The Hill News

Two of Minnesota's biggest retailers announced reforms to policies governing their contributions to political candidates.

Target Corporation and Best Buy said they had implemented new rules to more carefully monitor its contributions following a controversy in the 2010 elections over their indirect support for a Republican candidate for governor.

A group of several large shareholders in the companies said they had agreed to withdraw shareholder resolutions after each company had agreed to reforms.

Target formed a "Policy Committee" overseeing its donations to ensure the appropriateness of the political contributions. Best Buy made undisclosed changes to its rules that satisfied the allied groups of investors.

Both companies angered some of its investors along with LGBT groups for their six-figure contributions to MN Forward, a business-backed group that supported Republican candidate Tom Emmer's ultimately unsuccessful run f! or governor. Liberal groups, in turn, called for boycotts of those companies based on their disagreement with Emmer's stance on gay rights issues.

Target's CEO eventually apologized for the contributions, setting the table for the reforms announced this year.

The contributions had at the time underscored arguments about the increased role of corporate spending in politics following a Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that freed up corporate and labor spending on candidates and elections.

"Political spending and corporate lobbying deserves full and complete disclosure since companies are increasingly proactive in influencing public policy and impacting elections," said Timothy Smith, a representative of one of the asset management companies challenging the retailers' policies.