In mid-July, the Shareholder Protection Act1 was reintroduced into Congress, representing the latest attempt by shareholder activists to extend corporate governance requirements to cover political spending by corporations in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.2 If it were to be adopted and signed into law, the Shareholder Protection Act would create a formidable set of burdens for corporations that wish to make political-speech contributions, while exempting labor unions from its requirements. Just like a similar legislative initiative, the DISCLOSE Act of 2010 (also known as the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act),3 which failed to pass Congress, the Shareholder Protection Act is a poorly conceived concept from a corporate governance perspective.
Response to ‘Citizens United’
In January 2010, the Supreme Court held that, under the First Amendment, corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections could not be limited. The Citizens United decision reversed the district court’s decision upholding provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, generally known as the McCain-Feingold Act, which prohibited all corporations and unions from sponsoring political advertisements within a certain number of days before an election.4 The decision did uphold the campaign finance disclaimer and disclosure requirements.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
