One of the leading conservative advocacy groups in the Yellowhammer State has changed their stance on a piece of legislation that is facing major pushback from far-left environmental groups that often show up to meddle in Alabama energy policy.

Earlier this session, Eagle Forum of Alabama originally urged lawmakers to vote ‘No’ against the “Sound Science” bill — but has since amended their position on the measure.

“Recognizing that our members approach this issue from different but sincere conservative perspectives, Eagle Forum of Alabama will remain neutral on this legislation,” the group said on their website.

Following the lead of President Trump’s “gold standard science” push in Washington, 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.

The Eagle Forum of Alabama explained the reason for the split within their organization on the issue.

“Conservatives agree on the goal of clean water and healthy communities,” the group said. “Many are comfortable with existing government standards, while others believe stronger protections may be needed. At the same time, conservatives value economic freedom and worry that too much environmental regulation can hurt both small and large businesses. Both of these views are held in good faith.”

The bill is actively under fire from left-wing groups including Energy Alabama, which has ties with the George Soros funded Tides Foundation. 

Energy Alabama, a Huntsville-based nonprofit founded in 2014, says it is an advocate for clean energy education and policy in the state. However, its operations are heavily reliant on funding from progressive foundations with far-left agendas. 

RELATED: State Sen. Gerald Allen: Who’s really funding Alabama’s energy debate?

In 2023 alone, Energy Alabama received $150,000 from the Tides Center, a sister organization to the Tides Foundation, which serves as a major conduit for dark money in left-wing causes. 

The Tides network, based in San Francisco and managing over $1.4 billion in assets, is a left-leaning donor-advised fund that funnels anonymous donations to progressive organizations. It has received tens of millions from billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, including $25.8 million between 2020 and 2021, some earmarked for pro-Palestinian causes. 

Additional Tides donors include the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, to the tune of nearly $1 million in 2023, and the Ford Foundation, both of which support a broad spectrum of far-left initiatives, including anti-Israel activism and dark money networks that have backed protests against conservative policies. 

Tides has also been linked to funding groups involved in anti-Trump “No Kings” protests and pro-Hamas nonprofits, channeling resources from Soros and other Democratic megadonors like Pierre Omidyar and Peter Buffett. 

Beyond Tides, Energy Alabama has pulled in $35,000 from Multiplier, a fiscal sponsor for transmission-focused clean energy projects tied to left-wing environmentalism, and $15,000 from the Westwind Foundation, another progressive grantmaker focused on climate activism.

These funding streams clearly indicate Energy Alabama has a shadowy, worldwide network of far-left entities that prioritize aggressive regulatory interventions over balanced economic policies at the expense of local industries like Alabama farmers and manufacturers. 

The Tides Foundation itself exemplifies the opaque, interconnected web of far-left funding that supports opposition to bills like SB71 and HB162. As a pass-through organization, Tides has distributed grants to a wide array of progressive causes, including $400,000 to the Indigenous-led nonprofit IfNotNow and nearly $500,000 to Jewish Voice for Peace, both anti-Zionist groups involved in pro-Palestinian protests, sourced from donors like Soros and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 

Congressional testimony has highlighted how Tides receives indirect support from U.S. taxpayer dollars via agencies like USAID, which awarded over $27 million to the Tides Center, enabling it to back leftist activism that influences federal policy. 

Critics, including U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), have described Tides as a “dark money” group on the left, akin to conservative counterparts, that obscures donor intent while advancing radical agendas. Tides’ affiliations extend to Democratic oligarchs and have been implicated in funding networks that overlap with pro-abortion organizations, such as through shared donors like Soros, who has poured millions into reproductive rights groups alongside environmental causes.

Another out-of-state opponent meddling in Alabama is the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, with operations across the Southeast, but no ties to Alabama.

SELC has actively campaigned against SB71 and HB162, arguing that the bills would strip Alabama’s authority to set its own pollution standards and ignore federal health tools for assessing toxic risks. 

As the largest 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit in the region, SELC operates with a $830,000 lobbying budget in 2024 and has contributed over $24,000 to political candidates — overwhelmingly Democrats. 

Its far-left leanings are further exposed through funding from billionaire Fred Stanback.

Stanback and his family hold three seats on SELC’s President’s Council, and through the Foundation for the Carolinas, which manages over $2.5 billion in assets and has given SELC more than $175 million from 2001-2017, has channeled millions to the group. 

Stanback is also a massive donor to pro-abortion organizations, including multiple Planned Parenthood funds, $1 million annually.

SELC has also received nearly $4.5 million from the Energy Foundation between 2007 and 2014, a pass-through funder for left-of-center environmental causes. 

The Energy Foundation’s China affiliate, Energy Foundation China (EFC), has been scrutinized in Senate hearings for funneling millions from entities tied to the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. climate groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Despite the pushback, Republican lawmakers continue to remind constituents that the goal of legislation in Montgomery is to protect the state from ever being overrun by environmental regulations that are stricter than what the federal government imposes.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee