Bill Text: CT SB00497 | 2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

Connecticut Senate Bill 497 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: An Act Prohibiting Independent Expenditures By Foreign-influenced Business Entities And Limiting Covered Transfers.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-15 - Public Hearing 03/19 [SB00497 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2018-SB00497-Introduced.html


General Assembly		*Raised Bill No. 497*
*February Session, 2018*		LCO No. 2565
		02565_______GAE
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)

AN ACT PROHIBITING INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES BY FOREIGN-INFLUENCED BUSINESS ENTITIES AND LIMITING COVERED TRANSFERS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 9-601 of the 2018 supplement to the general statutes is amended by adding subdivisions (32) and (33) as follows (Effective from passage):

(NEW) (32) "Foreign owner" means (A) a foreign national, as defined in 52 USC 30121(b), as amended from time to time, or (B) an entity of which a foreign national holds, owns, controls or otherwise has directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an amount equal to or greater than fifty per cent of total equity or outstanding voting shares.

(NEW) (33) "Foreign-influenced entity" means any entity of which (A) one foreign owner holds, owns, controls or otherwise has directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an amount equal to or greater than five per cent of total equity or outstanding voting shares, (B) two or more foreign owners hold, own, control or otherwise have directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an amount equal to or greater than twenty per cent of total equity or outstanding voting shares, or (C) any foreign owner participates in any way, directly or indirectly, in the process of making decisions with regard to the political activities of such entity in the United States, including, but not limited to, the political activities of such entity during an election in the state or any town, city, municipality, borough or other unit of local government within the state.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) A foreign-influenced entity, as defined in section 9-601 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, shall not make any independent expenditure or any contribution to an independent expenditure political committee.

Sec. 3. Subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of section 9-601d of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) Any person, as defined in section 9-601, as amended by this act, may, unless otherwise restricted or prohibited by law, including, but not limited to, any provision of this chapter or chapter 157, (1) make unlimited independent expenditures, as defined in section 9-601c, and (2) accept [unlimited] covered transfers, as defined in [said] section 9-601, provided such person shall not accept from any other person any covered transfer or transfers in excess of seventy thousand dollars, in the aggregate, in any calendar year. Except as provided pursuant to this section, any such person who makes or obligates to make an independent expenditure or expenditures in excess of one thousand dollars, in the aggregate, shall file statements according to the same schedule and in the same manner as is required of a treasurer of a candidate committee pursuant to section 9-608.

(b) Any person who makes or obligates to make an independent expenditure or expenditures in an election or primary for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Attorney General, state senator or state representative, which exceed one thousand dollars, in the aggregate, during a primary campaign or a general election campaign, as defined in section 9-700, shall file, electronically, a long-form and a short-form report of such independent expenditure or expenditures with the State Elections Enforcement Commission pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section. The person that makes or obligates to make such independent expenditure or expenditures shall file such reports not later than twenty-four hours after (1) making any such payment, or (2) obligating to make any such payment, with respect to the primary or election. If any such person makes or incurs a subsequent independent expenditure, such person shall report such expenditure pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. Such reports shall be filed under penalty of false statement.

(c) The independent expenditure long-form report shall identify: (1) The name of the person making or obligating to make such independent expenditure or expenditures; (2) the tax exempt status of such person, if applicable; (3) the mailing address of such person; (4) the principal business address of the person, if different from the mailing address; (5) the address, telephone number and electronic mail address of the agent for service of process in this state of such person; (6) the date of the primary or election for which the independent expenditure or expenditures were made or obligated to be made; (7) the name of any candidate who was the subject of any independent expenditure or expenditures and whether the independent expenditure or expenditures were in support of or in opposition to such candidate; and (8) the name, telephone number and electronic mail address for the individual filing such report. Such individual filing such report shall, under penalty of false statement, affirm that the expenditure reported is an independent expenditure [under penalty of false statement] and certify that due inquiry has been made to determine that such person is not a foreign-influenced entity on the date such independent expenditure was made or obligated to be made.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	9-601
Sec. 2	from passage	New section
Sec. 3	from passage	9-601d(a) to (c)

Statement of Purpose:

To prevent foreign influence in elections and limit the amount of covered transfers that may be received from a single person.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]