The Boston Herald

by Kyle Cheney

February 9, 2012

A House lawmaker girding for a constitutional amendment to restrict corporate spending on elections — a move recently endorsed by Senate President Therese Murray — told colleagues and legislative staffers Thursday that the effort would be “the most important issue that we’re going to deal with this year.”

Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), speaking on behalf of a resolution calling on Congress to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision known as Citizens United, which eliminated limits to corporate and union spending on elections, said the ruling could result in powerful businesses and companies tipping elections and policy issues, even at the state and local level.

“Everything else that we’re fighting for, every other bill that you have in your office that you’re working on can be affected by the misuse of Citizens United,” Atkins said. “That treats corporations as people and allows them to spend … unfettered, undisclosed amounts of money to affect elections for candidates or for issues.”

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