02/17/2012 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

           SJR 13-AMEND U.S. CONST RE CAMPAIGN MONEY                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:43:31 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SJR 13.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  BILL WIELECHOWSKI,  sponsor  of SJR  13, introduced  the                                                               
resolution speaking to the following sponsor statement:                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     Many  Americans recognize  that  the  ability of  large                                                                    
     contributions  from  corporations, wealthy  individuals                                                                    
     and  organizations to  political  candidates harms  the                                                                    
     ability  of  citizens to  have  a  voice in  their  own                                                                    
     government.  Prior   to  the  landmark   United  States                                                                    
     Supreme  Court ruling  in  Citizens  United v.  Federal                                                                    
     Election Commission,  130 S. Ct. 876  (2010), unlimited                                                                    
     independent expenditures  from corporations  and unions                                                                    
     was prohibited.  Now, corporations and unions  can make                                                                    
     unlimited   independent   expenditures  supporting   or                                                                    
     opposing a  candidate for public office.  This directly                                                                    
     goes against the American idea  of one person one vote,                                                                    
     when one corporation can spend more than thousands.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     This  decision only  made the  cynicism most  Americans                                                                    
     feel  about politics  stronger.  If people  feel as  if                                                                    
     their vote  does not  matter, then  voter participation                                                                    
     will continue to decline.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     The massive amount of money  in politics following this                                                                    
     decision is exploding the  expense of campaigns, making                                                                    
     it difficult for  new or unknown candidates  to enter a                                                                    
     race. More  and more,  the money spent  by corporations                                                                    
     and unions is  going to negative attack  ads that often                                                                    
     misinform   voters  rather   than  promote   productive                                                                    
     discussion.  Allowing unlimited  campaign donations  by                                                                    
     corporations and unions takes  the focus for candidates                                                                    
     away from  individual voters to  those whose  money can                                                                    
     afford to sway hundreds of votes.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  said there  are only two  ways to  fix this                                                               
problem.  Either the  Supreme Court  reverses itself  or Congress                                                               
amends the  U.S. Constitution.  The first  option is  unlikely at                                                               
this  point. Thus,  SJR 13  urges Congress  and the  President to                                                               
work to amend the constitution  to prohibit corporations, wealthy                                                               
individuals   and  unions   from  making   unlimited  independent                                                               
expenditures in elections.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH stated that he couldn't agree more.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:46:14 PM                                                                                                                    
CHRISTINA  MOUNCE, representing  the  Juneau chapter  of Move  to                                                               
Amend,   explained   that   the  mission   of   this   nationwide                                                               
organization  was to  amend the  U.S. Constitution  to limit  the                                                               
amount  that  corporations  can spend  in  elections.  After  the                                                               
Citizens United decision  nearly $4 billion was  spent during the                                                               
2010  congressional election,  and  according to  the Center  for                                                               
Responsive Politics, 85 percent of  House seats and 83 percent of                                                               
Senate seats went  to the candidate that spent the  most money in                                                               
that  election cycle.  She said  the playing  field is  no longer                                                               
level but  in passing  the resolution  Alaska would  be asserting                                                               
itself  in  support  of  fair  campaigns  and  representation  of                                                               
average Americans. She  submitted a letter that was  signed by 10                                                               
Juneau  residents  who were  unable  to  attend the  hearing  but                                                               
supported SJR 13.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:48:27 PM                                                                                                                    
LARRY HURLOCK,  representing himself,  said he was  testifying to                                                               
highlight the harm that the  Citizens United decision had done to                                                               
investors. He spoke of his  expectations as a shareholder and his                                                               
fear   of   large    bureaucracies   hiding   expenditures   from                                                               
shareholders. Archer  Daniel Midland (ADM), for  example, reports                                                               
aggregated  amounts  for  campaign contributions.  The  political                                                               
activism is  hidden in plain  view, he stated. Although  ADM says                                                               
information   about   its   spending   is   publicly   available,                                                               
shareholders do not  get an itemized accounting.  He concluded by                                                               
stating support for SJR 13.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:52:01 PM                                                                                                                    
ROBERT  BUSCH, representing  himself,  stated  that the  Citizens                                                               
United opinion gave  corporate personhood the green  light to use                                                               
money  as speech.  Corporations  now have  the  ability to  spend                                                               
unlimited  amounts  of  money  to  influence  local,  state,  and                                                               
federal  elections. According  to Stephen  Wayne, author  of "The                                                               
Road to the White House 2012,"  94 percent of candidates with the                                                               
most money  were elected to  Congress. The decision  expanded the                                                               
divide between  rich and poor  by adding weight to  the political                                                               
influence that  overwhelmingly favors corporations. It  will make                                                               
it  increasingly  difficult  for  the middle  class  to  maintain                                                               
housing, get  jobs, and deal  with debt. He concluded  by stating                                                               
that SJR 13 was a good vehicle  to inform the public and those in                                                               
Washington D.C.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:55:05 PM                                                                                                                    
KATE  VEH,  representing  herself,  Kenai,  AK,  stated  emphatic                                                               
support  for  SJR 13.  She  asserted  that  her voice  was  being                                                               
drowned  out  by  corporations, unions,  and  enormously  wealthy                                                               
individuals  who   were  donating   vast  amounts  of   money  to                                                               
politicians. She maintained that this  was corruption. As a proud                                                               
American she said she wanted  three things: political leaders who                                                               
listen, political  leaders who can  manage money  without relying                                                               
on global  corporations, and a  government that Americans  can be                                                               
proud of.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SCOTT SHAW,  representing himself,  Soldotna, AK,  stated support                                                               
for  SJR 13.  "We all  believe  corporations and  unions are  not                                                               
people and money is not  speech." This notion has huge grassroots                                                               
support, he stated.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
PATRICK  COYAVISTO,  representing   himself,  Kenai,  AK,  stated                                                               
support  for  SJR  13.  He  agreed with  a  recent  statement  by                                                               
Representative  Les Gara  that politicians  should be  elected on                                                               
their  ideas, not  the size  of  their own  or their  supporters'                                                               
pocketbooks. He maintained that  more people would participate in                                                               
politics if corporations weren't so heavily involved.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:00:18 PM                                                                                                                    
MARK HAYES,  campaign coordinator,  Public Citizens  Democracy is                                                               
for People,  said this  organization is  working to  build public                                                               
support for  a constitutional amendment to  overturn the Citizens                                                               
United decision and challenge corporate  power in this democracy.                                                               
Taking the  step to  amend the  constitution is  timely, relevant                                                               
and  impactful.  Independent  expenditures by  special  interests                                                               
have  skyrocketed  since  the  Supreme Court  ruling,  so  it  is                                                               
timely.  It  is  taking  away the  state's  ability  to  regulate                                                               
campaign spending, so  it is relevant. With regard  to impact, he                                                               
said  that taking  action on  this resolution  is a  way to  show                                                               
concrete   political   support  at   the   state   level  for   a                                                               
constitutional amendment.  Congress is  starting to move  in this                                                               
direction, but without state support it won't go anywhere.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH closed public testimony on SJR 13.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:04:24 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved  to report SJR 13  from committee with                                                               
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH announced that without  objection, SJR 13 moved from                                                               
the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.