DiNapoli, de Blasio Call for SEC Action on Corporate Disclosure

In today’s New York Times, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and New York City Public Advocate (and candidate for Mayor) Bill de Blasio call on Mary Jo White (who is expected to be confirmed as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the near future) to push for SEC adoption of a proposed rule that would require publicly held corporations to disclose their political spending.

They write:

Federal law already requires political action committees to disclose corporate donations. By putting in place comprehensive disclosure rules, however, the S.E.C. can plug a major loophole in the law, forcing companies to also reveal what they give to tax-exempt “social welfare” groups and trade associations, including chambers of commerce. These entities have often been used as vehicles for political spending by way of so-called issue ads — ads that purport to be educational but are often veiled attempts to support a specific candidate or even party.

In other words, the S.E.C. could, in a single stroke, do what Congress and the courts have been unable or unwilling to do: require publicly traded companies to report all of their political spending.