The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) certainly knows how to ring in the New Year. It celebrates by convincing legislators to introduce the dangerous and ill-conceived Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act (AETA). Introductions have been seen in Washington (where the primary sponsor, Sen. Stevens, is the state chair for ALEC), Arizona, and South Carolina. WA S6114, SC H4439 and AZ H2367 were all prefiled for the legislative sessions that just started. In December 2002, ALEC's Criminal Justice Task Force endorsed the model as a way to get at animal rights and environmental organizations working for positive change, by playing upon the current terrorism fears. The legislation's vague language and increased penalties for violent crimes are already covered under existing laws, and are designed not to protect hunting, fishing, livestock farms, and animal research facilities but to suppress legitimate environmental, animal rights, and family farm advocacy. The Act defines an "animal or ecological terrorist organization" as "two or more persons with the primary or incidental purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity… intended to obstruct, impede, or deter any person from participating in a lawful animal activity" or in "mining, foresting, harvesting, gathering, or processing natural resources." This and other passages in the Act could be used to prosecute mainstream environmental groups engaged in nonviolent advocacy work. People providing support to such organizations -- even in the innocuous form of a monetary contribution -- could also be prosecuted. The legislation also authorizes the creation of a "terrorist registry." This is a dangerous piece of legislation that threatens the legitimate work of many organizations, and does nothing to accomplish its stated purpose. AETA is a bill concocted by corporate donors, right-wing interests, and fringe non-profit groups who seek to silence the legitimate opinions of citizens and well-established environmental groups.