The Accountable Capitalism Act would require large corporations—those with over one billion dollars in annual gross receipts—to obtain federal charters from a new Office of United States Corporations within the Department of Commerce within one to two years of the bill's enactment. Chartered corporations, called United States corporations, would be required to consider the interests of employees, customers, communities, and the environment alongside shareholder profits and would need to identify a public benefit purpose in their charters. The bill would mandate that at least 40 percent of corporate board directors be elected by employees through a fair and democratic process, with penalties of $50,000 to $100,000 per day for non-compliance and possible charter revocation. Additionally, the legislation would restrict executives and directors from selling company stock for five years after acquiring it and would require 75 percent approval from both shareholders and directors before corporations could spend money on political campaigns, with violations subject to civil penalties and potential charter revocation. State attorneys general could petition the federal government to revoke charters of corporations engaged in repeated illegal misconduct that harms customers, employees, or communities.
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