Amendment ASA1-AJR81

LRBs0305/2

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2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 81

February 18, 2014 - Offered by Representatives Genrich and C. Taylor.

AJR81-ASA1,1,3 Relating to: amending the U.S. Constitution via constitutional convention to establish that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights of natural persons and that money is not speech.

AJR81-ASA1,1,7 Whereas, government of, by, and for the people has long been a cherished American value; and the people's fundamental and inalienable right to self-govern, and thereby secure rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; and

AJR81-ASA1,1,9 Whereas, free and fair elections are essential to democracy and effective self-governance; and

AJR81-ASA1,1,13 Whereas, corporations are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, and the people have never granted constitutional rights to corporations, nor have the people decreed that corporations have authority that exceeds the authority of the people of the United States; and

AJR81-ASA1,2,4 Whereas, interpretation of the U.S. Constitution by appointed Supreme Court justices to include corporations in the term "persons" has long denied the peoples' exercise of self-governance by endowing corporations with constitutional protections intended for the people; and

AJR81-ASA1,2,6 Whereas, the illegitimate judicial bestowal of political rights upon corporations usurps basic human and constitutional rights guaranteed to human persons; and

AJR81-ASA1,2,9 Whereas, corporations are not and have never been human beings and, therefore, do not vote in elections and should not be categorized as persons for purposes related to elections for public office; and

AJR81-ASA1,2,16 Whereas, the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that rolled back the legal limits on corporate spending in the electoral process creates an unequal playing field and allows unlimited corporate spending to influence elections, candidate selection, and policy decisions, and to sway votes, and forces elected officials to divert their attention from the peoples' business, or even to vote against the interest of their human constituents, in order to ensure competitive campaign funds for their own reelections; and

AJR81-ASA1,2,20 Whereas, tens of thousands of people, organizations, and municipalities across the nation are joining the Move to Amend movement to call for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish corporate constitutional rights and the doctrine that money is free speech; now, therefore, be it

AJR81-ASA1,2,24 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the U.S. Constitution be amended to firmly establish that money is not speech and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutionally protected political speech; and, be it further

AJR81-ASA1,3,3 Resolved, That the Wisconsin legislature applies for a national constitutional convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for the express purpose of adopting the Move to Amend amendment; and, be it further

AJR81-ASA1,3,5 Resolved, That the state of Wisconsin calls on other states and jurisdictions to join in this action by enacting similar resolutions.

AJR81-ASA1,3,6 (End)