Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group): Difference between revisions

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Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.
Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.


=== MA Legislation for Campaign Finance Reform ===
We hope to influence action in the area of campaign finance reform at the state level when the next legislative session begins in January.
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]
Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.
[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]
Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]
Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads.
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]
Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fundraising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]
Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]
Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 


=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===
=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Revision as of 14:47, 15 November 2011

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

Meetings:

Next Meeting will be:  TBD; Communicate through wiki and email for now. Email sandersh6000@gmail.com to join email list. Some of us will attend Move to Amend's meeting this Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 Thursday in the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.)

Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29

Minutes from Nov. 1

 


Next Steps Agreed on:

Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group. The Nov. 12 Open Discussion group recommends that we collaborate with existing activities on campaign funding by Move to Amend and the Coffee Party.

Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.


Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting:

Decide if we support proposed state legislation Bill S.305 “Massachusetts Corporate Accountability Act of 2011."  If so, the next step might be to have Brookline/Brighton residents find outMichael Moran's plans for calling a committee vote on the bill.

Attend Move to Amend meeting against Citizens United, to be held at 7:00 Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.) 

Attend (or watch livestream) Northeastern's Teach In on Sunday, Nov. 13 about the state of the economy, especially the afternoon sessions:

  • 12:30 – 2:00 Politics and economics: what went wrong?
  • 2:15 – 3:45 What can be done? Reclaiming our economy and our democracy.

Get involved in Move to Amend's Occupy the Courts on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012).

Get involved in Public Citizen's Democracy is for the People action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012).

Sub-topics: 

  

Background Information:

Campaign Finance Legislation (passed and pending)

Politicians and Candidates

Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)

Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption (in Politico.com)

Groups Outside Occupy Boston

http://movetoamend.org  "We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:

  • Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
  • Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
  • Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.

The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend."

http://www.coffeepartyusa.com and http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com

  

Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery"

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

You can sign up to receive emails at [[1]]  

 

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