Unleashed by a 2010 Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to make unlimited political contributions, about three dozen of the nation’s largest energy and utility companies pumped almost $60 million into campaign committees, ballot measures, trade associations, and nonprofits during 2017, according to a MapLight analysis.
The analysis of data compiled by the Center for Political Accountability found the corporations gave at least $31.4 million, or more than half of their 2017 contributions, to politically powerful trade organizations that included the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Edison Electric Institute.