Capitol Police arrested six protesters Monday afternoon after officers say they blocked hallways while protesting the state’s lax campaign finance laws.
A Department of General Services spokesperson said six people were issued non-traffic summary citations and three were arrested on misdemeanor charges, “following multiple lawful dispersal orders that were not complied with.”
At least 70 protesters with MarchOnHarrisburg, a good government group, marched for four days from Reading to the state Capitol, arriving Monday morning. The group marched through the hallways before making their way to the East Wing, chanting “Pass the gift ban. Stop taking bribes.”
As it stands, state lawmakers can take any amount of cash gifts from people, including lobbyists, but must disclose any gifts over $250. Federal law and at least 47 states have stricter campaign finance laws.
MarchOnHarrisburg organizers argued that simply disclosing gifts is not enough.
“We don’t want you going on big trips and getting Super Bowl tickets,” said Andrea Pauliuc, an organizer. “It’s common sense.”
This is the tenth year the group has protested at the Capitol to try to convince lawmakers to pass gift ban legislation.
Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, who is running as a Democratic Congressional candidate, attended the protest and said he supports a gift ban on all levels of government.
“I don’t think anyone should be profiting off their seat in elected office, period,” Douglas told PennLive.
A 2022 poll found at least 75 percent of Pennsylvania voters supported stricter campaign finance laws.
Rich Forsman, a Camp Hill borough council member, said showing up to protest is the main way to get legislators’ attention. He is running for the Democratic nomination to face Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland County, in the fall.
“On borough council, the community will show up that very next council meeting and let you know how you’re messing up,” Forsman told PennLive. “Whereas at the state level, it takes direct action and events like this, where you have large numbers of people just making a ton of noise right here in the Capitol in order to get the point across.”
MarchOnHarrisburg organizers said their requests to schedule meetings with House and Senate leaders during their visit were ignored.
However, a spokesperson for President Pro Tem Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said she met with the group on “multiple occasions but no formal request to meet was made for their visit this time.”
She added the senator “had ongoing dialogue with the organization.”
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana County, minority leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny County, House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery County, House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Delaware County and minority leader Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, did not respond to requests for comment on whether they would consider supporting legislation to ban gifts to lawmakers.
Seven years ago, a GOP-controlled House passed a gift ban bill that would have tightened state laws, like limiting cash gifts to $50 from one person in a year. But the bill died in the Senate.
Sen. James Malone, D-Lancaster County, introduced gift ban legislation that didn’t make it to the Senate floor in previous years.
“I work for the people in my district, not wealthy individuals or corporations and their lobbyists,” Malone said in an email to PennLive. “All lawmakers in Harrisburg should be able to say the same by supporting this legislation.”
Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia, who introduced similar legislation in the House, said a gift ban hasn’t passed yet because “it’s hard to reform your own institution because you’re asking the people within it to reform.”
“[A gift ban] restores public trust that we as a body strongly believe that we’re going to hold ourselves accountable,” Solomon said. “Just like my constituents who work hard every day would have to hold themselves accountable at their jobs.”
The executive branch has a stricter policy: Former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order, banning gifts for all executive employees in his first week in office in 2015. Gov. Josh Shapiro has mostly maintained the ban, except for items of nominal value like a cup of coffee or plaques.
“Because Matt Radford, Kim Ward, Joe Pittman and Joanna McClinton, a bipartisan consensus refused to pass a gift ban and get money out of politics, we make sure our voices are heard,” one of the organizers chanted at the Capitol Monday. “We are going to continue singing this song one more time to make sure that everyone in this complex can hear us.”