A group of politically concerned citizens gathered on the corner of Routes 19 and 228 in Cranberry Township on Saturday in support of a bill that would restrict the gifts that elected officials would be allowed to accept.

HB 570, also known as the gift ban, was introduced in February and sent to the state government committee for review where it has been ever since.

If passed, the gift ban would prohibit elected officials from accepting gifts worth more than $50 or traveling amenities of more than $500, with exceptions made for longtime friends and relatives.

Area activists say Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, is using his position as committee chairman to prevent the bill from going to a vote.

Frank Kirkwood, March on Harrisburg organizer and a Pittsburgh resident, organized the demonstrations, now known as “Citizen Billboard” events.

“We’re trying to get representative Metcalfe to have a hearing for this bill and others,” said Kirkwood, adding that so far the group hasn’t been able to get a meeting with him.

Attendees of the demonstration stood with signs asking passers-by to ask Metcalfe and state House Speaker Mike Turzai to pass the gift ban.

“We had two groups standing at the corner,” said Kathleen Richardson, activist and Mars resident. “We had signs that encouraged Metcalfe to let the gift ban go to the floor for a vote.”

The demonstrators are confident that if they could just get the bill out of committee, they could see it passed into law.

“It’s important for representatives to hear more from people back home about it,” said Kirkwood. “If we get a vote, legislators will be too embarrassed to vote against it.”

For more information visit giftban.org.

“It’s a little website we set up to explain what it’s all about,” Kirkwood said.

The site, which is through March on Harrisburg, outlines the group’s position and offers visitors information about how to connect or get involved.

The site allows the group to see how many people are visiting it each day and so far as they’ve been able to quantify it, Citizen Billboards have been successful, said Kirkwood.

“It’s a little experiment we’re doing,” he said. “It’s using an old technology to get people to connect on a new technology.”

Kirkwood checked the site traffic as the demonstration went on and saw a spike in traffic. “240, that’s amazing,” he said. “That’s two hits for every minute we were out there.”

As he plans demonstrations and events, he is optimistic about the future of grass roots movements.

“There’s a big level of enthusiasm for citizens to get control of their government and to talk to each other.” he said.