The document proposes a resolution for the town of Lincoln to support a constitutional amendment called the People's Rights Amendment. The amendment aims to reverse the Citizens United Supreme Court decision by clarifying that constitutional rights apply only to natural persons, not corporations, and that corporate entities are subject to regulation. It also states the amendment would not limit people's inalienable rights like free speech. The resolution asks town selectmen to send it to state and federal representatives.

1. Article 39
To Reverse Citizens United and
Support the People’s Rights Amendment

2. Federal Election
Commission
• 5-4 decision striking down McCain-Feingold, the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, as
unconstitutional
• Law prohibited corps. from electioneering spending
within 30 days of a federal primary election, and
FEC prevented corp. ad campaign v. Hillary Clinton
• Ruling – corps. have constitutional right of freedom
of speech and the government may not regulate
corp. spending on elections
• Overturning Supreme Court precedents in 1990
(Austin) and 2003 (McConnell)(Rehnquist)

3. How much is spent lobbying in DC?
Top 10 1998-2010 (Top 20 total = nearly $4B)
• US Chamber of Commerce $770,655,680
• American Medical Association 252,037,500
• General Electric 251,940,000
• AARP 207,432,064
• PhRMA 204,433,920
• American Hospital Association 203,648,736
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield 169,655,236
• National Association of Realtors 166,150,553
• Northrup Grumman 164,845,253
• ExxonMobil 156,692,742
• Verizon Communications 158,014,841

4. Lobbying Expenditures by Industry
• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate $4,405,909,610
• Health 4,369,979,173
• Miscellaneous Business 4,352,728,292
• Communications, Electronics 3,611,482,885
• Energy, Natural Resources 3,233,636,465
• Transportation 2,323,450,594
• Other 2,271,149,632
• Ideology, Single-Issue Lobbies 1,514,021,745
• Agribusiness 1,317,839,638
• Defense 1,261,711,454
• Construction 482,824,245
• Labor 441,259,274
• Lawyers/Lobbyists 348,111,867

5. The Quid Pro Quo
• Agribusiness subsidies - $30B in 2010 alone
• Financial Sector – repeal Glass/Steagall, derivatives
• Defense – equipment the Pentagon doesn’t want
• EPA – stop rule-making and enforcement, eliminate
costs and liabilities of corps.
• Health Care – block reform/end price competition
• The Revolving Door – e.g., Billy Tauzin
sponsors/passes Medicare Part D, leaves Congress
to become Pres. of PhRMA

6. Other Cases – Freedom of Speech for Corps.
• First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978) striking
down MA law banning corp. spending to influence a
citizen referendum (graduated income tax)
• Central Hudson Gas v. Public Service Corp of NY (1982)
NY may not prohibit utilities from promoting energy
consumption
• Lorillard v. Reilly (2001) striking MA regs re: tobacco
advertising targeting kids (“replacement smokers”)
• International Dairy Foods Assoc. v. Amestoy (2d Cir.
1996) invalidating VT law re: right to know if milk was
produced by cows receiving rBST (recombinant DNA
bovine growth hormone)- corp. constitutional right not to
speak
• US Chamber of Commerce v SEC (DCCir. 2011) blocking
SEC rule that required corps. to include directors
nominated by shareholders in corp. proxy statements

8. • Article 39: Proposed People’s Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution:
• To determine if the Town will resolve to support a people’s rights amendment to
the United States Constitution as stated in the proposal below:
• Whereas, we the people of Lincoln Town Meeting affirm our belief that the Bill of
Rights of the Constitution of the United States, and in particular the First
Amendment, was adopted to protect the rights of natural persons, not
corporations;
• Whereas, we believe that the Supreme Court’s 5-4 majority ruling in Citizens United
v. Federal Election Commission, which overturned longstanding precedents and
laws prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in public
elections, has unleashed a flood of uncontrolled and often undisclosed corporate
spending to influence elections and governments;
• Whereas, we believe this decision presents a serious threat to the conduct of free
and fair elections, since it permits corporations to drown out the voices of ordinary
persons, and erodes public trust in our political institutions;
• Whereas, the Citizens United decision also will undermine the independence of our
judiciary and impair its perceived impartiality. (Twenty-one states have elected
Supreme Court justices, and thirty-nine states elect at least some appellate or
major trial court judges);
• Whereas, Citizens United presents a serious and direct threat to our democracy
and our republican self-government of, for, and by the people;
• Whereas, the people and states of the United States previously have strengthened
the nation and preserved liberty and equality for all by using the amendment
process throughout our history, in several instances reversing Supreme Court
decisions;

9. • Now be it therefore resolved to support the following proposed
amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
• Section 1: We the people who ordain and establish this
Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be
the rights of natural persons.
• Section 2: The words people, person, or citizen as used in this
Constitution do not include corporations, limited liability
companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of
any State, the United States, or any foreign state, and such
corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the
people, through their elected State and Federal
representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent
with the powers of Congress and the States under this
Constitution.
• Section 3: Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the
people’s rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free
exercise of religion, freedom of association, and all such other
rights of the people, which rights are inalienable.
• We ask that our Town Selectmen send this resolution to the
Massachusetts General Court, to our representatives in the
Congress of the United States, and to President Barack Obama.