This report takes an in depth look at the consequences of political spending by the largest US public companies over the past decade. It examines how companies’ corporate political spending often conflicts with their publicly stated values and the challenges this creates in today’s hyper-polarized environment. Collision Course Report…
Big corporations have deep pockets and face few checks and balances, which means they have great influence. But, when a company’s political spending doesn’t align with its policies and values, there are bound to be consequences. Here’s an example: In 2016, North Carolina’s enactment of a controversial transgender bathroom law, HB2, brought high-profile news coverage…
Support by mutual funds for the Center for Political Accountability’s corporate political disclosure resolution jumped significantly in 2017, to 48 percent from 43 percent in 2016, according to an analysis by Fund Votes. The analysis also found that abstentions decreased from five percent to three percent, indicating a shift toward more active support for political…
Three of the four mutual fund groups that received top rankings for political spending disclosure and accountability in a recent benchmarking study have largely aligned their proxy votes with their policies, supporting at least half of the Center for Political Accountability’s model political disclosure resolutions in this year’s proxy season.
Mutual funds support for corporate political spending disclosure resolutions held firm in the 2015 proxy season, according to the Center for Political Accountability’s latest survey of mutual fund voting records. This year, funds voted for disclosure 42 percent of the time on average, slightly above the 40 percent vote last year.
The 2016 U.S. election cycle is on track to break political spending records — and corporate contributions will be a large part of that. More than ever, it is the directors’ responsibility to determine when and how their company should engage in political activities. But do board members actually know how to provide proper oversight…
Corporations and unions are subject to widely different disclosure requirements of their political spending with treasury funds. Citizens United freed up both unions and corporations to spend unlimited amounts of treasury funds on political expenditures, but none of the disclosure requirements for either group were updated along with the loosened spending restrictions. The result is…
The role of corporations in politics has changed dramatically. From the passage of the Tillman Act in 1907 to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2010 in Citizens United, corporations played a limited role in the financing of federal elections. Corporations were prohibited from using corporate treasuries to make any contributions or expenditures in connection with…
The elections are over, but the aftereffects of all those negative ads linger, both for shell-shocked TV viewers and for corporate donors that gave millions to put the thirty-second spots on the air. In boardrooms across the country, executives and directors are taking on uncomfortable questions about the money given to super PACs, trade associations…