SJR18 - Campaign finance reform.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 18 CHAPTER 207 Relative to campaign finance reform. [ Filed with Secretary of State August 24, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 18, McNerney. Campaign finance reform. This measure would memorialize the Legislature’s strong disagreement with the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and encourage states to adopt policies to limit the powers of corporations to contribute to political campaigns, consistent with the United States Constitution. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill Text WHEREAS, The protections afforded by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to the people of our nation are fundamental to our democracy; and WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was intended to protect the free speech rights of natural persons; and WHEREAS, Corporations are not people but, instead, are entities created by the laws of states and nations; and WHEREAS, For the past five decades, starting with the decision in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) 424 U.S. 1, a divided United States Supreme Court has transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool for corporations seeking to evade and invalidate democratically enacted reforms; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court’s transformation culminated in their Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 558 U.S. 310 opinion; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission overturned longstanding precedent prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in our elections; and WHEREAS, Justice Stevens’ concurring and dissenting opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, noted that corporations have special advantages not enjoyed by natural persons, such as limited liability, perpetual life, and favorable treatment of the accumulation and distribution of assets, that allow them to spend prodigious sums on campaign messages, often in favor of policies that harm natural persons; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has unleashed a torrent of corporate money in our political process, including from independent expenditure-only political action committees, known as Super PACs, and “dark money” funds from groups that do not disclose their donors and that may come from foreign sources, unmatched by any campaign expenditure totals in United States history; and WHEREAS, According to the Brennan Center for Justice, nearly $2 billion of dark money was spent during the 2024 federal election cycle; and WHEREAS, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission prevents states from enforcing state laws and state constitutional provisions separating corporate money from elections; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission represents a serious and direct threat to our democracy; and WHEREAS, The general public and political leaders in the United States have recognized, since the founding of our country, that the interests of corporations do not always correspond with the public interest and, therefore, the political influence of corporations should be limited; and WHEREAS, In 1816, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I hope we shall ... crush in [its] birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country”; and WHEREAS, Legislators have a duty to protect democracy and guard against threats to the integrity of our elections; and WHEREAS, Montana and several other states are pursuing ballot initiatives and legislation to limit the power of corporations operating within the state to contribute to political campaigns; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully but strongly disagrees with the majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and encourages states to adopt policies to limit the powers of corporations to contribute to political campaigns, consistent with the United States Constitution; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.