New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), announced the filing of shareholder proposals at six portfolio companies requesting they comprehensively disclose their political spending. DiNapoli filed the disclosure proposals with Airbnb Inc., DoorDash Inc., Caesars Entertainment Inc., SoFi Technologies Inc., Charter Communications Inc., and DraftKings Inc.

“Investors need and deserve full transparency and accountability on the use of corporate dollars to further political agendas so they can determine whether the spending supports a company’s business strategy or puts it at risk,” DiNapoli said. “Amid a deeply divided political climate, corporations should assess whether spending on any political causes is in shareholders’ interests. At a minimum, companies should openly disclose where their political dollars are being spent.”

DiNapoli’s proposals ask the companies to report their policies and procedures for spending to participate or intervene in any campaign for or against any candidate for public office or influence the general public on an election or referendum. It also asks the companies to disclose the amount of contributions and expenditures made, the identity of the recipient, and those responsible for corporate political spending decisions.

Comptroller DiNapoli’s Political Spending Disclosure Engagements

Since the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling striking down certain restraints on corporate political spending, DiNapoli has made it a priority to engage the Fund’s portfolio companies on disclosing their political spending. Since then, the Fund has filed 185 shareholder proposals on political spending disclosure, with 61 major corporations adopting or agreeing to adopt such disclosure.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.