Tag: 527 organizations
What’s the impact of political spending from corporate treasuries?
This new report, Corporate Underwriters: Where the Rubber Hits the Road, from the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability, examines “the scope of corporate political spending and its impact on state and national politics and policy” by taking a deeper dive into six highly influential “527” organizations. Who supports them and what is their impact? In particular, what is their impact on a state level—now viewed by many as a new “seat of power” for a number of key issues of the day, from reproductive healthcare rights to voting rights to the rules surrounding vote tabulation and certification of elections. According to the report, since 2010, more than $1 billion has been donated from the corporate treasuries of major U.S. companies and their trade associations to these six 527s, characterized in the report as “powerful but often overlooked political organizations that have funded the elections of state government officials across the country. These elections have reshaped policy and politics and, more fundamentally, have had a major impact on our democracy.” The CPA’s vice president of research told Bloomberg that “corporate funding of down-ballot races typically gets significantly less attention than contributions to federal candidates but…that’s changing. State attorneys general, ‘are increasingly more partisan in the way they wield their power on a national stage.’ That can create ‘riskier associations’ for companies that back such organizations.” The report concludes that corporate treasuries are “influential funder[s] of these elections and the dominant source of money for several of these committees. It examines the impact of corporate spending on some of the most controversial issues in the country. This spending poses serious risks to companies’ reputations, their profitability, and to the environment companies need to succeed.” Would adopting a code of political spending help? According to a recent survey, shareholders seem to think so.
Center for Political Accountability provides guidance on challenges of corporate political spending
As we begin this new year—a highly charged election year—it might be helpful to check out the Guide to Corporate Political Spending produced by the non-partisan Center for Political Accountability. The Guide, released last year, is designed to help companies through the thicket of decision-making about political spending, especially given the increasingly fractious political environment and the heightened scrutiny that companies face when they engage in political spending—especially where that spending may conflict with publicly espoused corporate values. The Guide addresses “the risks and challenges that management and boards face in establishing political spending policies, making spending decisions, conducting due diligence, and meeting the expectations of stakeholders.” The Guide identifies five challenges and then recommends various actions that companies should take in anticipation of or in response to those challenges. They are summarized below, but reading the Guide itself in full is always recommended.
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