Monroe (Maine) rejects corporate personhood

[jaqeboy]

Monroe rejects corporate personhood
by Ethan Andrews, Republican Journal
June 16th, 2010

In a move that supporters say would protect the town against corporate exploitation, Monroe residents at the annual town meeting June 14 approved a new ordinance that denies the rights of personhood to corporations.

Resident Seth Yentes said the new law was similar to "rights-based ordinances" enacted in Shapleigh and Newfield last year in response to concerns from citizens that water extraction by Nestlé, the parent company of Poland Spring, was threatening a natural resource in the community.

Yentes said there was no corporation currently asserting itself in Monroe, "but it's giving us a foundation to jump off of if somebody wanted to come in and extract water from our town," he said. "... It's really about local control and democracy and I think it's a great idea."

The "Town of Monroe Local Self-Government Ordinance," as the new law is called, goes against state and federal laws that affirm and protect the rights of corporations as though they were people. This conflict was cited in an opinion from the Maine Municipal Association solicited by town officials, which stated that the ordinance overstepped the bounds of local governance.

The legal issues with the ordinance would "create serious doubt as to its validity and enforceability if approved by the voters," the opinion read.
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Looks like the 3rd town in Maine that has rejected corporate personhood. Did anyone here hear the CELDF rep, Gail Darrell, speak at AltExpo#5 at Liberty Forum re their strategy?