Group Wants Corporate Donors To Be Revealed
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A Michigan group has begun collecting signatures for a ballot measure requiring far more disclosure of corporate donations.
A 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case enabled corporations and other well-financed donors to give unlimited money to political committees that avoid direct coordination with campaigns.
The decision led to super political action committees. Later court and government rulings gave the groups more latitude by allowing donors to make unlimited donations with minimal disclosure requirements.
The Corporate Accountability Amendment unveiled Thursday would change the state constitution to require corporations as well as any group receiving corporate donations to reveal the donors behind the money.
"Millions of dollars are increasingly poured into our state to lobby our elected officials, to pay for ads on TV that try to influeve our elections, and we don't know who's paying for it," Jocelyn Benson told WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick.
"So, what this would do is essentially give us the ability ... when corportations are spending money to infleucne our elections and polititions, that we know about it," she said.
Backers have until July 9 to collect the 322,609 signatures needed to get the measure on the November ballot.
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