City of Milwaukee - File #: 130472

• File #: 130472
• Version: 2
• Type: Resolution
• Status: Passed
• File created: 7/23/2013
• In control: JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
• Final action: 11/5/2013
• Title: Substitute resolution relating to amending the U.S. Constitution to permit the U.S. Congress and state and local legislatures to limit corporate influence and expenditures in public elections, and urging the Wisconsin Legislature and Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to submit the question to voters.
• Sponsors: ALD. ZIELINSKI, ALD. KOVAC, ALD. PEREZ, ALD. HAMILTON
• Indexes: ELECTIONS, FEDERAL LEGISLATION, REFERENDUM

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
11/12/2013	2	MAYOR	SIGNED
11/5/2013	2	COMMON COUNCIL	ADOPTED	Pass	15:0
10/29/2013	2	CITY CLERK	DRAFT SUBMITTED
10/28/2013	1	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	SUBSTITUTED; Minutes note: Apearing: Richard Withers - LRB Ald. Kovac - Co sponsor Ald. Murpy - co Sponsor Ms. Mary Laan - Co-Chair of Move to Amend of Southeast Wisconsin Mr. Withers presented an amendment moved by Ald. David to amend the first "Resolved Clause" with the addition of the phrase "and that permissible contributions and expenditures shall be publically disclosed" to read: Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the U.S. Congress is urged to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constituion, for ratification by the states, reversing the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and establishing principles in the U.S. Constitution that only human beings--not corporations, unions, nonprofit organizations, or similar associations--are endowed with constitutional rights, that limiting political contributions and spending is not equivalent to restricting political speech---and that permissible contributions and expenditures shall be publically disclosed and, be it	Pass	5:0
10/28/2013	2	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION	Pass	5:0
10/23/2013	1	CITY CLERK	DRAFT SUBMITTED
10/22/2013	0	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
10/15/2013	0	COMMON COUNCIL	ASSIGNED TO	Pass	15:0
10/7/2013	0	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	RECOMMENDED FOR PLACING ON FILE	Pass	5:0
10/1/2013	0	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
10/1/2013	0	JUDICIARY & LEGISLATION COMMITTEE	HEARING NOTICES SENT
7/23/2013	0	COMMON COUNCIL	ASSIGNED TO

Number
130472
Version
SUBSTITUTE 2
Reference

Sponsors
ALD. ZIELINSKI, KOVAC, PEREZ AND HAMILTON
Title
Substitute resolution relating to amending the U.S. Constitution to permit the U.S. Congress and state and local legislatures to limit corporate influence and expenditures in public elections, and urging the Wisconsin Legislature and Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to submit the question to voters.
Analysis
This resolution calls upon the United States Congress to propose, and the Wisconsin Legislature to ratify, a constitutional amendment declaring that only human beings, and not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights, and that limiting political contributions and spending is not equivalent to restricting political speech.

The proposed constitutional amendment would reverse the decision of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Citizens United), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations are “persons" for the purpose of political speech, thus allowing corporations to make unlimited and anonymous expenditures in political campaigns.

This resolution also calls upon the Wisconsin Legislature to adopt 2013 Assembly Joint Resolution 50 (AJR 50). AJR 50 would submit the question of a constitutional amendment reversing Citizens United to the voters on a statewide ballot at the general elections to be held November 14, 2014.

In the absence of action to submit the question to the voters on the statewide ballot, this resolution urges the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to submit the question to the voters on the countywide ballot.

Finally, in the absence of placement of the question on the statewide ballot or the countywide ballot, this resolution directs the Legislative Reference Bureau to prepare a timely resolution for consideration by the Common Council that would submit the question to the voters on a City-wide ballot at the November 14, 2013, general elections.
Body
Whereas, In the case of Cit...