Supreme Court ruling will give rise to independent expenditure committees

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Today’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling lifting a nearly century-long ban on corporate participation in federal elections could have an effect on this year’s U.S. Senate race and competitive congressional races in California. But the ruling will not have any direct effect on most state and local elections in California, because election rules already allow direct corporate and union participation.

Under the ruling, corporations and presumably labor unions will be allowed to participate in independent expenditure committees for federal races, such as Congress, U.S. Senate and president. But they will still be barred from donating directly to candidates.

“It’s a major sea change, no question about it,” said Sacramento-based political attorney Lance Olson. “It opens the doors for both corps and unions to engage in unlimited independent spending in connection with federal elections.”

The ruling was met with anger from Ross Johnson, chairman of the state’s campaign watchdog agency, who called it a “terrible decision.”

“I’m sputtering,” said Johnson, chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Johnson said he was particularly irked about “international corporations” being allowed to sway federal elections. “Do they care about the long-term best interests of the people of the United States of America, or do they care about making money?” Johnson asked.

“There will no doubt be a growth in independent expenditures as a result of this ruling,” Olson said. “But there’s no direct effect on state or local elections because California law does not now prohibit corporations or unions from making contributions or independent expenditures.”

Olson noted that some cities do have those provisions, and the court’s ruling could loosen some of those prohibitions.

You can read the court’s opinion here.

-- Anthony York and Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento