Gift Ban Passes in Committee!
MoH volunteers immediately after the Gift Ban passes out of Commitee.
When MarchOnHarrisburg was co-founded three years ago, legislators and activists alike told us that our legislative agenda to end corruption in Harrisburg was 'politically impossible.'
The most impossible? A gift ban on public officials. Currently, Pennsylvania is one of only eight states that has no limitations on what lobbyists can gift to our legislators. Attempts at ending this legalized bribery had failed for decades. And, as we’ve been told:
‘Legislators like perks.’
However, we were determined to get money out of State Legislature and force our representatives to represent US, and not corporate lobbyists.
In January 2017, we began lobbying the State Capitol and speaking to legislators about why constituents don’t trust their government. We formed relationships, broke down barriers of intimidation in the People’s House, and forced raised our voices to have seat at the negotiating table.
Since then, we’ve lobbied almost every legislator (250 out of 253 legislators,)marched 265 miles across our Commonwealth & organized 14 nonviolent direct actions.
Through our tireless advocacy, MoH has shifted the narrative around the culture of corruption in Harrisburg and pushed House Leadership to advance our bill.
In November 2017, five activists dressed as the character “Waldo” from “Where’s Waldo?” were arrested while sitting in the hallway directly behind the Rotunda, blocking major traffic in the building, after Speaker Turzai cancelled session without explanation to avoid discussing the gift ban and other anti-corruption measures.
Most recently, in May 2019, MarchOnHarrisburg forced House Speaker Mike Turzai to publicly support the gift ban, after shutting down Session by flooding the House with 500 one-dollar bills, and dropping a banner that read “Some are guilty; all are responsible. Pass the Gift Ban Now!” In total, 20 activists were arrested at the State Capitol for protesting. MarchOnHarrisburg Executive Director, Rabbi Michael Pollack was arrested with 11 others for blocking the East Wing entrance into the Capitol, with dollar bills marked “Bribe” taped over their mouths.
Activists from above the sit-in dropped a banner which read, “$$ Silences Us.”
Just months after those actions, House State Government Committee Chairman Garth Everett introduced his own Gift Ban which Speaker Turzai and the majority of the State Government Committee immediately co-sponsored.
On November 19, that bill passed out of committee and is headed to the House floor for a vote, and MoH packed the hearing to show the Committee that Pennsylvanians want a Gift Ban.
While the legislation is not perfect, we look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Everett and other members of the State Government Committee to add the following amendments to the bill on the House floor:
✅ Ban all gifts (including transportation, lodging, and hospitality) over $10 to public officials or their spouses (with few exceptions)
✅ Enforce transparency by reporting gifts associated with those exceptions within 10 days of acceptance and posted online.
✅ Removing the proposed "romantic relationship" which exempts some lobbyists from the ban on giving gifts and reporting those gifts.
✅ Removing the proposed reinstitution of "honoraria" for public officials, a practice that is currently illegal and should remain so.
✅ Modernizing the proposal by expanding the definition of "cash" to include cash-like instruments such as gift cards and electronic currency.
Today’s victory in Committee shows the strength of the democracy movement in our state, and that everyday Pennsylvanias have the expertise and agency to identify problems in our democracy and propose their solutions.