Global pharmaceutical maker Merck & Co. said today it is leaving the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council — which drafts model bills that are replicated in state legislatures across the country — because of “budget constraints and policy priorities.” ALEC, a group of nearly 2,000 state lawmakers and 300 companies and advocacy groups, is a nonprofit advocating fiscal restraint and fewer regulations, but critics have called it a national lobbying group that skirts disclosure requirements while pushing a conservative agenda.
