Bill > AB1984

This bill, titled "Corporate powers: political spending power," seeks to redefine the powers granted to corporations and other artificial persons (entities like corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships) organized under California law. It explicitly states that these entities do not possess "political spending power," which is defined as the legal ability to spend money or anything of value to support or oppose candidates, political parties, or ballot measures. The bill revokes all previously granted powers and states that corporations will only have those powers specifically granted by the Corporations Code, excluding political spending. Any action taken by a corporation that exercises this prohibited political spending power would be considered void and could lead to the forfeiture of all corporate privileges, such as limited liability. Reinstatement of these privileges would require disgorgement of all funds used for political spending and certification of future compliance. The bill also grants the Attorney General the authority to enforce these provisions and emphasizes that if any part of the bill is found invalid, the intent is for corporations to have no powers at all rather than be granted political spending power.