Montgomery County lawmakers want to tighten up the reins on corporate contributions to political campaigns.
“We need to prevent [corporations] from converting economic power into political power,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Silver Spring, in support of a bill that would prohibit businesses from contributing money to political campaigns in the state.
Raskin is backing a second bill that would further restrict state contractors from giving money to campaigns. Under current law, businesses cannot contribute to a campaign if they have a contract with the state worth more than $100,000. The bill — co-sponsored by Sens. Rich Madaleno Jr., D-Wheaton, Brian Frosh, D-Bethesda, and Mike Lenett, D-Aspen Hill — would drop the contract price ceiling to $5,000. The restriction would apply to all businesses with contracts in Maryland.
Frosh has a bill in the works co-sponsored by 20 senators — including five from Montgomery — that would give shareholders veto power over corporate campaign expenditures. His bill would prohibit businesses from spending on a campaign unless stockholders have voted on and approved the expenditure.
“We think shareholders ought to have a say as to what campaigns corporations are going to get deeply involved in,” said Frosh.
Maryland Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Kathy Snyder said these bills threaten to silence Maryland’s small businesses.
“There is no evidence of excessive independent campaign contributions by corporations in Maryland,” Snyder said, adding that there are only a handful of Fortune 500 companies in the state. “This is an attempt to stop business entities from speaking.”
Raskin cited Maryland’s slot-machine campaign as an example of corporate political power, calling on the $5 million in combined contributions given by the Laurel Racing Association and Penn National.
Raskin’s and Frosh’s bills come on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark repeal on campaign financing laws that has empowered corporations to take part in the political process.
Snyder said lawmakers have no reason to believe businesses will change their behavior following the court’s decision — and if they “misbehave,” lawmakers can always tighten restrictions next session.
But Lenett said he won’t kick this can down the road.
“It’s too casual to say we can take care of the next election cycle,” said Lenett, D-Aspen Hill. If the General Assembly doesn’t take action this year, there’s a good chance lawmakers revisiting this issue next session will have been elected to office on a corporation’s dime, he said.
Raskin said companies don’t deserve free speech.
“Our democracy should be for real, live human beings,” he said. “This is why we have rules for aliens from other countries. And rules that 3 and 4-year-old children can’t contribute to campaigns — because we want real, live human beings participating in the political process.”
