Alabama Republicans are moving in lockstep with President Trump’s “gold standard science” push in Washington by advancing legislation in Montgomery to protect the state from ever being overrun by environmental regulations that are stricter than what the federal government imposes.
GOP lawmakers State Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R-Geneva) and State Rep. Troy Stubbs (R-Wetumpka) are driving a coordinated effort with SB71 and HB162 to block state agencies from adopting new environmental numeric standards that are more suffocating than federal regulations.
Under the bill, if there is no federal standard in place, the bill would still allow agencies to regulate – but only if the rule is supported by the best available science and the weight of scientific evidence.
But left-wing, out-of-state groups – some even backed by George Soros – are fighting back.
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Energy Alabama has publicly urged lawmakers to reject the legislation, claiming it would tie the hands of state regulators and allow utilities such as Alabama Power to shift pollution costs onto customers.
However, Energy Alabama’s opposition comes as the group has received funding from a network of left-wing aligned organizations and progressive funding pipelines. In 2023, Energy Alabama received $150,000.00 from the Tides Foundation.
Energy Alabama has also received support from groups including Alabama Forward, Multiplier, and the WestWind Foundation.
Tides is widely known as one of the largest pass-through funders for left-wing causes and has received tens of millions from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
Alabama Forward is a critical race theory-aligned coalition and has reportedly received hundreds of thousands from the Southern Poverty Law Center, while maintaining ties to organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, and the NAACP.
Multiplier is an environmental and social policy organization that focuses its giving on groups advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the WestWind Foundation has funded environmentalist and pro-abortion organizations.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is campaigning against the bills and argues they would undercut Alabama’s ability to set its own water and air rules — including by limiting reliance on federal toxic risk tools like IRIS.
According to nonprofit financial data aggregated by Cause IQ, the Southern Environmental Law Center received a $250,000 contribution from the Tides Foundation’s Frontline Justice Fund in March 2024.
As the bills advance through the legislature, it’s shaping up to be a State House showdown between Alabama families and out-of-state puppets peddling Obama-era eco-scams.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
