Phoenix police dressed in riot gear made seven arrests and twice used pepper spray against knots of people among about 200 protesters Wednesday at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in northeast Phoenix.

The protesters, many loosely affiliated with the "Occupy" movement, said they want to call public attention to the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization meeting at the resort that brings together large corporations and conservative state lawmakers to draft model bills.

"These people are writing laws that are rubber-stamped and passed in state legislatures all around the country," said one protester, Rob Smith, 36, of Phoenix, adding that laws "should not be written behind closed doors, particularly by corporations."

Another protester, Phoenix resident Pam Boyd, said ALEC "is not representing our communities, they're representing a constituency that is not elected. I want my representation back."

Protesters and police for the most part were orderly.

"Unfortunately, a few anarchists have joined the Occupy movement, and crowds tried to push their way through the police line on to the resort property," said Sgt. Trent Crump, a police spokesman. "(Pepper) spray was deployed twice on aggressive groups, which was effective in stopping their actions."

Gov. Jan Brewer, who spoke at the conference, did so without incident, police said.

About 900 predominantly Republican lawmakers from across the country are taking part in the three-day conference, which is sponsored by ExxonMobil, AT&T, Salt River Project, Altria, Novartis, Aetna and Freeport-McMoRan, among other corporations.

Lawmakers were aware of the protests but dismissed the protesters' concerns of undue influence.

"They presume that my vote can be bought, and it can't," said Amanda Grosserode, a GOP lawmaker from Lenexa, Kan.

At a much more subdued gathering at the state Capitol on Wednesday morning, a group of about 40 professionals and activist leaders spoke about how legislation that has come out of ALEC affects Arizonans.

"ALEC is the mechanism companies use to control public policy," former Arizona Democratic legislative leader John Loredo said. "This is policy designed to enrich the richest corporations in the country at the expense of the middle class and the voters."

He and other speakers mentioned Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 immigration law, laws supporting the use of private prisons, efforts to curb union activities and laws that privatize education.