On March 9, members of the House Democratic Caucus are urging passage of legislation designed to strengthen democracy by improving access to voting, reducing the power of big-money special interests, and ensuring lawmakers put the people’s interests first in Pennsylvania.

“Nothing breaks down the people’s trust in their government and their elected officials like seeing deep pocket donors get what they want while regular working families are left with nothing but the bill to pay,” House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny), said. “It’s time Pennsylvania took a leading role when it comes to honest elections, getting more people to the polls and making sure your voice counts more than special interest dollars.”

Rep. Dermody noted the Citizens United decision first opened the floodgates of hidden money into U.S. elections 10 years ago, and a combination of partisan gerrymandering, attacks on voting rights and foreign influence on elections has silenced the voice of the people – while the federal government has stood by and watched it happen.

“It’s important to remember that the assault on democracy didn’t start with Trump -- it started in the states,” said Daniel Squadron, co-founder and executive director of Future Now. “By expanding access to voting, reducing the power of corporate money in elections and strengthening ethics and oversight, the For the People Act will ensure that state governments are more accountable, responsive and focused on the broad public interest, not narrow special interests.”

The legislation is modeled after the federal For the People Act of 2019 (H.R. 1), the national democracy reform bill.

The announcement coincides with the one-year anniversary of HR1 passing the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bills in the package include:

Voting & Election Access

-- Automatic Voter Registration: House Bill 306 (Gainey-D-Allegheny): Would automatically register people to vote when they utilize state services through the Departments of Transportation, Human Services or Military and Veterans Affairs unless they choose to opt-out and House Bill 1556 (Innamorato-D-Allegheny): Would automatically register people to vote when they interact with PennDOT, access Pennsylvania’s health and human services benefit programs, or any other state service, unless they choose to opt-out.

-- Same Day Voter Registration: House Bill 101 (Bizzarro-D-Erie) – Would allow same-day voter registration to ensure eligible Pennsylvanians have every opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

-- Pre-Registration Of 16 & 17 Year-Olds: House Bill 704 (Markosek-D-Allegheny) – Would allow the state to provide resources for history and social studies teachers to coordinate an annual voter registration/preregistration event for high school students. The pre-registrants would not be eligible to vote until they reach age 18, but they would be ready and registered when that day comes.

-- Early Voting: House Bill 1558 (O’Mara-D-Delaware) – Would allow voting to start on the 30th day before an election and extend through the end of the day before Election Day.

Independent Redistricting

-- Citizens Redistricting Commission: House Bill 401 (Daley-D-Montgomery) – Would establish an independent congressional redistricting commission comprised of individuals from both major political parties as well as individuals who do not affiliate with either party.

[Other independent redistricting proposals include: House Bill 22 (Murt-R-Montgomery) creates an independent commission for congressional and legislative redistricting and House Bill 23 (Samuelson-D-Northampton) creates an independent congressional redistricting commission. Visit Fair Districts PA for more.)]

Campaign Finance

-- Limit Corporate Contributions: House Bill 795 (Dermody-D-Allegheny) – Would require companies looking to write campaign checks to ask their shareholders to name who they think should receive any donation over $10,000. The bill also would place hard caps on how much any campaign contribution can be.

-- Small Donor Financing Of Campaigns: House Bill 1953 (Boyle-D-Phila) – Would provide a 600 percent public match for qualified small dollar campaign contributions (less than $200) for candidates running for office.

Ethics

-- Stop the Revolving Door: House Bill 2263 (Shusterman-D-Chester) – Would institute a lifetime lobbying ban for all elected public officials and extend the waiting period for public employees from one year to two years.

[Posted: March 9, 2020]

3/16/2020