Billings Gazette: Senators want to revamp campaign spending laws
Montana’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus said Tuesday that they are backing proposed constitutional amendments to reverse a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision on campaign finance laws.
They want to empower Congress to regulate campaign fundraising and spending in federal races and give state the same power in elections for state office.
Their actions came shortly after Saturday’s two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That freed up corporations, foreign companies and unions to spend unlimited money from their general funds on independent political expenditures, including the direct advocacy for the election or defeat of candidates.
Tester said Tuesday that he’s signing on to a proposed constitutional amendment introduced by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., in November.
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To amend the U.S. Constitution, a measure must pass both the U.S. Senate and House by two-third majority votes. Three-fourths of the states must ratify it for the change to take effect.
“It’s a pretty steep climb, and it’s not going to affect this election,” Tester said. “But the fact is this is something that’s right for Montana and right for the country. This is something worth fighting for.”
These bills also come less than a month after the Montana Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and reinstated the state’s century-old, voter-passed prohibition on corporations making independent political expenditures.
Western Tradition Partnership, a Washington, D.C., group, and two Montana corporations had urged the court to strike down the Montana law based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s precedent. They are seeking to appeal the Montana Supreme Court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tester said he decided to sign on to Udall bill for several reasons.
“I think ultimately the (Supreme Court) decision popped a bunch of money into elections with no transparency and no accountability,” Tester said in an interview. “Unless there’s sunlight, nobody knows where it’s coming from.”
Tester praised the Montana Supreme Court decision to restore the law that voters passed in 1912 because of concerns over corporate corruption here.
“Montanans 100 years ago saw what can happen when corporations can buy elections,” Tester said. “The people stood up and said we want no more of that. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re saying timeout.”
Tester said he’s already seeing the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision this campaign through third-party ads with false information.
