Getting corporate money out of politics
Report by: David S
Table of Contents
- Hawai’i:
- Key Features of the Law
- Montana:
- California:
- Actions to Support
- Video: Hawaii Is Overturning Citizens United | Lever Time
Hawai’i:
Hawaii has enacted a law that prohibits corporations from spending money on political campaigns, effectively redefining the powers granted to corporations within the state. This legislation, signed by Governor Josh Green, is set to take effect on July 1, 2027, and positions Hawaii as the first state to limit corporate political spending in this manner, aiming to restore integrity in the electoral process.
Key Features of the Law
- Prohibition on Corporate Spending: The law explicitly prohibits corporations from spending money on local, state, or federal political campaigns.
- Effective Date: The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2027.
- Legal Basis: The legislation is grounded in the principle that corporations derive their powers from state law, which allows Hawaii to redefine those powers, excluding political spending.
Montana:
The Transparent Election Initiative is a national organization that has sponsored two initiatives in Montana known as the Montana Plan.
“In Montana, we proposed both Constitutional & Statutory Initiatives that will sweep corporate and secret-donor money out of Montana’s local, state, and federal politics. It achieves this not by the state of Montana regulating corporate speech, but by the state of Montana simply declining to grant the corporations it creates the power to spend in politics. This is an authority every state possesses, but no state has used it in more than a century. As of March 2026, I-194, the Statutory Initiative, is certified for signature gathering and is underway across Montana through June 19, 2026. The constitutional initiative was found legally sufficient by the Montana Supreme Court. However, we await a decision on the proposed ballot statement. It is unlikely the proposed constitutional initiative will meet calendar deadlines for signature collection in 2026.”
Montana Initiative 194, Prohibit Entities from Contributing to State and Local Candidate and Ballot Measure Elections Initiative, will be on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot.
The initiative would prohibit artificial persons, as defined in the initiative, from contributing to campaigns, ballot measure elections, or political parties. Artificial persons would include nonprofits, trusts, partnerships, corporations, trade associations, or unincorporated associations, and all entities doing business in Montana. If an entity violates the initiative, it would be prohibited from doing business in Montana until it has certified compliance with the initiative.
California:
California Assembly Bill 1984 aims to redefine the powers of corporations by revoking their political spending power and limiting their activities to those specifically granted under state law. This bill emphasizes that all political power is inherent in the people, not in corporations.
Key Provisions
Revocation of Political Spending Power
- The bill revokes the political spending power of corporations.
- Corporations will only possess powers specifically granted under state law.
Legislative Intent
- The legislation declares that all political power is inherent in the people.
- It specifies that corporations are creations of statute and do not have natural rights to political activities.
Introduced by Assembly Member Rogers
Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Connolly, Elhawary, Garcia, Harabedian, Jackson, Lee, and Schiavo)
Principal coauthor: Senator McGuire
(Coauthors: Senators McNerney and Pérez)
Status: April 20, 2026 Re-referred to Com. on Banking and Finance with amendments from original filing on 2-13-2026.
Actions to Support
- Financial support for The Transparent Election Initiative
- Contact your CA Assemblymember and State Senator and ask them to co-sponsor and actively support AB 1984.
- Write a letter to the editor explaining the bill and why it’s important. Point out that Hawai’i has already done this in a bipartisan manner, and that Montana has ballot initiatives to do the same thing.
- Support the CA Fair Elections Act, which repeals the ban on public financing of campaigns. All cities and agencies could create their own public financing system if they choose to. Endorse the act and encourage your elected officials to support it as well.