Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this resolution is to express Minnesota's intent for the United States Congress to propose a constitutional amendment known as the "For Our Freedom Amendment." This amendment seeks to allow both the states and Congress to set limits on the amount of money used in elections, distinguishing between spending done by individuals and by entities such as corporations or unions.

Main Provisions

• Memorialization of Congress: The bill sends a formal request to Congress, urging them to propose and send for ratification an amendment that enables setting reasonable spending limits in elections.
• Distinction of Entities: The amendment discussed would allow differentiation between natural persons and entities like corporations, unions, and artificial intelligences in terms of election spending.
• Election Integrity and Representation: The goal is to protect the integrity of elections and ensure elected representatives are aligned with the interests of their constituents. The amendment seeks to curb undue influence from wealthy special interests, out-of-state, or foreign entities.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• This resolution seeks to initiate a change in how election spending is managed by proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Currently, extensive election spending is often equated with free speech due to Supreme Court rulings. This would potentially override these interpretations, placing new limits on spending.

Process

• The Secretary of State of Minnesota is instructed to forward this resolution to key leaders in Congress and the Minnesota Congressional delegation to advocate for the proposed amendment.

Relevant Terms

• For Our Freedom Amendment
• Campaign spending limits
• Free speech
• Natural persons vs. artificial entities
• Corporations
• Unions
• Artificial intelligences
• Election integrity
• Systemic corruption