Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Constitutional Amendment
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.
The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
This joint resolution declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 31 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 31

    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
     relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect 
                               elections.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2017

 Mr. Deutch (for himself, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Brendan F. 
   Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Cartwright, Ms. Castor of 
 Florida, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Connolly, Mr. 
   Conyers, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Cummings, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. 
 Doggett, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Engel, Ms. Eshoo, 
   Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Esty, Mr. Foster, Ms. Frankel of Florida, Mr. 
  Garamendi, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings, Mr. 
     Himes, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Keating, Mr. Kihuen, Ms. Kuster of New 
 Hampshire, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. 
  Lofgren, Mrs. Lowey, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. 
    Lynch, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Nolan, Ms. Norton, 
 Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Quigley, Mr. 
  Raskin, Miss Rice of New York, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. 
 Schrader, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Sires, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. 
     Smith of Washington, Ms. Speier, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Swalwell of 
 California, Ms. Titus, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, 
 Mr. Welch, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. 
Schiff, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Walz, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Soto, 
 and Mr. Huffman) 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 
     relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect 
                               elections.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled   (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States 
within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. To advance democratic self-government and political 
equality, and to protect the integrity of government and the electoral 
process, Congress and the States may regulate and set reasonable limits 
on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to 
influence elections.
    ``Section 2. Congress and the States shall have power to implement 
and enforce this article by appropriate legislation, and may 
distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other 
artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such 
entities from spending money to influence elections.
    ``Section 3. Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant 
Congress or the States the power to abridge the freedom of the 
press.''.
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