85R2058 KSM-D     By: Anchia H.C.R. No. 34       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,   the United States Supreme Court cast off precedent and   long-standing campaign finance laws, which has resulted in   unlimited corporate spending in elections; and          WHEREAS, The majority ruled that political spending is a form   of protected speech under the First Amendment and that the   government may not prevent corporations from giving money to   support or oppose individual candidates for public office; the   United States Constitution, however, does not mention   corporations, and there is no evidence that the framers of the   constitution wished to extend to corporations the same rights as   natural persons in the electoral context; and          WHEREAS, Corporations, as the four dissenting judges noted in   their opinion, are legal entities, and the conditional rights of   corporations are granted not by the constitution but rather through   the legislative deliberations of Congress and the states; and          WHEREAS, Unlike natural persons, corporations are granted   certain privileges, including limited liability, perpetual life,   and favorable treatment of the accumulation and distribution of   assets, that enhance their ability to attract capital and to   maximize the return on their shareholders' investments; yet these   very privileges give corporations the financial capacity to drown   out the individual voices of natural persons; moreover,   corporations may be under the control of citizens of foreign   countries who are ineligible to participate in our elections; and          WHEREAS, Corporate money now spent in election campaigns   threatens the free speech protections of individuals and the   integrity and fairness of our electoral procedures, and the   amendment process must be used to reverse this erroneous and   damaging decision; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to   propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to   the United States Constitution that overturns the Supreme Court   decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission; and, be   it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.