The right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council has wrapped up its 40th annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. The meeting hosts corporate lobbyists who vote alongside state lawmakers on model legislation that is then introduced in state legislatures nationwide. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, 466 ALEC-influenced bills were introduced in 2013. The secretive group has come under increasing scrutiny partly for its backing of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law which initially helped shield George Zimmerman from prosecution for killing Trayvon Martin and was later used in instructions to the jury that acquitted him. Thousands of protesters gathered during ALEC’s three-day meeting last week to protest the group’s stance on workers’ right, education, the environment and other issues. At least six people were arrested on Thursday.