Phil Montgomery

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Phil Montgomery is a former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, having served in that capacity for 12 years, or six terms, from 1998 through 2010.[1] After those 12 years, Montgomery retired and was named as the head of the Wisconsin Public Services Commission by Governor Scott Walker in March 2011.[2]

Phil Montgomery was the 2010 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Public Sector Board Treasurer.[3]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Phil Montgomery and Ties to ALEC and the Koch Brothers

In 2005, Montgomery was named “Legislator of the Year” by ALEC. A press release written by ALEC regarding their choice to give him this reward praised Montgomery for “leading the fight…against government intrusion in the broadband marketplace.”[4]

A 2008 article written by Harvard College’s Nieman Watchdog revealed that Montgomery has been responsible for the presentation and passage of many ALEC-written “model bills” in the telecommunications area, as did a 2011 article by the Capital Times’ Judy Davidoff.[5][6] Montgomery is a member of ALEC's Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force.

Furthermore, according to One Wisconsin Now, a liberal advocacy group located in Madison, WI, Montgomery received the maximum amount of money possible from Koch Industries in the 2006, 2008, and 2010 election cycles.[7]

Involvement with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

Montgomery also formerly served as the Chairman of NCSL’s Standing Committee on Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce.[8] He spoke at NCSL’s 2009 fall forum on December 11, on a panel titled, “Improving Our 911 Systems.”[9]

Articles and resources

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External resources

External articles

References

  1. [ http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1875&keyword=montgomery Phil Montgomery], Wisconsin Historical Society website, accessed July 7, 2011.
  2. [1], Content, Thomas. “Walker picks Montgomery to head PSC.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. JSOnline.com. March 28, 2011. Accessed July 2, 2011.
  3. [2], American Association for Justice. “ALEC: Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America.” Justice.org. May 2010. p. 17
  4. [3], American Legislative Exchange Council. “Montgomery Named ALEC Legislator of the Year.” WisPolitics.com. August 23, 2005. Accessed July 2, 2011.
  5. [4], Kushnick, Bruce. “Wisconsin: A case study in how corporations get the legislation they want.” Nieman Watchdog. NiemanWatchdog.org. July 31, 2008.
  6. [5], Davidoff, Judy. “On Topic: New Public Service Commission chair no fan of regulation.” Madison Capital Times. Madison.com. April 1, 2011.
  7. [6], “Walker Installs Koch Machine to Head Public Service Commission: Montgomery Received Koch PAC Maximum Last Three Election Cycles” One Wisconsin Now. OneWisconsinNow.org. Accessed July 2, 2011.
  8. [7], Montgomery, Phil. “Testimony of Honorable Phil Montgomery State Representative, Wisconsin.” Heartland Institute. Heartland.org. March 31, 2009. Accessed July 2, 2011.
  9. [8], “Speaker Biographies - 2009 Fall Forum.” National Conference of State Legislatures.” NCSL.org. Accessed July 2, 2011.
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