Shareholder Protection Act Stands on Shaky Legs

Wednesday 04 August 2010

by: Yana Kunichoff, t r u t h o u t | Report

The House Financial Services Committee approves the Shareholder Protection Act, granting a corporation's shareholders new oversight in the company's political expenditure.

The act requires shareholders to approve a corporation's political spending for federal races, a move by House Democrats calculated to mitigate the effects of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. This Supreme Court decision treated corporations as individuals, giving them the right to spent unlimited funds from their treasuries to support or attack political candidates.