HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has rejected a proposed ballot measure intended to block corporations from spending on political campaigns – but the sponsors of the measure say they plan to try again.
In a ruling Tuesday, justices found unanimously that the proposed constitutional amendment, with the temporary title Ballot Issue #4, violated a state requirement that any single amendment only make one substantive change at a time.
Ballot Issue #4 was proposed by the Transparent Election Initiative. The group positioned it as a way to get around the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which essentially allowed corporations to make unlimited political expenditures as long as they are officially independent of a campaign.
TEI argued states have the authority to limit what powers they grant corporations, so Montana could redefine those granted powers to exclude political spending. BI-4 would have retracted all existing powers for “artificial persons” like corporations, then regranted them – except for any related to election spending.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office ruled BI-4 didn’t meet the requirements to qualify for the ballot. TEI went to the Supreme Court to challenge his determination.
In the end, justices sided with Knudsen. Justice Jim Rice, who wrote the court’s opinion, said BI-4 made at least two significant changes: limiting the powers of an “artificial person” to those specifically listed in the Montana Constitution, and revoking and regranting limited powers to existing artificial persons. He said, depending on how the Legislature responded to the measure, those limitations could be stricter than simply stopping political spending.
“Although BI-4 does not combine unrelated amendments in an attempt to secure support from different groups, it would force voters who support abolishing corporate spending ‘on elections or ballot issues’ to also support, more broadly: 1) limiting the rights of other entities defined as ‘artificial persons,’ such as unincorporated associations and cooperatives; and 2) potentially limiting the powers of such organizations to engage in activities other than election and ballot issue activities in significant but unspecified other ways,” Rice wrote.
TEI founder Jeff Mangan, the former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, said in a statement that he was “grateful for the guidance” from the court and planned to revise and refile the initiative by the end of this week.
“Montana has a citizens' initiative process that we can all be proud of, one that allows Montanans to roll up their sleeves to enact positive change for the betterment of family, friends, and neighbors,” Mangan said. “I hear from Montanans every day how much corporate and dark money is damaging our political process. It is a privilege to work on a matter that is so important, and that is exactly what we will continue to do.”
Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Knudsen's office, praised the court's decision in a statement.
“As Attorney General Knudsen said from the beginning, this initiative would have misled voters by amending multiple sections of the Montana constitution,” he said. “We are pleased the court unanimously came to the same conclusion. Attorney General Knudsen will continue to do his part to ensure Montanans know exactly what they’re voting for on election day.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include a statement from Attorney General Austin Knudsen's office.
