California Treasurer Seeks Company Political-Spending Disclosure

California’s treasurer is urging the state’s two biggest public pension funds, with $391.1 billion of assets, to push shareholder initiatives requiring companies they invest in to disclose political spending.

The need for increased corporate disclosure and board oversight is greater since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, said Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat who sits on the governing boards of both funds. The court allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on ads advocating a candidate’s election or defeat.