Pa. House Democrats introduce measure to bar corporations from political contributions

Emily Scolnick is a 2026 Dow Jones News Fund intern at the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

A new legislative proposal would bar corporations from contributing to political campaigns in Pennsylvania as Democratic state lawmakers work to enact campaign finance reforms. 

The measure would rewrite the state’s corporate charter to ensure corporations do not have “any power to directly or indirectly engage in election activity or ballot question activity.” Under the proposal, any corporation that does engage in election activity would be stripped of its charter and business privileges. It would also face civil action from the state Attorney General. 

Rep. Joe Webster (D-Montgomery), the legislation’s primary sponsor, said the measure  is a response to a spike in corporate spending after the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision. That ruling struck down existing campaign finance restrictions and allowed corporations to pour unlimited funds and resources into political efforts. 

“In 2024, all by itself, one year, federal elections saw over $4 billion in outside spending, and that’s nearly 12 times the number prior to Citizens United,” he said at a press conference Wednesday. “The power of that money diminishes the power of the Pennsylvania voter.”  

Reps. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia), Paul Friel (D-Chester), and Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia) are co-sponsoring the bill, which has been referred to the House State Government Committee. 

“I’m not a lawyer … But I know that corporations should not be racing to buy politicians,” Khan said. “We need common sense. We need to protect our politics. We need to protect our institutions. We need to make sure that corporations are not in a race to buy politicians to prevent action on issues that are important to the public.”

In May, Hawaii became the first state to sign a bill barring corporations from political expenditures into law. Webster said Montana and Minnesota are “on the same track” to limit corporations’ influence over politics. 

And earlier this summer, the state House passed legislation — which Webster also sponsored — that would prohibit corporations with foreign ownership from using their money to influence state elections with bipartisan support. It hasn’t advanced out of the Senate’s State Government Committee. 

The co-sponsors emphasized that campaign finance reform should not be a partisan issue, with Webster noting that this is just one of “100 or more” issues that the legislature could be working on.  

Webster added that he expects the measure to have enough support to pass the House. However, he acknowledged that doesn’t mean the bill will reach Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk this year. 

“We tee this up now. We make sure it’s an issue. We’re going to see the influence of money in the election by November,” he said. “Then we come back in ’27 and get this done.”