Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the permissible sources of funding for elections for public office and State ballot measures.

IA 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 73 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the permissible sources of funding for elections for public office and State ballot measures. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 18, 2019 Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself and Ms. KAPTUR) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the permissible sources of funding for elections for public office and State ballot measures. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled 2 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol- 3 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con- 4 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 5 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 6 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 7 States within seven years after the date of its submission 8 for ratification: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ73.IH HJ73 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HJ 73 IH ‘‘ARTICLE — 1 ‘‘SECTION 1. The only source of funding to directly 2 or indirectly support or oppose a campaign for election 3 to public office shall be either contributions by individual 4 citizens to the principal campaign committee controlled by 5 the candidate or funds provided under a system of public 6 election financing or voter education established by Con- 7 gress, the State, or other jurisdiction as appropriate. 8 ‘‘SECTION 2. The only source of funding that may 9 be used to directly or indirectly support or oppose a ballot 10 measure to amend a State constitution or other initiatives 11 or referenda shall be either contributions made by individ- 12 uals who are eligible to vote on the measure or funds pro- 13 vided under a system of public election financing or voter 14 education established by the State. 15 ‘‘SECTION 3. Congress, the States, and local jurisdic- 16 tions shall establish limits on the amount of contributions 17 individuals may make with respect to a single campaign 18 for election to Federal, State, or local office, respectively, 19 including limits on the amount of contributions an indi- 20 vidual who is a candidate for such office may make with 21 respect to the individual’s own campaign, and the States 22 and local jurisdictions shall establish limits on the amount 23 of contributions individuals may make with respect to a 24 ballot measure. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ73.IH HJ73 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HJ 73 IH ‘‘SECTION 4. Congress and the States shall have the 1 power to carry out this article through appropriate legisla- 2 tion. 3 ‘‘SECTION 5. Nothing in this article shall be con- 4 strued to grant Congress or the States the power to 5 abridge the freedom of the press.’’. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ73.IH HJ73 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS