Bill > S525

This bill aims to restrict political spending by corporations with significant foreign ownership or influence by introducing new definitions and reporting requirements for "foreign-influenced corporations." The bill defines a foreign-influenced corporation as one where a single foreign owner holds at least 1% of ownership, multiple foreign owners collectively hold at least 5% of ownership, or a foreign owner participates in the corporation's political decision-making. Under the proposed legislation, such corporations would be prohibited from making independent political expenditures, electioneering communications, contributions to political action committees, or ballot question committee contributions. Corporations making political expenditures must file a certification signed by their chief executive officer attesting that they are not a foreign-influenced corporation. Additionally, any advertisement or communication funded by entities that have received contributions from potentially foreign-influenced corporations must include a disclaimer stating that "Some of the funds used to pay for this message may have been provided by foreign-influenced corporations." The bill provides a mechanism for contributors to certify that their funds are not from foreign-influenced corporations, allowing the entities creating political communications to rely on these certifications unless they have direct knowledge of their falsity.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S525