Democracy

With the second anniversary approaching of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case – which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections – the Arizona PIRG Education Fund and Citizens for Tax Justice revealed 30 corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

Today saw the introduction of the long-awaited legislative reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett, House Majority Leader John McComish and Senate Assistant Minority Leader Rebecca Rios joined today with members of the Arizona Student Vote Coalition in a non-partisan effort to urge Arizona young people to register and vote in the upcoming primary and general elections.

Today a series of strong reforms was introduced in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United ruling.

By deciding that corporations should be treated in the same manner as ordinary citizens and be allowed to spend the massive amounts of money they accumulate on direct attack ads for or against Members of Congress, today the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United vs. Federal Election Commission will significantly expand the role that the most powerful corporations play in election financing.

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund released a new report highlighting the potential influence of campaign giving on transportation funding decisions at the state and federal level. Greasing the Wheels: the Crossroads of Campaign Money and Transportation Policy looks at transportation funding and campaign contributions both in Arizona and across the nation.