1. Quid pro Status Quo: ALEC and State-Sanctioned Corruption in Ohio
By Beau Hodai
DBA Press and the Center for Media and Democracy
May, 2012
Part 1: Legislative Service with a Smile
"Quid pro quo: something given or received for something else"
-- Merriam-Webster Dictionary
At about ten o'clock on the morning of March 23, 2011, Faith Williams walked
into the office of Ohio House Majority Whip John Adams (R-District 78).
Williams, a lobbyist with firm, Bricker & Eckler, LLP (Bricker), had an
appointment to speak with Adams about an "economic development study" created by some of her
clients in the life insurance industry.
Somehow during the course of this meeting-- though both Adams and Williams told DBA Press and the
Center for Media and Democracy (DBA/CMD) that they have no recollection of how this came to
pass-- two noteworthy subjects were discussed: a proposed amendment to the state's 2011 budget, and
possible support for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Ohio "scholarship fund."
At 4:06 p.m. the following day, March 24, Williams emailed a copy of the discussed budget
amendment to Adams Senior Legislative Aide Kara Joseph. In the email, Williams expressed her
gratitude to Adams for agreeing to run the amendment by House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-District
69) for insertion into the 2011 budget.
The proposed budget amendment was a 12-page portion of a more than 80-page piece of "model
legislation," known as the "Insurer Receivership Model Act" (IRMA), adopted by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2005. Essentially, the amendment-- an extremely
technical, industry-specific item-- would allow "Ohio-domicilled" life insurers to engage in a practice
known as "derivatives netting." This practice essentially allows insurers to lump their assets, losses and
unfulfilled obligations into one tradable commodity. This practice, according to IRMA proponents,
would help troubled insurers to "manage risks."
According to records obtained by DBA/CMD from the office of Rep. Adams through public records
requests, the amendment appears to have been advanced by Williams on behalf of an Ohio insurance
industry trade association, the Association of Ohio Life Insurance Companies (AOLIC). AOLIC, one of
Williams' top clients at the time of the Adams meeting, is comprised of 13 life insurance insurers
operating in Ohio.
At 8:45 the following morning, March 25, Joseph responded to Williams' email.
"It was a pleasure meeting you too!' wrote Joseph. "Rep. Adams was wondering if you could send me
the contact names for the 4 insurance companies that are in Cincinnati so that he can call them next
week for ALEC. He was also interested in asking you which ones would be most receptive to
participating in ALEC?"

2. The ALEC scholarship fund: a river of invisible, tax-deductible corporate lobby cash
"One of ALEC's greatest strengths is the public-private partnership. ALEC provides the private sector
with an unparalleled opportunity to have its voice heard, and its perspective appreciated, by the
legislative members.
"[...] This partnership identifies issues and then responds with common-sense, result-oriented policies.
The two groups work in unison to solve the challenges facing the nation. The results are policies that
will define the American political landscape in the 21st century."
-- From 2011 ALEC "Private Sector Membership" brochure.
It is important to note here that, while Adams was one of 21 members of the House Insurance
Committee in 2011, he was not the chair or vice chair of the committee-- nor was Adams chair or vice
chair of any other Ohio legislative committee at the time of the Williams meeting. Furthermore, Adams
was not a member of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, whose chair, Rep. Ron
Amstutz (R-District 3), had introduced the House version of the state budget on March 15.
So, why would Williams elect to bring the IRMA amendment to Adams? The March 25 email from
Joseph to Williams, requesting the names of potential insurance industry donors to the ALEC Ohio
scholarship fund, may contain an answer to this question.
Adams is Ohio's ALEC public sector chair. According to ALEC bylaws and records obtained by
DBA/CMD, Adams has four primary responsibilities as an ALEC state chair: 1.) to increase public
sector (legislative) membership, 2.) to increase public sector ALEC meeting attendance, 3.) to
introduce and enact ALEC model legislation, and 4.) to increase ALEC "scholarship" fundraising.
An examination of ALEC mechanics suggests that the success of this final item-- fundraising--
predicates the success of the other three aims.
ALEC is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt not-for-profit organization that bills itself as being the nation's largest
"bipartisan" public-private legislative partnership-- dedicated to advancing "Jeffersonian ideals" and
"federalism." The organization's membership consists of more than 2,000 state lawmakers and more
than 300 of the nation's leading corporations, lobby firms and 'think tanks.' A review of ALEC
legislative member rosters reveal that the group is only nominally bi-partisan, the vast bulk of these
members being Republican.
The primary function of ALEC is to produce and disseminate "model legislation" for introduction in
state legislatures. ALEC boast that approximately 1,000 such pieces of "model" legislation are
introduced in real legislatures by its members annually-- roughly 17 percent of which are passed into
law.
This model legislation is adopted by ALEC task forces focused on the fields of: 1.) civil justice, 2.)
commerce, insurance and economic development, 3.) communications and technology, 4.) education,
5.) energy, environment and agriculture, 6.) health and human services, 7.) international relations, 8.)
public safety and elections, and 9.) tax and fiscal policy. (Note: in April of 2012, due to widespread
criticism of model legislation affecting immigrant detention, use of firearms and voter law, ALEC
announced that it would discontinue the Public Safety and Elections Task Force.) (For more on ALEC

3. and immigrant detention, see "Brownskins and Greenbacks:" http://dbapress.com/front-
page/brownskins-and-greenbacks-alec-the-for-profit-prison-industry-and-arizonas-sb-1070)
Each ALEC task force is co-chaired and comprised of both public and private sector members. Either
legislative or private sector task force members may introduce pieces of legislation for adoption as
ALEC models. Once a piece of model legislation is adopted by a task force, it is then added to the
cannon of ALEC model bills available to all member lawmakers.
While there are strict limits on the amount of lobbying a 501 (c) (3) organization such as ALEC may
engage in, email communications obtained from the offices of ALEC public sector chairs in multiple
states clearly show ALEC personnel, lobbyists employed by ALEC member corporations, as well as
other interested third parties (such as chambers of commerce) lobbying for lawmaker support and
sponsorship of numerous pieces of ALEC "model legislation." (see: "Publicopoly:"
https://dbapress.com/archives/2040 and "ALEC Centralized Source Materials Archive:"
https://dbapress.com/source-materials-archive/alec-centralized-source-materials-directory)
As such, on April 20, 2012, Washington, D.C.-based public advocacy group, Common Cause, filed a
federal "whistle blower" complaint (based on materials Common Cause had independently gathered
from ALEC member lawmakers though public records requests) with the IRS alleging that ALEC is
essentially engaged in tax fraud in that it is, in fact, a lobby organization operating in violation of its
tax-exempt status.
Like any good lobbying organization (though ALEC vehemently claims it does not engage in
lobbying), ALEC keeps some honey in the pot to attract lawmakers. The honey in the ALEC pot is
what is known as the ALEC "scholarship fund."
There are three primary ALEC events each year: the "Spring Task Force Summit," the "Annual
Meeting" and the "States and Nation Policy Summit." All of these events-- invariably-- are held at
swank resorts and feature such items as golf tournaments, trap shooting events, numerous gourmet
dining opportunities and "hospitality suites"-- as well as other seasonal or special items such as
"holiday galas" and "cigar receptions." At these events, ALEC member lawmakers rub elbows with the
private sector benefactors who foot the bill for the whole shebang. And, through ALEC "scholarship"
funds, lawmakers can be, and many are, reimbursed for expenses incurred for travel, lodging and meals
during these events. (For more on these ALEC meetings, see "Inside ALEC: naked contempt for the
press and public in Scottsdale": https://dbapress.com/archives/2398)
Each state ALEC "delegation" has its own "scholarship fund." Generally, the cash in each state's fund is
raised by the office of the state public sector chair (generally a ranking lawmaker such as the House
majority whip), working in concert with the state's private sector chair (a lobbyist representing a major
ALEC member corporation or lobby/law firm). Records obtained by DBA/CMD from the offices of
ALEC public sector chairs in several states show that in many instances, ALEC member lawmakers--
aside from the state public sector chair-- are also enlisted in the solicitation of funds from corporate
donors for the state's "scholarship fund."
The trouble with ALEC "scholarship fund" disbursements to lawmakers is this: while member
lawmakers likely know where this money comes from, many state legislatures have exempted these
gifts from state gifting limitations and reporting requirements. As such, constituents of these lawmakers
have no readily-available information disclosing the sources of these funds, or whether lawmakers are
receiving such funds. (For more on the mechanics of the ALEC "scholarship fund," see "Legislative

4. Laundry": https://dbapress.com/front-page/legislative-laundry-how-alec-funnels-millions-of-dollars-
in-corporate-gifts-to-state-lawmakers-for-the-express-purpose-of-promoting-corporate-backed-
legislation)
To illustrate where ALEC's allegiances lay, consider this: ALEC reported $7,171,357 in total revenue in
2010 (most recent tax records available). Of this amount, $84,883 in revenue was reported to have been
drawn from "membership dues." While available tax records do not identify the source of this revenue,
it is likely that this figure reflects the amount of revenue the organization gained through public sector
membership dues; ALEC member lawmakers purchase a two year membership for only $100.
It is important to note here that ALEC does receive some revenue from membership dues paid by state
legislatures-- for example, the Ohio General Assembly currently pays $1,000 in annual membership
dues to ALEC. But, these state dues are almost insignificant-- amounting to less than one percent of the
organization's total revenue, according to a statement made to DBA Press by former ALEC Director of
Communications Raegan Weber in 2010.
The lion's share of ALEC's reported revenue for 2010, $5,997,347, was derived from "contributions and
grants." Such revenue likely is derived from corporate, lobbyist, 'think tank' and private foundation
contributions.
(The remainder of ALEC revenue, according to tax records, is derived chiefly from events held by the
organization.)
According to a 2011 ALEC "Private Sector Membership" brochure, there are three levels of ALEC
private sector membership: the "Washington Club," for which the private sector member pays $7,000
annually; the "Madison Club," for which the private sector member pays $12,000 annually; and the
"Jefferson Club," for which the private sector member pays $25,000 annually. The chief difference
between these levels of private sector membership is the amount of access private members have to
lawmakers. Simply put, the more a private sector member pays, the more visible they are to the
organization's legislative members.
In addition to these base membership levels, private sector members may elect to join an ALEC task
force, where they are granted the opportunity to introduce and vet pieces of model legislation. For this
level of access, private sector members pay additional task force dues varying, depending on the task
force, from $2,500 to $10,000.
And, ALEC is a unique lobbying organization-- in the view of DBA Press, CMD, Common Cause and
others-- in that all dues/contributions paid by members and donors (including contributions to
"scholarship" funds) are tax deductible.
Quid pro quo?
Records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams show that, at the time of the Williams meeting, Adams
and ALEC Ohio private sector chair, Time Warner Cable Midwest Region (Time Warner Cable) Vice
President of Government Relations Ed Kozelek, were already deeply immersed in fundraising for the
upcoming 2011 ALEC State Task Force Summit (SFTS), to be held in Cincinnati on April 28 through
29.
According to these records, Adams and Kozelek had already received pledges from more than 50

5. corporations and lobby firms, totaling $107,500 to ALEC operations in Ohio, by the end of February,
2011. Of this amount, Williams' firm, Bricker & Eckler, paid $1,000. Records show that these
contributions for the Cincinnati event were held in the Ohio ALEC "scholarship fund," along with
monies to be disbursed to member lawmakers for travel and lodging associated with ALEC events.
Furthermore, records show that on March 7, Bricker contributed an additional $1,000 to the Ohio
ALEC "scholarship fund."
As such, Williams' entrance to Adams' office on March 23 had been paved by $2,000 in Bricker
donations for use by ALEC member lawmakers (including Speaker Batchelder and Finance Chair
Amstutz). And, according to records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams, at least half of this
amount had been delivered directly to Adams' office-- not to ALEC, not to Kozelek.
At 10:18 a.m., March 25, Joseph followed up with Williams, informing the lobbyist that Adams had
spoken to Speaker Batchelder about the insurance amendment and that Batchelder had told Adams to
give the amendment to Rep. Amstutz for insertion in the budget.
As such, no more than 48 hours from her initial conversation with Adams on the subject, Williams and
her insurance industry clients got their wish. On June 30, 2011, the budget was passed into law,
complete with IRMA amendment.
It is important to note that, by getting IRMA enacted as an amendment to the state budget, the "model
act" managed to bypass the standard scrutiny that a stand-alone bill is subject to-- items such as
assignment to relevant committees and public hearings.
At 5:12 p.m., March 25, Williams sent the requested list containing the names of insurance industry
lobbyists and executives to Joseph for Adams' use in raising funds for the Ohio ALEC event.
"These people may not be the decision makers on these issues, but they're the ones that will understand
what ALEC is, and be able to get a response from their companies about providing support," wrote
Williams.
In all, the list contained the names of four in-house lobbyists or executives employed, respectively, by:
Western & Southern Life Insurance Company, Cincinnati Insurance Company (a subsidiary of
Cincinnati Financial Corporation), Great American Financial (a division of American Financial Group,
Inc.) and Ohio National Life Insurance Co. All of the insurers on the list were current members of
AOLIC, the insurance trade association Williams acted on behalf of when she lobbied Adams on the
IRMA amendment.
While it is not entirely certain what was done with this list, this much is known: two of the companies
named on the Williams list, Western & Southern and American Financial Group, were added to the
roster of potential donor corporations being solicited by ALEC member lawmakers for contributions
toward the upcoming Cincinnati event.
The Western & Southern solicitation was delegated to Ohio House Insurance Committee Chair, Rep.
Jay Hottinger (R-District 71) and to House Insurance Committee Vice Chair, Rep. Bob Hackett (R-
District 84).
Former ALEC Ohio public sector chair, Sen. Bill Seitz (R-District 8), along with Rep. Peter Beck (R-

6. District 67), were tasked with raising funds from American Financial.
Seitz was also tasked with raising funds from Chiquita, Kroger and General Electric. Beck was
charged with raising funds additional funds from AK Steel Corporation.
Fundraising responsibilities were also delegated to other ALEC member lawmakers. Ohio Senate
President Tom Niehaus (R-District 14) was tasked with soliciting funds from Procter & Gamble and
Convergys Corporation; Rep. Peter Strautberg (R-District 34) was assigned Fifth Third Bank; Rep. Lou
Blessing, Jr. (R-District 29) was assigned an entity only referred to as "Ashland" and Rock Gaming,
LLC; Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R-District 75) was tasked with soliciting funds from Wal-Mart and
several hospitals.
A number of lobbyists, aside from Kozelek and Time Warner Cable Midwest Region Director of
Government Relations Megan Lashutka, lent their services to this fundraising drive. Most notably, the
ALEC fundraising crew was joined by high-powered Ohio lobbyist, Charles "Chip" Gerhardt, III.
Gerhardt is the founder and president of Government Strategies Group, LLC (GSG). GSG itself,
though Gerhardt, contributed $1,000 to ALEC Ohio in February of 2011.
While Gerhardt lobbied on behalf of a large number of clients in 2011, it is worth noting that he
represented prospective ALEC Ohio donors Rock Gaming and Great American Insurance/American
Financial Group. Gerhardt is also a longtime lobbyist for Duke Energy Business Services (Duke) and
was employed by Duke during this time. According to records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams,
Duke and Time Warner Cable were the two largest single contributors to ALEC operations in Ohio
through the at least the first half of 2011-- both corporations delivering at least $20,000 each in tax-
deductible corporate cash to the Ohio ALEC "scholarship fund" by June of that year.
A string of emails obtained from the office of Rep. Adams show that Adams and Kozelek took it upon
themselves to solicit funds from a third insurance company on the Williams list, the Cincinnati
Insurance Company.
According to records obtained from Adams' office, Cincinnati Insurance Company Vice President and
Government Relations Officer Scott Gilliam had previously pledged $1,000 to ALEC Ohio operations
on January 28.
On April 8, Kozelek wrote Gilliam. Noting that the Ohio ALEC "scholarship fund" had not yet received
the pledged $1,000, Kozelek took the opportunity to ask Gilliam if he, or Cincinnati Insurance, had
considered "a bigger role" in the upcoming ALEC STFS.
Gilliam responded:
"[...] It has crossed my mind but I haven't thought about it too much. I have heard rumblings that Rep.
John Adams was on the hunt for large corporate dollars for the April meeting in Cincinnati but I haven't
been hunted down yet. To be honest, ALEC has never received much traction at my company since it
has a broader, all-business constituency, and is not specifically targeted to insurance like some groups,
i.e., NCOIL [National Council of Insurance Legislators]. That being said, the Cincinnati venue might
make us more prone to do more given the large number of Ohio legislators expected to attend."
Records indicate that Adams followed up on this solicitation where Kozelek left off, but that Gilliam
was unable to deliver funding to the ALEC Ohio "scholarship fund" by the time of the Cincinnati event.

7. For herself, Williams told DBA/CMD that there is nothing untoward in the fact that Bricker had given
$2,000 to the office of Rep. Adams for the ALEC Ohio "scholarship fund" in the month prior to her
IRMA solicitation, or that Williams had given Adams a list of potential ALEC donors only hours after
Adams facilitated the insertion of the IRMA amendment into the state budget. Nor, said Williams, is
there anything untoward to be read into the fact that both of these items, the IRMA amendment and
ALEC fundraising, were apparently discussed in tandem during her initial meeting with Adams on the
morning of March 23.
"I sure don't remember how all of these these things-- if, or how-- these things are connected, in terms
of timing. If part of what you're looking for, or inquiring about, is whether there is some sort of quid
pro quo here, I can assure you that that is not the case," said Williams.
"I will tell you that I certainly do recall providing Representative Adams' office with the names-- I
wouldn't remember how many-- of some of the insurance companies that are part of the association that
we represent [AOLIC]," added Williams. "[...] Any time a legislator would ask us for information about
our clients-- you, know, 'who's part of this organization, what are the names of these companies, or the
people who represent these companies?'-- we would provide that information to them. [...] I do recall
him asking me about that and so I gave him the information for his followup-- so that he could contact
them, if he chose, in respect to ALEC."
Speaking to the value Bricker & Eckler and their clients find in contributing thousands of dollars to the
ALEC scholarship fund, Williams painted an altruistic picture.
"I think we realize that there is a value to the legislators, and therefore a value to our clients, in having
a well informed legislature," said Williams. "And the ALEC meetings, at least historically, are a forum
for legislators from different states to talk with one another and share ideas and experiences that can be
valuable to them. Frankly, we've always taken the position that our clients are best served when
members of the legislature understand the issues that are in front of them and can make reasonable
decisions about things."
On April 29, Williams wrote an email to Joseph, thanking her and Adams for their help getting the
IRMA amendment into the budget:
"I'll look for an opportunity to thank both of you personally in the near future! Thanks again and have a
great weekend," wrote Williams.
While it is not entirely clear how Williams planned to thank Adams and Joseph, it is clear that those
who helped Bricker get the IRMA budget amendment signed into law have been generously rewarded.
From January 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012, Bricker & Eckler's state political action committee
(Bricker PAC) paid out a total of $9,450 to the Batchelder for Representative Committee. During the
same time period, Bricker PAC contributed $3,000 to Citizens for Amstutz.
It is also worth noting that Bricker PAC contributed $500 to the Committee to Elect John Adams on
February 16, 2011-- a little more than a month prior to the Williams-Adams meeting of March 23.
As for Adams, records indicate that the representative went on receive $1,978.90 in ALEC "scholarship
fund" disbursements for his attendance at the ALEC Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, August 3

8. through 6, 2011.
Joseph-- not a lawmaker, but Adams' senior legislative aide (an Ohio legislative employee)-- received a
total of $2,506.92 in scholarship funds for her attendance at the Cincinnati STFS and the Annual
Meeting. Interestingly enough, Joseph received more in ALEC "scholarship fund" disbursements for
these two events than any Ohio ALEC member lawmaker.
(Note: records returned to DBA/CMD per a January 6, 2012 public records request to the office of Rep.
Adams do not contain records relating to ALEC "scholarship fund" disbursements for the 2011 ALEC
States and Nation Policy Summit, held in Scottsdale, Arizona, November 28 through December 2. Due
to this fact, available records only reflect scholarship fund disbursements for two of the three major
ALEC events held in 2011. However, available records do show that Adams, Joseph and at least 10
other Ohio lawmakers traveled to Scottsdale for the 2011 States and Nation Policy
Summit. As such, Adams and Joseph likely received significantly more in ALEC "scholarship fund"
disbursements for 2011 than is calculated here.)
Intermission: The Indispensable Compensated Volunteer
During the August, 2011, ALEC Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Joseph-- who, as records indicate, is
reimbursed for her travel to such meetings-- received the ALEC "Volunteer of the Year Award."
Records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams leave little room to doubt that Joseph earned this
award.
Not only had Joseph been instrumental in raising funds, recruiting volunteers, and acting as an all-
around go-to for all things ALEC in the run up to the 2011 Cincinnati STFS, but Joseph also carefully
coordinated with ALEC donor lobbyists in the creation of detailed itineraries for ALEC member
lawmakers attending the 2011 New Orleans and Scottsdale events.
An example of one such itinerary reads as follows:
Schedule for Rep. Terry Boose: [...] Tuesday, August 2nd: 6:30 p.m.-- Time Warner, Mr. B's Bistro, 201
Royal Street. [...] Wednesday, August 3rd: 6:30 p.m.-- Cable & Others, Commander's Place, 1403
Washington Avenue. (Sport coat required for men). [...] Thursday, August 4th: 2:30 - 5:30 p.m.-- Task
Force Meeting: Tax and Fiscal Policy. [...] 6:30 p.m.-- OH Petroleum & BP, Antoine's Restaurant, 713
St. Louis Street. [...] 9 p.m. - 12 a.m.-- Cigar Reception, Pat O'Brien's, 718 St. Peter's Street. [...]
Friday, August 5th: 6 - 8 p.m.-- Ohio Night, World War II Museum, 945 Magazine Street. [...] 9:30 p.m.
- 12:30 a.m.-- Cigar Caucus Reception, 633-B Decatur on the Historic Upper Pontalba Apartments.
According to records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams, Joseph had some help in putting these
itineraries together. Determinations on where lawmakers would dine and with whom were made at the
request of ALEC Ohio donors. Essentially, a lobbyist would deliver a check to the office of Rep.
Adams or to Kozelek, ranging in size from $500 to $5,000 (these amounts based on records relating to
the New Orleans event) for the Ohio "scholarship fund," or for the delegation's "Ohio Night." Then the
lobbyist would approach Joseph with his/her dinner guest request.
For example, on October 19, in the run up to the Scottsdale ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit
(SNPS), lobbyist Gary Koch wrote an email to Joseph requesting the names of Ohio lawmakers who

9. would be attending the event. Joseph dutifully provided Koch with the list. Koch responded that he
wanted help putting a dinner event together for the benefit of five specific lawmakers. At the time of
this request, Koch represented such corporate interests as Eli Lilly, AT&T and the Wholesale Beer and
Wine Association of Ohio.
While records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams do not contain a complete accounting of private
sector contributions to ALEC Ohio funds as they relate to the Scottsdale SNPS, available records do
indicate that Koch had given $5,000 on July 5, 2011, for use during the ALEC "Ohio Night" event in
New Orleans. These records list Koch as being a "platinum"-level sponsor and indicate that the
contribution had been made on behalf of Eli Lilly.
Similarly, emails show that Time Warner Cable lobbyist Megan Lashutka coordinated the planning of
these dinners with Joseph-- with Time Warner Cable reserving "first dibs" on lawmakers attending the
summit. As previously discussed, Time Warner Cable had contributed at least $20,000 to the Ohio
ALEC "scholarship fund" through the first half of 2011 alone-- coupled with an additional $1,000
contribution on July 21 for use during the "Ohio Night" event in New Orleans.
Records indicate that Koch, Lashutka and other lobbyists were accommodated in their requests;
itineraries drafted by Joseph for lawmakers attending SNPS show these legislators (along with Joseph
and her husband) being whisked around to bars and dining venues throughout Scottsdale for private
soirees with Time Warner Cable, Koch, lobbyists with the firm of Sean Dunn & Associates, LLP
(representing such ALEC Ohio donors as AT&T and the Ohio Hospital Association), and others.
Given all this, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that Joseph is a public employee, paid nearly $47,000
annually by Ohio taxpayers to serve as the senior legislative aide to Rep. Adams. Yet, Joseph seems
confused at times as to who her actual employers are. Nevertheless, records obtained from the office of
Rep. Adams show that Joseph does not feel it is she who is confused.
On May 2, 2011, Joseph received an email from AT&T lobbyist Paul Weirtz. The email contained a link
to a post on 'progressive' blog, "Daily Kos" ("Breaking!! First ever demonstration against an ALEC
event in Cincinnati," posted by "OhioDem1," April 29, 2011). The blog post discussed protests held
during the Cincinnati ALEC event and mentioned plans for a second protest at the upcoming New
Orleans meeting.
"You probably saw this article," wrote Weirtz. "Note that they are planning protests in New Orleans.
Like we will be able to tell the difference between them and the Bourbon Street revelers."
Joseph immediately forwarded the email on to Kozelek and ALEC Director of State Programs Laura
Elliott.
"Thanks for sending this to us! We really appreciated it," wrote Elliott.
Joseph replied:
"No problem. They're so confused."

10. Part 2: Lessons from a Baseball Game
"Criminal (noun): 1.) one who has committed a crime, 2.) a person who has been convicted of a
crime."
-- Merriam-Webster Dictionary
"Please join us for a great American pastime!"
The Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel served as the site for the 2011 ALEC State Task Force Summit
(STFS) in Cincinnati. The summit featured the standard ALEC fare for the more than 500 attending
member lawmakers: gourmet dining events, nights out on the town for state delegations, a reception for
ALEC board members and task force luncheons.
And, as is also common at many ALEC events, a recreational event-- having nothing to do with
legislative education-- was held for member lawmakers, their families and the attendant throngs of
lobbyists.
The special recreational event for the 2011 Cincinnati STFS took place on the evening of April 29 in
the form of a shindig at the Great American Ballpark, home to the Cincinnati Reds. The invitation for
the event read:
"Please join ALEC for a night at the ballpark as the Cincinnati Reds take on the Florida Marlins! [...]
ALEC will have access to the ballpark party decks where select food and drinks will be provided.
Space is limited at this special event-- sponsored by Time Warner Cable-- so be sure to reserve your
free ticket now! [...] Please join us for a great American pastime! [...] Sponsored by Time Warner
Cable ["Time Warner Cable" written here in large, boldface font with the Time Warner Cable company
logo][italics original]."
One vital detail to note here (just in case the invitation doesn't make this clear) is that event was
sponsored by Time Warner Cable.
According to records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams, at least 40 tickets to this game were
given to at least 22 lawmakers. An additional 5 tickets were given to 5 legislative aides (including
Joseph), and two tickets were given to a guest of Rep. Adams (Ohio State Representative-turned
lobbyist, Bob Doyle). Grand total: at least 47 Reds v. Marlins tickets to Ohio legislators, their aides and
guests.
While lawmakers from other states attended this game, records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams
indicate that this Ohio delegation likely comprised close to half of the total ALEC public sector
presence at this event.
The trouble with all of this-- should a constituent like to know who has been wining and dining their
lawmakers on the "party decks" of the Great American Ballpark, or should a constituent like to know
who has been paying for their lawmakers to travel and stay in plush resorts-- is that there is no record
of any of this available to the public-- save for records potentially uncovered through a lengthy public
records request process.
An examination of statements of financial disclosure filed by the more than 60 Ohio ALEC member

11. lawmakers for 2011 yields no trace of any of these gifts-- no indication that in 2011, 30 Ohio legislators
and legislative aides received a combined total of $33,791.64 in "scholarship fund" disbursements for
expenses related to the Cincinnati STFS and the New Orleans the Annual Meeting; no indication that
the 21 members of the Ohio legislative delegation to the New Orleans ALEC Annual Meeting were the
beneficiaries of $64,000 raised from 36 donor lobbyists (representing such notable corporate citizens as
British Petroleum, Cash America, Pfizer, AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Corporation) to be spent on the legislators' night out in the Big Easy.
Similarly, records filed by these lobbyists and their employers with the Office of the Ohio Legislative
Inspector General (OLIG) bear no trace of these (tax deductible) lobbying expenditures.
For example, in the case of Rep. Adams' role in getting the Bricker/AOLIC IRMA amendment inserted
into the 2011 state budget: there is no record readily available to the general public that reflects either
the fact that 1.) Bricker paid $2,000 for use in the ALEC "scholarship fund" (at least half of which was
delivered directly to the office of Rep. Adams) in the month prior to the IRMA solicitation, or 2.) that
Adams and Joseph drew close to a combined $4,500 from this account in the months following the
insertion of the amendment into the budget.
In fact, available records paint a picture quite different from the reality of the situation. Lobby reports
filed by Bricker lobbyist Faith Williams state that she only expended $43.34 for the benefit of
lawmakers (in "meals under $50") while lobbying during the first quarter of 2011. Furthermore, these
records indicate that AOLIC-- the client for whom Williams advanced the IRMA amendment--
expended not a single dime in reportable gifts or meals to lawmakers during this period.
Similarly, lobby reports filed by Time Warner Cable-- which had, by the time of the Cincinnati event,
contributed at least $20,000 to the ALEC Ohio "scholarship fund" for 2011-- purport that the
corporation had only expended $77.16 while lobbying Ohio lawmakers during the first quarter of the
year.
Inoculated from public disclosure with public cash
How is this possible? How could tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and lobbying
expenditures for the benefit of Ohio lawmakers have completely disappeared from public sight?
The answer is a pretty straightforward one: Ohio law contains numerous disclosure exemptions for
items of worth (be they cash, meals, or plane tickets) received by lawmakers in conjunction with events
held by certain legislative membership organizations. According to Ohio law, a lawmaker (or,
transversely, a lobbyist) does not need to disclose expenses relating to travel, lodging or meals
received/incurred (or given/expended, in the case of lobbyists) at "a meeting or convention of a
national or state organization to which any state agency, including, but not limited to, any legislative
agency or state institution of higher education [...], pays membership dues."
As previously discussed, the Ohio General Assembly pays $1,000 annually in membership dues to
ALEC (even though not all members of the General Assembly are ALEC members). Without this one
very small drop of Ohio state public funding in the more than $7 million bucket that is ALEC, Ohio
lawmakers would not be able to accept these gifts free and clear of public disclosure.
These ALEC General Assembly membership dues are paid each year through the Ohio Legislative
Service Commission (LSC). Interestingly enough, in January of 2012, at the time when LSC re-upped

12. Ohio ALEC membership dues for calendar year 2012, and paid dues owed for calendar year 2011, the
chairman of the commission was Speaker Batchelder. Batchelder, according to documents obtained
from the office of Rep. Adams, had received $884 in "scholarship fund" disbursements for his
attendance at the 2011 New Orleans meeting. And, of the 14 LSC members-- including LSC vice chair
Sen. Tom Niehaus-- at least 10 are known ALEC members.
When loopholes fail: go deaf, go dumb, go blind
But, for all the disclosure loopholes written into Ohio law and sanctioned by members of the Ohio
General Assembly, there is a problem: while Ohio law does allow expenses paid for travel, food and
lodging received in conjunction with ALEC functions to go unreported, there is no similar provision
exempting gifts received by lawmakers through their involvement with such organizations.
According to Ohio law, lawmakers must report all gifts received from a "legislative agent" (lobbyist) of
more than $25 in value. And, according to Ohio law, lawmakers are prohibited from accepting gifts
from legislative agents with a value of more than $75.
Ohio law does allow lawmakers to accept gifts with a value of more than $75, so long as they are not
from legislative agents. Nonetheless, while this practice is permitted, lawmakers and lobbyists are
required to disclose these gifts-- if such gifts exceed $75 in value.
And, these provisions of Ohio law are not without teeth (though the teeth they have are small and not
particularly sharp); under Ohio law, a lawmaker who either fails to report a permitted gift (valued over
the respective $25 and $75 thresholds), or who accepts a prohibited gift, is guilty of a fourth degree
misdemeanor criminal offense.
This brings us back to the baseball game of April 29, 2011.
While ALEC member lawmakers and lobbyists were enjoying their "select food and drinks" on the
"party decks" of the Great American Ballpark, another group of lawmakers were whooping it up with
Duke Energy lobbyists in their own special section of the stadium.
Three lawmakers who received tickets to the Reds/Marlins game from Duke reported the gifts in their
2011 statements of financial disclosure. According to these records, the tickets were valued at $75
apiece. As such, it is fair to assess that tickets to the same game given to members of the Time Warner
Cable/ALEC party were valued at at least $75-- though it is not known if the Duke event was held in an
equally "exclusive" area of the park.
Given the fact that none of the 40 tickets known to have been distributed to ALEC member lawmakers
were reported in either Time Warner Cable lobby reports or in legislative statements of financial
disclosure, this Time Warner Cable-sponsored baseball party represents at least $3,000 in corporate
gifts given to members of the Ohio General Assembly totally outside the realm of public disclosure.
Of the 22 Ohio ALEC member lawmakers who received tickets to the Time Warner Cable/ALEC
baseball event, 15 received two or more tickets. As such, these lawmakers received gifts valued at $150
or more. Given the fact that under Ohio law it is illegal for a lawmaker to fail to report a gift (from a
non-legislative agent) over the $75 threshold, these 15 ALEC member lawmakers appear to have
committed a criminal offense when they failed to report these gifts.

13. And, it is very possible that these 15 ALEC member lawmakers committed the additional criminal
offense of accepting a gift valued at more than $75 from a legislative agent.
Records obtained from the office of Rep. Adams clearly show that Kozelek-- a registered legislative
agent in the state of Ohio-- was the person responsible for the disbursement of these tickets to
lawmakers.
For example: on April 8, 2011, Rep. Andy Thompson (R-District 93) wrote Joseph, asking if it would
be possible for him to obtain extra tickets to the game for his kids. Joseph immediately contacted
Kozelek, asking what could be done to accommodate Thompson. To this Kozelek responded:
"We will make sure they are taken care of. Just keep track of the ticket distribution and let's not
advertise what we're doing for him."
As a result, Rep. Thomspon was given five tickets to the game (one for himself, one for his wife and
three for their children). The total value of this gift-- clearly given by a legislative agent-- was $375,
five times the legal $75 threshold.
Another example: on April 11, Candice Miller, administrative aide to Senate President Niehaus, wrote
Joseph. Miller stated that Niehaus would not be able to attend the actual ALEC conference, but would
like to attend the game. Again, Joseph contacted Kozelek for approval. Kozelek responded:
"Registration is NOT needed for the Prez [sic]."
Niehaus received two tickets (one for himself, one for his wife) for the Time Warner Cable-sponsored
event. Interestingly enough, Niehaus also received two tickets to the game from Duke-- which he
disclosed in his 2011 statement of financial disclosure. When asked why he did not also disclose the
two tickets he received for the Time Warner Cable-sponsored event, Niehaus told DBA/CMD that he
believed those tickets to be an exempt gift from ALEC. Upon learning that no such exemption exists in
Ohio law, the Senate President responded that the issue was immaterial, since he and his wife only used
the tickets they were given by Duke. (It is worth noting here that Ohio law contains no gift disclosure
exemption for gifts received but not used.)
Given the fact that Niehaus and 14 other lawmakers received baseball game ticket gifts valued at $150
or more (along with the fact that none of the 22 lawmakers who received these gifts reported them), it
is important to note that all communications obtained from the office of Rep. Adams relating to the
disbursement of these tickets follow a distinct pattern: an ALEC member lawmaker would approach
Joseph with his/her request for tickets; Joseph would take this request to Kozelek; Kozelek would then
approve the request and the lawmaker would be granted his/her tickets, available for pickup at the
ALEC registration desk in the Hilton lobby.
The section of Ohio law that prohibits lawmakers from accepting gifts valued at more than $75 from a
lobbyist, (Ohio Revised Code, section 102.031 (C) (3)) states: "(C) No member of the general assembly
shall knowingly accept any of the following from a legislative agent [...] : (3) A gift of any amount in
the form of cash or the equivalent of cash, or a gift of any other thing of value whose value exceeds
seventy-five dollars."
And therein lies the rub. It is only a violation of Ohio law if lawmakers knowingly accept gifts above
the $75 threshold from a lobbyist. Had Kozelek attempted to distribute the tickets directly to lawmakers

14. without a non-lobbyist intermediary, the recipient lawmakers would not have been able to legally
accept these gifts. As such, Joseph-- a public employee, not a registered lobbyist-- served as cover so
that at least $2,475 in otherwise illegal gifts could be laundered through the office of the House
Majority Whip to these 15 lawmakers.
While it could be argued that lawmaker acceptance of these gifts may be the product of ignorance, and
therefore acceptable under Ohio law, it is doubtful that this argument would bear scrutiny; it is common
knowledge amongst Ohio ALEC member lawmakers that Time Warner Cable Midwest Region Vice
President of Government Relations (registered "legislative agent") Ed Kozelek is the state's ALEC
private sector chair. Furthermore, the invitation to the game clearly stated-- no less than two times--
that the event was "sponsored" by Time Warner Cable.
Similarly, as records clearly show distribution of these gifts was controlled by Kozelek (and as it is
unlikely that recipient lawmakers were truly ignorant of Kozelek's involvement), the seven remaining
ALEC member lawmakers who only received one ticket to the event (a $75 value), arguably committed
the criminal offense of failing to report a gift from a legislative agent with a value of more than $25.
Joseph did not respond to multiple requests for comment (work phone, cell phone, email).
Neither Kozelek nor Time Warner Cable Midwest Region Vice President of Communications Mary Jo
Green would comment on any aspect of the baseball game event, or on other aspects of Time Warner
Cable or ALEC activities in Ohio.
ALEC Director of Communications Kaitlyn Buss did not respond to multiple requests for comment
(work phone, cell phone, email).
Who you gonna believe-- me, or your lying eyes?
But what do the entities that are supposed to oversee matters of legislative ethics in Ohio, the Joint
Legislative Ethics Committee (JLEC) and the Office of the Ohio Legislative Inspector General (OLIG),
make of all this?
On April 23, 2012, DBA/CMD approached OLIG Ethics Advisory Attorney Jennifer Lockwood with
documentation outlining the apparent gifting violations stemming from the April 29, 2011 Time Warner
Cable-sponsored baseball event. Lockwood stated that JLEC-OLIG (OLIG is an office subordinate to
JLEC) would inspect the documentation and that OLIG Executive Director Tony Bledsoe would be
available for comment once the review was completed. However, noting the extensive documentation
supplied by DBA/CMD, Lockwood stated that JLEC-OLIG would most likely be unable to comment by
deadline.
On April 24, DBA/CMD attempted to contact several lawmakers who had received baseball game ticket
gifts of $150 or more in value. Noting that the outstanding majority of these lawmakers were not
returning phone calls, DBA/CMD sent an email seeking comment to each lawmaker. The question
posed through these emails was fairly straightforward: why, given the multiple potential criminal
infractions in play, did lawmakers fail to report these gifts on their statements of financial disclosure?
Apparently, these emails struck a nerve.
At 8:10 a.m., April 25, DBA/CMD received a statement from OLIG Executive Director Bledsoe.

15. "[...] given that you submitted an inquiry via email late yesterday to one or more Ohio legislators
concerning an April 29, 2011 baseball game, I feel compelled to address the specific question you pose
in your email to these Ohio legislators [...]
"[...] The April 29, 2011 baseball game was hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council as
part of its 2011 Spring Task Force Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. The invitation to the baseball game was
part of the meeting program. Tickets were available at the ALEC registration check in. The invitation
begins with the words "Please join ALEC...". Although Time Warner Cable (TWC) is listed as a
sponsor of the game and Mr. Ed Kozelek, a legislative agent for TWC, was involved in obtaining
tickets on behalf of ALEC; his participation does not alter the fact that this was an ALEC meeting
event. TWC is a member of ALEC. Mr. Kozelek is the Private Sector State Chairman for ALEC in
Ohio. Ohio was the site of the 2011 Spring Task Force Summit. It is important to note that the baseball
game was not an event sponsored by an entity acting apart from the national organization to which
Ohio pays membership dues. ALEC obtained a sponsor for this baseball game and then included the
event as part of its Spring Task Force Summit [sic]."
Bledsoe went on to opine-- as a "conclusion of law"-- that lawmakers who accepted tickets to the event
were under no legal obligation to disclose the gifts.
According to Bledsoe, the basis of this conclusion is a 1995 JLEC advisory opinion, Advisory Opinion
95-007. The trouble with Advisory Opinion 95-007 is that there is a very definite disconnect between
the words that actually exist in the opinion and those that Bledsoe apparently believes exist in the
opinion. In other words, Advisory Opinion 95-007 is diametric in its meaning to Bledsoe's
interpretation of it.
The reality of the situation is that Advisory Opinion 95-007 (written, interestingly enough, by former
JLEC chair and current ALEC member, Rep. Batchelder) explicitly states that gifts such as tickets to
the Time Warner Cable-sponsored baseball game are not exempt from Ohio gifting law.
To wit:
"It is important to note that the above two expenses-- travel and meals-- are the only expenses to which
the national meeting exemption applies. Events or activities at a national meeting which are hosted by
entities other than the national or state organization to which the [General Assembly] dues are paid are
not exceptions and must be reported as gifts if the value exceeds $75 (or $25 if from a legislative
agent). For example, if the member is attending a conference sponsored by the National Conference of
State Legislators (NCSL) and XYZ Corporation sponsors a golf outing with free greens fees for the
conference attendees, the greens fees are a gift. If NCSL sponsored the event using the dues paid by its
members to fund the event, that would be considered part of the conference and not reportable as a gift
since in essence the event was actually paid for by the General Assembly through its dues. All
recreational events, excluding travel and meals, sponsored or paid for by someone other than the
conference host is a gift and is therefore reportable if the $75 (or $25) threshold is exceeded [all italics
original]."
Given the fact that the Ohio General Assembly only pays $1,000 in dues to ALEC annually (one third
of the estimated value of baseball game tickets distributed to lawmakers for the Time Warner
Cable/ALEC event), coupled with the fact that the April 29, 2011 baseball game event was openly
"sponsored" by Time Warner Cable-- an organization which had contributed at least $20,000 to ALEC's

16. 2011 operations in Ohio by the time of the event-- it is untenable to argue that ALEC paid for the
baseball game event out of General Assembly dues. Strangely, however-- given the fact that, according
to Advisory Opinion 95-007, this rationale would be the only avenue through which such gifts could be
exempted from Ohio gift disclosure law-- Bledsoe did not attempt to argue this point.
When asked to reconsider his reading of Advisory Opinion 95-007, Bledsoe reiterated his original view,
resting his reasoning on three completely moot points: 1.) Time Warner Cable is an ALEC member, 2.)
the invitation to the game bore the words, "ALEC invites you," and 3.) tickets were available for
pickup at the ALEC registration desk. Because of these points, Bledsoe stated that the baseball game
tickets were exempt from Ohio gifting law-- adding that this conclusion was JLEC-OLIG's "final
decision" on the matter.
A fundamental flaw in Ohio's system of legislative oversight
A clue as to why Bledsoe appears to be unable to understand the meaning of words clearly and plainly
printed in an advisory opinion may be found in the section of Ohio law that governs JLEC-OLIG (Ohio
Revised Code, section 101.34).
As provided by Ohio law, JLEC is comprised of 12 members-- six from each legislative body, not more
than three appointees from either body can be members of the same party. JLEC's House members are
appointed by the speaker. The committee's Senate members are appointed by the senate president.
As provided by Ohio law, JLEC employs the executive director of the committee. This "executive
director" is known as the "legislative inspector general." The legislative inspector general (Bledsoe)
and his staff are collectively referred to as the Office of the Legislative Inspector General (OLIG). As
such, OLIG is an office subordinate to JLEC.
While either the appointment or removal of the legislative inspector general requires the approval of at
least eight JLEC members, consider this: of the lawmakers that employ Legislative Inspector General
Bledsoe and his staff, five-- including JLEC Chair, Sen. Pres. Niehaus, and JLEC Vice Chair, House
Speaker Batchelder-- are ALEC members.
Furthermore, of these five JLEC ALEC members-- Sen. Niehaus, Rep. Batchelder, Rep. Blessing, Sen.
Kieth Farber (R-District 12) and Rep. Matt Huffman (R-District 4)-- three (Niehaus, Huffman and
Farber) received tickets to the Time Warner Cable/ALEC baseball game.
(Note: all references to "Rep. Adams" throughout this article are to Rep. John Adams. There is no
reference to Ohio Rep. Richard Adams anywhere in this story.)