SCR 1040 Summary

• Concurrent resolution supporting Arizona citizens' right to vote on whether to instruct their congressional representatives to propose a U.S. constitutional amendment to repeal the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) decision.

• Expresses the legislature's opposition to the Citizens United ruling, arguing it allows unlimited corporate spending in elections and threatens democratic self-government by treating corporations as entities with constitutional rights equivalent to individuals.

• Asserts that corporations are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution and should not have been granted constitutional protections, particularly the ability to spend unlimited money on campaign speech.

• Supports a constitutional amendment that would clarify that corporations possess only privileges granted by their charters and law, and that money constitutes property rather than protected speech, allowing reasonable limits on campaign spending.

• Seeks to place a ballot measure before Arizona voters in November 2012 authorizing them to instruct their congressional representatives to pursue this constitutional amendment.