# Plain Language Summary: Constitutional Amendment on Corporate Rights

This proposed constitutional amendment would fundamentally change how the law treats corporations and other business entities by saying they don't have the same constitutional rights as individual people. Right now, courts have ruled that corporations can exercise certain constitutional protections—like free speech rights—similar to how real people can. This amendment would reverse that by explicitly stating that only natural persons (actual human beings) get constitutional protections, while corporations, limited liability companies, and other for-profit entities would have no inherent rights under the Constitution.

The amendment would also give the government broad power to regulate how money flows into elections. It would allow federal, state, and local governments to limit or even prohibit campaign contributions and spending by anyone—including candidates spending their own money—to try to level the playing field so that wealthy people and corporations can't gain disproportionate influence over elections. Any money that is allowed to be spent on campaigns would have to be publicly disclosed so voters know who's funding what. Importantly, the amendment states that courts cannot treat campaign spending as a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment, which would overturn recent Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United that have allowed unlimited political spending.

The practical effect would be significant: corporations couldn't claim constitutional rights to challenge regulations, and campaign finance laws that currently face legal challenges based on free speech grounds could be enforced without those obstacles. However, the amendment specifically protects press freedom, so news organizations would still have constitutional protections. For this to become law, it would need to pass both the House and Senate with two-thirds majorities, then be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures—a very high bar that makes passage unlikely.

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only.

Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected 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.