State Senator Noreen Evans is standing to Wall Street

[Larry Robinson]

State Senator Noreen Evans is introducing a bill into the Senate that requires corporations to make full disclosure of political contributions. This could go a long way to rolling back Citizens United. Go Noreen!

Please let Noreen and other Legislators know that you support this. You can contact her Communications Director
Teala Schaff at
Senator Noreen Evans (D- Santa Rosa)State Capitol, Room 4032
p. 916-651-4002
f. 916-323-6958





Bill to Require Corporate Political Speech Be Public, Introduced
Shareholder Protection Act Will Provide Sunshine to Investors

SACRAMENTO – Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced SB 982, a bill that will shine a light on the political activities of corporations. The bill is in response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizen’s United v. FCC which authorized corporate political spending but created a loophole through a lack of corporate transparency and accountability to shareholders. The bill is sponsored by the California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG).

Senator Evans shares the Occupy Movement’s dismay with the Citizens United decision and the resulting vulnerability of both the general public and investors.
“Giving corporations the same freedom of speech rights as we grant “natural” people, has grave and unintended consequences,” said Evans. “A direct effect of that decision is corporations now have enormous wealth at their disposal to influence elections and politics without any requirements to report their actions to the very shareholders that fund the efforts. This bill fixes that problem.”

Due to Citizens United, shareholders currently face having money that was amassed for their benefit being used to thwart their personal political beliefs by the very directors and CEOs charged with advancing their economic interests. SB 982, the Shareholder Protection Act, will ensure that corporations provide disclosures of their political contributions and expenditures to shareholders. This will afford those individuals invaluable information about the political activities of the company in which they may or may not choose to continue investing.

“Shareholders invest in corporations to make money, not to bankroll the political agendas of CEOs and corporate boards,” said Pedro Morillas, CALPIRG legislative director. “If political contributions are going to be part of a corporation's business strategy, it only seems fair to inform the shareholders ahead of time."

“I stand firm in the belief that the public must retain its right to evaluate what speech and speakers are worthy of their consideration and their support” continued Evans. “This bill would empower the public to exercise its right to not only vote in a more informed manner, but also vote with its pocketbook for those companies who share their beliefs and against those who do not.”
State Senator Noreen Evans represents the Second Senatorial District, including all or portions of the Counties of Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma. Senator Evans Chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Committee on Judiciary.

[Gary Abreim]

Go Noreen....at last a legislator taking a bold stand against corruption of government by corporations. If we want to have our democracy back then this bill needs to pass in California and spread through all 50 states.

[jbox]

I applaud and completely support Sen. Evans efforts to promote corporate transparence in the use of political funds. While her heart is in the right place, the cynic in me has has to wonder if her stance is part of a plan to get good press so she can seek some other office when she is term limited out. She publicly ruminated about running for county supervisor but then ruled that out. Obviously she continues to contemplate her future in politics.

Personally, I think it's a good idea for career politicians like Noreen to take a break of a decade or so and engage in some honest work that puts their feet back on the ground and gives them some needed perspective on how the rest of us live without all the perks of office she so dearly loves.