HB616: Independent Campaign Expenditures Restriction Act

[boricuamaximus]

From Delegate Ali's Blog:
http://www.saqibali.org/blog/2010/02/house-bill-616-independent-campaign.html


House Bill 616: Independent Campaign Expenditures Restriction Act

For this reason, I have introduced House Bill 616: Independent Campaign Expenditure Restriction Act. This bill mandates that:

1. Whenever any corporation makes an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election in excess of $10,000 it has to be reported and disclosed publicly online within 24 hours.

2. Before any corporation makes an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election in excess of $10,000 it has to get approval from the majority of its shareholders.

3. Any corporation doing business with the State of MD cannot make an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election.

The idea is to make it more difficult for such corporations to simply dump tens of millions of dollars into election campaigns to elect candidates most amenable to their interests.

http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/bills/hb/hb0616f.pdf

He states that he will be happy to any amendment to the bill. I told him not to attack corporations only. Unions and many other organizations need to be curbed too because it will be punitive against corporations.

His words:

Saqib Ali
M, the bill was written to apply to Corporations. But I'm fine with any amendment to include Unions as well.

posting:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/saqib.ali1?v=feed&story_fbid=323837917386

__________________________________________________

Now the question. Aside from him, should I find another Delegate to attach the amendment or is that something that he can do himself? I just want to know who I need to write to and hopefully others on the board can send letters to their reps to include unions and such.

 

[Norton]

He says that, but will see if the key of that tune changes after the NEA and SEIU get ahold of him.

 

[vette97]

I passed this on to a friend who's a business owner in the state. I believe she's an LLC which might also be restricted.

 

[Spot77]

This is wrong:

2. Before any corporation makes an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election in excess of $10,000 it has to get approval from the majority of its shareholders.

It's more meddling by the state into a private company's affairs. The board serves at the will of the shareholders and is already held responsible for the decisions it makes.....by the shareholders. The government has no right to interfere with a private company's internal decisions as long as they comply with the law. But I guess taht's the point; to control people, you have to make so many laws that everybody becomes a lawbreaker.

How can somebody elected to office be so stupid?

 

[ThatIsAFact]

I read the bill. It is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right of corporations to independently speak to the public to express opinions on candidates or incumbents. The legislature lacks the constitutional authority to say that a corporation may not do business with the state unless the corporation is willing to forfeit its First Amendment right. That would be like a county board passing a law that the county will only pay to publish official notices in newspapers that agree not to publish editorials criticizing county politicians.

By the way, the bill applies equally to for-profit corporations and nonprofit corporations. The NRA, for example, is a nonprofit corporation.

Corporations do not "elect candidates." Independent ads do not "elect candidates." Voters elect candidates. All that corporations can do is seek to persuade voters.

 

[jehu]

By the way, the bill applies equally to for-profit corporations and nonprofit corporations. The NRA, for example, is a nonprofit corp.

You can't write off donations to the NRA, they don't have tax exempt status.

 

[ThatIsAFact]

The NRA is indeed a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation

You can't write off donations to the NRA, they don't have tax exempt status.

Yes, the NRA does have tax-exempt status. The NRA is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation covered by section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

You are confusing tax-exempt, nonprofit status with deductability of contributions. These are two different things. Only certain types of nonprofit corporations can receive contributions that are tax deductible to the donors -- for example, those organizations deemed to be primarily educational or religious, as opposed to organizations that are primarily engaged in lobbying and advocacy. The organizations that can receive tax-deductible contributions are covered by Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code. The NRA has a 501(c)(3) arm, called the NRA Foundation, that can receive tax-deductible donations. Both the 501(c)(3) and the 501(c)(4) arms are tax exempt.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I agree with ThatIsAFact. Going to have a hard time getting aound the recent Supreme Court decision on this issue with that bill.