HARRISBURG, PA—Following a three-day, 35-mile march from Lancaster to Harrisburg, on Monday, September 16th, MarchOnHarrisburg led a group of anti-corruption activists to the State Capitol Building to demand the State Senate follow the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and pass HB2433, a bill banning foreign-influenced corporations from spending money to influence state and local elections. 

Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Free Speech For People’s Campaign Director, joined the marchers for a press conference at the Capitol.

“People want to know that their lawmakers are accountable to them,” says Flores-Quilty. “This is the principle of self-government. It’s time for Pennsylvania state law to stop multinational corporations from providing paths for foreign entities to achieve, either directly or indirectly, what they are barred from doing as foreign governments or individuals: spending money in US elections.

The policy grows from model legislation developed by Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan non-profit organization that works to defend our democracy across the country. Free Speech For People helped to pass similar legislation in Minnesota in 2023, San Jose, California in 2024, and Seattle, Washington in 2020. Additional bills are under consideration in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington State, as well as in the U.S. Congress. Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have introduced the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act, which is a federal companion bill to HB2433.