When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010, it fundamentally changed the role of money in American elections.
The ruling held that corporations, labor unions, and other organizations have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts advocating for or against candidates, provided that spending is independent of the campaigns themselves. Over the years, the decision helped fuel the growth of Super PACs and outside political spending, while making it increasingly difficult for
Congress to place new limits on money in politics.
Many Americans assumed that was the end of the conversation.
It wasn’t.
This year, Hawaii became the first state to enact a law specifically designed to challenge the practical effects of Citizens United. Rather than attempting to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling directly, Hawaii took a different approach. The new law redefines the powers granted to corporations under state law, declaring that corporate charters issued by the state do not include the authority to spend money influencing elections. The measure is widely expected to face constitutional challenges, but supporters hope it will ultimately give the courts an opportunity to reconsider the reach of Citizens United.
Whether Hawaii’s approach ultimately survives judicial review remains to be seen.
What it demonstrates, however, is that important public policy debates do not begin and end in Washington.
They often begin in state legislatures.
The lawmakers who introduced, debated, and passed Hawaii’s legislation were elected by voters. The governor who signed it into law was elected by voters. If courts eventually review the law, it will be because state officials chose to test a new legal theory through the legislative process.
For working people, there is an important lesson.
State legislatures are not simply responsible for roads, schools, or state budgets. They frequently become the testing ground for ideas that shape national policy. From campaign finance reform to workplace protections, prevailing wage laws, paid leave, apprenticeship programs, and collective bargaining rights, many of the debates that eventually reach Congress or the Supreme Court begin in state capitols.
That is why every election matters—not only those for President or Congress, but also the races for state representative, state senator, attorney general, and governor. Those officials write the laws, defend them in court, and often determine whether new ideas receive a hearing at all.
The debate over money in politics is far from settled. Hawaii’s new law may ultimately be upheld, narrowed, or struck down. Whatever the outcome, it serves as a reminder that democracy is not a spectator sport. The laws that shape our nation often begin with citizens who elect leaders willing to test new ideas, challenge existing precedent, and ask the courts to take another look.
For the labor movement, that’s an important reminder. Lasting change rarely happens all at once. More often, it begins one legislature, one election, and one law at a time.
