* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Clarke
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
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Request for Federal Action - Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
FOR the purpose of stating the Baltimore City Council’s opposition to the United States Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, supporting a Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and remove corporate money from the electoral process, and calling on Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution.
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Recitals
The United States Supreme Court’s 5-4 Citizens United v. FEC decision in 2010 opened the door to unlimited corporate spending on elections. Since that ruling, each subsequent election cycle has seen unprecedented levels of overall spending, greater corporate involvement in politics, and increasing amounts of independent negative advertising targeting candidates at the behest of unknown interests.
However, the broad reading of the Court’s decision in Citizens United has severely hampered the ability of federal, state, and local governments to respond to these concerns through reasonable campaign finance reforms or regulation of corporate political activity. If government regulation of corporate political activity remains so constrained, there will be no way to protect our democratic system from the distorting effects of political spending motivated solely by profit rather than any a...
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