Campaign Finance Reform: State-Level Constraints

Rather than trying to amend the constitution, a more aggressive approach is for each state to use its corporate regulatory powers to restrict corporate donations.   Legislation to pursue this has now been signed into law in Hawaii and is due to take effect in 2027. Similar legislation has been introduced in 13 other states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.  In Montana, citizens are gathering signatures to put I-194, also known as Ballot Measure 10, on the ballot in November, 2026 to accomplish the same thing.

These bills and initiatives face significant opposition and future legal challenges, but they are arguably on a very solid legal footing. Independent of whether or not “money is speech,” as the U.S. Supreme Court held in Citizens United, states have clear legal rights to define and limit the power of corporations chartered in their state. In April of 2026, the Montana Supreme Court unanimously allowed Ballot Measure 10 to move forward.