HELENA – U.S. Sen. Max Baucus’ proposed constitutional amendment aimed at undoing a U.S. Supreme Court campaign finance ruling is scheduled for a July hearing.
Baucus says the amendment would restore the ability to regulate corporate political contributions and spending.
The Democrat introduced the proposal in 2010 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case which established that corporations and labor unions have constitutional speech rights. It undid past restrictions on their political spending.
The proposal is an obvious long shot — it takes two-thirds of the House and the Senate and positive votes in three-quarters of the states to change the Constitution.
Montana has been at the forefront of the issue. The Supreme Court earlier this year struck down the state’s ban on corporate third-party spending in elections.