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H.J.Res. 54

U.S. House•In House Committee

Summary

H.J.Res. 54, “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only”, was introduced in the House on Feb 12, 2025 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) with 81 co-sponsors. It was referred to Judiciary, and last saw action on Feb 12, 2025: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Record

Text

H.J.Res. 54 has 81 co-sponsors.

hjr54/introduced-in-house.txt
119 HJ 54 IH: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-02-12
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 IA  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. J. RES. 54  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   February 12, 2025   Ms. Jayapal  (for herself,  Mr. Grijalva ,  Ms. Williams of Georgia ,  Mr. Tonko ,  Mr. Nadler ,  Mr. Panetta ,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia ,  Mr. Doggett ,  Ms. Tlaib ,  Mrs. Ramirez ,  Ms. Clarke of New York ,  Ms. Norton ,  Mr. Magaziner ,  Ms. Velázquez ,  Mr. Moulton ,  Mr. Castro of Texas ,  Mr. Khanna ,  Ms. McCollum ,  Ms. Brown ,  Mr. Peters ,  Ms. Ocasio-Cortez ,  Ms. Salinas ,  Ms. DeLauro ,  Mr. Carbajal ,  Ms. Chu ,  Mr. Vargas ,  Mr. Frost ,  Ms. Adams , and  Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania ) 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 providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.
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:
 —
1.
The rights and privileges protected and extended by the Constitution of the United States are the rights and privileges of natural persons only. An artificial entity, such as a corporation, limited liability company, or other entity, established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law. The privileges of an artificial entity shall be determined by the People, through Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable.
2.
Federal, State, and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process, and that no person gains, as a result of that person’s money, substantially more access or ability to influence in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure. Federal, State, and local governments shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.
3.
This amendment shall not be construed to abridge the right secured by the Constitution of the United States of the freedom of the press.
  .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-02-12
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in House Feb 12, 2025

hjr54/introduced-in-house.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in House (02/12/2025)

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation.

The amendment requires federal, state, and local governments to (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure equal access of citizens to the political process, regardless of economic status; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed.

Additionally, the judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.

Sponsors

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D) sponsors H.J.Res. 54, and 81 members have co-sponsored it, 28 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

H.J.Res. 54 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary
Judiciary
Referred To · Feb 12, 2025 · 2,181 Bills

Actions

H.J.Res. 54 has taken 2 actions since Feb 12, 2025.

ChamberAction
Feb 12, 2025
House
Introduced in House
Feb 12, 2025
House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.Judiciary Committee

Votes

H.J.Res. 54 has not gone to a roll call.

Titles

H.J.Res. 54 goes by 2 titles.

  • Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. — Display Title
  • Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

1 client hired 1 firm and 3 registered lobbyists who named H.J.Res. 54 in 4 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Budget/Appropriations, Government Issues.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
COMMON CAUSE—District of Columbia14—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
COMMON CAUSE14—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
OMAR NOURELDIN114
VIRGINIA KASE SOLOMON114
PRESTON MITCHUM112

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
COMMON CAUSECOMMON CAUSE2026 second_quarter$30K2nd Quarter - Report
COMMON CAUSECOMMON CAUSE2026 first_quarter$30K1st Quarter - Report
COMMON CAUSECOMMON CAUSE2025 fourth_quarter$30K4th Quarter - Report
COMMON CAUSECOMMON CAUSE2025 third_quarter$30K3rd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.J.Res. 54 under Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 3 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.J.Res. 54’s is Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.

hjres54/policy-areas.txt
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Legislative Subjects

H.J.Res. 54 carries 3 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Constitution and constitutional amendments to First Amendment rights.

hjres54/subjects.txt
Constitution and constitutional amendmentsElections, voting, political campaign regulationFirst Amendment rights

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.J.Res. 54, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Ms. JAYAPAL:H.J. Res. 54.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:This bill is enacted pursuant to the power granted toCongress under Article I of the United States Constitutionand its subsequent amendments, and further clarified andinterpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States.[Page H678]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com