For the last year and a half, I've been crafting a state-based legal approach that aims to render Citizens United irrelevant by redefining the powers granted to corporations under state law. The approach is rooted in centuries-old foundational corporation law: if a corporation has not been granted the power to do something, then any right to do that thing is irrelevant.
Because we are fancy here at CAP, we are calling this the Corporate Power Reset.
The project is being piloted in Montana for the 2026 ballot; find out more here: https://transparentelection.org/
My full report is here: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-corporate-power-reset-that-makes-citizens-united-irrelevant/
A short explainer video has gotten some nice traction on r/law and elsewhere on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/law/comments/1nrcrez/video_the_legal_strategy_that_renders_citizens/
And CAP's hosting an in-person and streamed event on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 1pm ET with former Montana Sen. Jon Tester: https://www.americanprogress.org/events/undoing-citizens-united-and-reining-in-super-pacs/
I’ll be here in r/politics at 11:30AM ET on Wednesday, October 8. Ask me anything about CAP's Corporate Power Reset, Citizens United, dark money, state power over corporations, The Montana Plan, or my new AirPods Pro 3.
Source: TomMooreJD
7 Comments
Woah that is huge! Thats going to be a big 50x battle and I wish you the best of luck!!!
What are the economic repercussions is say 35 states adopted this and 15 did not? Let’s say Texas votes against it. Is this another incentive for corporations to move to Texas or is it such a small thing in the corporate scale it’s not worth changing states?
Random policy question, how do you feel about the Secure Act 2.0. It caused the treasury to share its database of unclaimed matured treasury funds with the states. Treasury has now [retired their search function](https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/treasury-hunt/) allowing individuals to search to see if they had any unclaimed matured treasury funds – treasury holds $40billion in total. But the states don’t have a way for public individuals to search that database yet so it seems like they’ve just removed $40billion from the public.
How feasible is it politically for a state to pass a law or constitutional amendment redefining corporate power so dramatically? In what ways might we see major businesses or lobbying groups try to block these efforts?
Hi Tom. It kinda breaks my heart that this solution has been present all along and nobody, not even a Citizens United staunch opposer like Bernie Sanders (etc), platformed it or knew about it?
Have you had any discussions with Democratic progressive leadership about this?
Secondly, Montana is incredibly red at this moment. Is Montana really the best place to test this out? I imagine the Repubs in power would do everything they can, both legal and illegal, to prevent this from being instated even if it was passed by the people on the ballot. What’s the plan there?
Me being naive: If I were you, I’d have Bernie platform CPR in Vermont and have it pass and tested there. Idk, thoughts on that?
Do you feel Chief Justice Roberts’ ego will allow this to eventually be heard by them?
Wow… I’m going through the content, but looks good so far. Well done, and congrats. CU has had a bigger impact on bringing the crazy into politics than I think most people are willing to admit or acknowledge. It needs to end.
Hey, why don’t you add a page for corporations and solicit donations from corporations too? Messaging something along the lines of – one less expense for corporations means more profits. By making a small donation if this passes you can list on your achievements saving company X amount of money.
Companies are harmed as much as helped by legislation and without the biggest pocketbook you’re at risk.. list of examples, etc. Even better find actual companies that took real fiscal harm from a piece of previous legislation, and solicit donations from them using that specific example. “If this law were passed how much could it have saved you..”