2014 -- S 2420

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LC004670

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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J O I N T   R E S O L U T I O N

TO APPROVE AND PUBLISH AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE (WE THE PEOPLE)

     

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Crowley, Nesselbush, and Cool Rumsey

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2014

     Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

     (by request)

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     WHEREAS, The General Assembly seeks to empower the citizens of the state of Rhode

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Island with the right to determine by a vote of the people the question whether corporations are

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people and whether money shall be considered speech; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States Bill of Rights provides certain inalienable rights to

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natural persons; and

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     WHEREAS, Corporations are not mentioned in the United States Constitution; and

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     WHEREAS, Corporations are legal entities that governments create, and the rights they

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enjoy under the United States Constitution should be more narrowly defined than the rights that

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are afforded to natural persons; and

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     WHEREAS, The growing influence of large independent political expenditures by

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corporations and wealthy individuals is a great and growing concern to the people of the United

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States and the State of Rhode Island; and

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     WHEREAS, In a democracy the assurance of a fair and uncorrupted election process is of

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the upmost importance, and the Rhode Island General Assembly believes that it is a legitimate

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and vital role of government to regulate independent political expenditures by corporations,

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unions, and wealthy individuals; and

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     WHEREAS, In fulfillment of this important role the government of the United States and

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a majority of states have regulated and restricted independent political expenditures by

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corporations; and

 

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     WHEREAS, In 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States decided by a bare majority

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in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission that the First Amendment of the Constitution

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of the United States prohibits restrictions on the use of corporate and union treasury funds for

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electioneering; and

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     WHEREAS, Citizens United was a dramatic reversal of established Supreme Court

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precedent, and overturned decades of statutes enacted by Congress and numerous state

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legislatures; and

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     WHEREAS, Citizens United has served as precedent for further legal decisions harming

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our democratic system of government, including SpeechNow.org v. FEC, which allows wealthy

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individuals to anonymously channel unlimited political expenditures through Super PACs; and

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     WHEREAS, In the wake of Citizens United there has been an exponential increase in

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large independent political expenditures by corporations and wealthy individuals which threatens

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the integrity of the election process, corrupts our candidates, dilutes the power of individual

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voters and distort the public discourse; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That a majority of all members elected to each house of the General

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Assembly voting therefor, an amendment to Article I of the Constitution of the state shall be

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proposed to the qualified electors of the state for their approval in accordance with the provisions

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of Article XIV of the Constitution, and upon such approval, new sections 25 and 26, set forth

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below, be added to and included in Article I of the Constitution; and that said proposition of

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amendment shall be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection at the next statewide

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general election, and said proposition of amendment shall appear on the ballots as the first

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referendum question posed and shall be preceded by the following explanation and space to

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"approve" or "reject", all of which shall be in substantially the following form:

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     1. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT-WE THE PEOPLE

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     Approval of this amendment will recognize and define corporations as artificial entities

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established by law, and it shall prevent money spent to influence elections to be construed as

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speech.

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     APPROVE ________

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     REJECT ________

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      New sections shall be added to and included in Article I of the Constitution to read as

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follows:

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     Section 25. [Artificial Entities Such as Corporations Do Not Have Constitutional Rights]

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     The rights protected by the Constitution of Rhode Island are the rights of natural persons

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only.

 

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     Artificial entities established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign

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state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People,

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through State or local law.

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     The privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by the People, through State or

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local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable.

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     Section 26. [Money is Not Free Speech]

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     State and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and

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expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all

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citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process, and that no

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person gains, as a result of their money, substantially more access or ability to influence in any

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way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure.

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     State and local government shall require that any permissible contributions and

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expenditures be publicly disclosed.

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     The spending of money to influence elections shall not be construed as speech under

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Article 1, section 21 of the Rhode Island Constitution.

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     RESOLVED, That the voting places in the several cities and towns shall be kept open

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during the hours required by law for voting therein for general officers of the state; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause said proposition of amendment to be

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published as a part of this resolution in the newspapers of the state prior to the date of the said

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meetings of the said electors; and said proposition shall be inserted in the warrants or notices to

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district meetings of said electors; the district meetings shall be conducted in the same manner as

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now provided by law for the town, ward, and district meetings for the election of general officers

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of the state; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, that the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby petitions

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Congress, under Article V of the United States Constitution, to call a Constitutional Convention

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for the purpose of examining the issues of corporate personhood, electoral campaign financing,

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and the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, that the General Assembly considers the requirements of Article V to have

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been met when two-thirds of the state legislatures, including our own, shall have also petitioned

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Congress for such a convention for the same or similar purposes within ten years of the passage

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of this resolution; be it also

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     RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution shall be entered into the Congressional record

 

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and shall be distributed to the President of the United States of America, the President of the

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United States Senate, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker

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of the United States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of

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Representatives, and to each leader of the houses of the legislatures of the several states, in

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encouragement that they enact the same.

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LC004670

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