Montana Plans To Override The Citizens United Decision - CleanTechnica

The article discusses Montana’s efforts to counteract the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which granted corporations the ability to spend unlimited money on political campaigns by conferring them “personhood.” Montana, a state with a strong environmental constitutional mandate and a significant fossil fuel industry, faces tensions between economic interests and environmental protections. Recently, Montana’s courts affirmed the state constitution’s guarantee of a clean and healthful environment, ruling against legislative attempts to exclude greenhouse gas emissions from environmental reviews. Montana’s approach to challenging Citizens United centers on the legal authority states have over corporate charters. Tom Moore, a senior fellow at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, argues that states can redefine corporate charters to restrict or eliminate corporate political spending. Inspired by this, Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices, Jeff Mangan, launched the Transparent Election Initiative, culminating in “The Montana Plan.” This plan proposes a ballot measure for voters to decide whether the state should amend its constitution to prohibit