Kirk Cullimore has introduced SJR7 Joint Resolution Urging Congress to Propose an Amendment to the United States Constitution which has a lot of WHEREAS statements but an very interesting summary that’s worth diving into.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah hereby calls upon the United States Congress to propose and send to the states for ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution that clarifies that the states may reasonably regulate and limit the spending of money in their jurisdictions to influence campaigns, elections, or ballot measures, and that, in doing so, the states may also distinguish between natural persons and artificial entities such as corporations, unions, and artificial intelligences.
Sen. Cullimore’s resolution isn’t about better campaign financing. It’s about removing federal limits and allowing states to control that funding. Utah currently has no contribution limit for state senate and representative seats. Utah would undoubtedly remove contribution limits for federal as well.
What’s interesting about the resolution is that he does specifically call out unions. If you aren’t aware, Cullimore is the Senate House Sponsor of HB267 Public Sector Labor Union Amendments that would dismantle workers rights to organize. Of particular interest in committee and floor discussion are queries on union dues that go to campaigns (there are none, and there are no reported violations). Cullimore is adding language here to specifically target unions.
At a state level, Sen. Cullimore has done nothing to control campaign financing and unlawful political activity.
- Reform current state legislative disclosure processes to include audits and tracking of online payment processing apps like Venmo that operate like banks;
- Reform current state legislative disclosure processes to penalize egregious reporting errors, like Sen. Stuart Adams’ campaign disclosures that used his credit card name for expenses rather than the actual recipient
- Address crypto currency as a source of unregulated campaign funds that need controls for reporting and audits
- Reinforce the separation of church and state, where the Republican super majority are also members of the predominant faith here in Utah
- Prevent the church (i.e. an outside influence) from financing political activity here or elsewhere
At a federal level, if Senator Cullimore were serious about reforming campaign finance, he would have included
- Support to turn over Citizens United
- Make it illegal for Legislators to conduct Insider Trading
- Prohibit foreign interference through blockchain, crypto currency and AI
- Set Transparency and Reporting for crypto currency
But he says none of these things.
Updates
Feb 18, 2025: Letter published in Salt Lake Tribune
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/2025/02/18/letter-sen-cullimores-campaign/