Restrict Foreign-influenced Money In Politics

The bill prohibits a foreign-influenced corporation from making an electioneering communication or a regular biennial school electioneering communication.

The bill also expands the group of persons and entities currently prohibited from expending money on an independent expenditure in connection with an election in the state to include a foreign-influenced corporation. An independent expenditure committee is prohibited from knowingly accepting a donation from any foreign-influenced corporation.

The bill prohibits an independent expenditure committee from knowingly accepting a contribution, donation, or transfer from a covered organization if all or part of the contribution, donation, or transfer includes money received by the independent expenditure committee from a foreign-influenced corporation.

The bill prohibits any person from using funds from a foreign-influenced corporation to make either an electioneering communication or a regular biennial school electioneering communication.

A for-profit corporation that is authorized to make a contribution or donation is required to affirm in writing under penalty of perjury that it is not a foreign-influenced corporation before it makes any permissible contributions or donations. The bill prohibits any person from accepting a permissible contribution or donation from a nonprofit corporation unless the written affirmation is provided before the contribution or donation is received by the recipient. The recipient of the contribution or donation is required to retain the written affirmation for not less than one year following the date of the end of the election cycle during which the contribution or donation is received. An affirmation statement is not required if the for-profit corporation has previously provided a statement to the recipient in the 3-month period prior to the date on which it makes the permissible contribution or donation.

The bill defines the terms "foreign-influenced corporation", "foreign owner", and "widely held diversified fund".

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)