Learn how YOU can fight for the Gift Ban: Virtual Advocacy Workshop
Start:
Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 12:00 AM GMT
This is a virtual event
Come to our virtual advocacy training and learn how YOU can fight to pass the Gift Ban this session! We'll go over everything from how to write Letters to the editor for the Gift Ban, how to lobby your representative, how to flyer and billboard in your community & more!
More about the Gift Ban:
Right now, Pennsylvania is one of only three states in the country with no limits on the gifts that lobbyists and billionaires can give to lawmakers. These gifts aren’t just the occasional dinner or nice gesture; they include everything from all-expenses-paid European vacations to box seats at Penn State games, along with lavish wining and dining. It seems clear that these gifts are legalized bribery, and they only benefit the state lawmakers and special interest groups footing the bill, they don’t help the people these lawmakers were elected to serve.
The Gift Ban would put an end to this practice, making it illegal for lawmakers to accept gifts that could influence their decisions. We've been fighting for this for eight years, and we're closer than ever. The Gift Ban has passed the House State Government Committee twice — once in 2019 and again in 2021 — but it still hasn’t been fully passed. This has to be the year.
We’re tired of hearing the excuse that there’s “never enough time” to pass the Gift Ban, especially when we know legislators are finding plenty of time to do the bidding of big-money interests. Take, for example, the last week of the 2024 session, when Pennsylvania legislators managed to pass 12 bills and hold 49 campaign fundraisers.
So, we’re starting 2025 with a loud and clear message: Pass the Gift Ban or Get Out!
This year, we expect the legislature to prioritize passing the Gift Ban and stop doing the bidding of billionaires and corporations. We will continue pushing, relentlessly until this corruption is outlawed for good. And we’re keeping track.
We are giving lawmakers a deadline to sign the pledge by Wednesday, February 5th. We will be keeping track of who has, and who has not, signed this pledge. After February 5th, you can find this information on a map at mohpa.org.
