it doesn't matter" if there is only one incident of voter fraud in each election, even though as many as 300,000 Wisconsinites don't have the forms of ID required under the law. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12778 12782 here].

<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12768 Walker Budget Sneaks Major Policy Changes Past Education Agency12777 Pearson, ETS, Houghton Mifflin, and McGraw-Hill Lobby Big and Profit Bigger from School Tests]</h3>

Scott Walker is traveling the country portraying himself as a straight shooter. "We said what we're gonna do, School testing corporations have spent at least $20 million on lobbying along with wining and we did it!" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8tfPZAVHoI he told CPAC delegates] dining or even hiring policymakers in DC last month. But here in Wisconsin he has earned a reputation for governing by sneak attack pursuit of big revenues from federal and state testing mandates under "bombshell,No Child Left Behind" as measures and the ''[http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/behind-scott-walkers-claim-of-doing-what-he-says-Common Core curriculum, according to a-record-of-dropping-bombshells-b99452872z1-294600171.html Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]'' [http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/behind-scott-walkers-claim-of-doing-what-he-says-a-record-of-dropping-bombshells-b99452872z1-294600171.html described new analysis by the governor's track record] of springing major policy changes on the public, stakeholders, Center for Media and even legislatorsDemocracy (CMD).

Two years agoThe expanded testing has fueled a testing boom worth nearly $2 billion annually, Walker [http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/state_edwatch/2013/07/school_voucher_expansion_approved_in_wisconsin_with_two_twists.html wielded his veto pen] and struck giving the main corporations getting the testing contracts a huge return on investment for their lobbying while generating a loophole growing backlash from parents across the the 2013-15 budget bill that could have inadvertently expanded the state's school voucher program. In last month's budget address, he instead announced that he would lift the cap entirelycountry.

Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12768 12777 here].

<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12774 Koch Brothers Should Return $157 Million in Government Subsidies12780 ALEC, NFIB Push Prevailing Wage Repeal]</h3>by [[Mary Bottari]] The fossil fuel barons, Charles and David Koch, have long advocated for "[http://www.thenationprwatch.comorg/blogusers/17530235472/charlesjody-koch-poor-let-them-eat-economic-freedom# economic freedomknauss Jody Knauss]" and a smaller government. They have slammed "collectivism" and market distorting subsidies.

In 2012, Charles Koch decried corporate welfare As unions and “crony capitalism” working people battle "right-to-work" legislation in several states, the pages of the ''[http://www.wsjalecexposed.com/articles/SB10000872396390443847404577629841476562610 Wall Street JournalAmerican Legislative Exchange Council]'': “Far too many well-connected businesses (ALEC) and allies have opened another flank in their war on good jobs. Targeted this time are feeding at the federal trough. By addressing corporate welfare as well as other forms of welfarestate prevailing wage laws, we would add a whole new level of understanding which require public construction projects to the notion support local wage standards instead of entitlement reformundercutting them. Studies have repeatedly found that prevailing wage laws do not harm taxpayers but are effective in providing something increasingly rare in regional labor markets,” he wroteupward pressure on wages.

The Koch's “secret bank” [[Freedom Partners]] has spent hundreds of millions in elections in part to tackle “‘rent-seeking,’ ‘corporate welfare,’ and other forms of cronyism.” Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12774 12780 here].

<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12771 Senator Whitehouse Exposes 12779 BP Dumps ALEC Climate Change Denial; Tally at 102]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/35471/jamie-corey Jamie Corey[Mary Bottari]]

This week, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), took to the Senate floor to call upon America to “wake up” to the damaging effects of [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Climate_Change_Deniers climate change denial] and the fossil fuel industry funding received by groups BP announced that promote it, including was cutting ties with the [http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed American Legislative Exchange Council] (ALEC), the controversial corporate bill mill that has been pushing a destructive agenda of climate change denial. It is the third major fossil fuel company to sever ties with ALEC, after Occidental Petroleum in 2014. ExxonMobil remains on the ALEC private sector board.

[[BP]] (formerly known as "ALEC British Petroleum") is an organizationa global oil, gas, which works to undercut climate science and undermine climate progress at chemical company headquartered in London. It is responsible for the state levellargest environmental disaster ever in the United States: the April 20, 2010, interfering blowout of its Deepwater Horizon oil well in our state legislaturesthe Gulf of Mexico. ALEC has tried to roll back state renewable fuel standards and has handed out model state legislation to obstruct and tie up the President's Clean Power Plan," Whitehouse boldly stated on BP still faces some $13.7 billion dollars in civil liability in the Senate floorcase.

Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12771 12779 here].

<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/node/12766 Cookie12778 Voter ID Will Take Effect in Wisconsin-Cutter ALEC Right-to-Work Bills Pop in Multiple StatesHere's What that Means]</h3>by [http://www.prwatch.org/users/3547235275/jodybrendan-knauss Jody Knaussfischer Brendan Fischer]

This week, Wisconsin GovThe U.S. Scott Walker signed an anti-union right-Supreme Court has declined tostrike down Wisconsin's Republican-work (RTW) bill into backed voter ID restriction, paving the way for the law. RTW laws require unions to provide the same representation and workplace services to all workers take effect in a workplace but make contributing to the cost of that representation optional. They lead to smaller, weaker unions and lower worker wages and benefitsupcoming elections.

The Center ruling is regarded as a victory for Media and Democracy detailed the fact that Governor Scott Walker, who championed the law in Wisconsin bill was taken almost word for word from and has boasted about the American Legislative Exchange Council "model" bill. (See CMDstate's side-by-side [http://www.prwatch.org/files/wi_rtw.pdf here].) And we reported on voting restrictions as he makes the [http://www.prwatchcase for a presidential run.org/news/2015/03/12762/alec-union-busting-right-work-bill-passes-wi-after-marathon-debate Koch and Bradley Foundation] funding behind Walker defended voter ID during the panoply of usual suspects 2014 gubernatorial race, declaring that flew into the state to testify on behalf "it doesn't matter" if there is only one incident of the billvoter fraud in each election, including "experts" from the [http://www.prwatch.org/news/2015/03/12758/national-right-work-committee-attacking-wisconsin-hypocritical-zeal National Right to Work Committee]even though as many as 300, the [http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mackinac_Center_for_Public_Policy Mackinac Center] and the [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Heritage_Foundation Heritage Foundation] with assists from ALEC "scholar" Richard Vedder and [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/State_Policy_Network State Policy Network] "stink tanks" like the Wisconsin Public Research Institute. And let000 Wisconsinites don's not forget t have the $1 million in TV ads from forms of ID required under the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity grouplaw. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/node/12766 12778 here].