Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.
Latest action · Mar 22, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Progress
Where this resolution reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 22, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Constitutional Amendment
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation.
The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed.
The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment, and the amendment shall not be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.
Cosponsors 74
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 22, 2019 to Nov 9, 2020; 10 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-HI | Tulsi Gabbard | Original | Feb 22, 2019 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Feb 25, 2019 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Feb 27, 2019 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Feb 27, 2019 | |
| D-NM | Debra A. Haaland | Mar 5, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Mar 5, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Mar 5, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Mar 12, 2019 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Mar 12, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Mar 12, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Mar 25, 2019 | |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Mar 25, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Mar 25, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Mar 25, 2019 | |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Mar 26, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Mar 26, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Mar 26, 2019 | |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Mar 28, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Apr 18, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Apr 18, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Apr 18, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | May 1, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Denny Heck | May 1, 2019 | |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | May 1, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | May 2, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | May 7, 2019 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | May 8, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | May 10, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | May 10, 2019 | |
| D-WA | Kim Schrier | May 21, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | May 30, 2019 | |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | May 30, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Jun 5, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Jun 13, 2019 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Jun 18, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Jun 19, 2019 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Jun 25, 2019 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Jul 9, 2019 | |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Jul 9, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Jul 23, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Jul 30, 2019 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Aug 6, 2019 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Aug 20, 2019 | |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Sep 19, 2019 | |
| D-NJ | Tom Malinowski | Oct 23, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Dec 19, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Jan 8, 2020 | |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Jan 27, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Jan 30, 2020 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Feb 7, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Feb 7, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Katie Porter | Mar 2, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Jerry McNerney | Jun 8, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | Nov 9, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 22, 2019 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Mar 22, 2019 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 22, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Feb 22, 2019Introduced in House
- Feb 22, 2019Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this resolution: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 33, February 22, 2019, page H2047.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this resolution, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 116-74 | CITIZENS UNITED AT 10: THE CONSEQUENCES FOR DEMOCRACY AND POTENTIAL RESPONSES BY CONGRESS137 pages | Judiciary Committee | Feb 6, 2020 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HJRES 48 | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. | Reintroduced Bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
Titles 1
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 22, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this resolution on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
