Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Election Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances ban on foreign funding of ballot campaigns with disclosure requirements
Summary
House Bill 45, which would prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to ballot measure advocacy in Kentucky and require disclosure for express-advocacy ads, passed committee as amended with opposition recorded. Sponsors cited national examples of foreign money in ballot campaigns and sought parity with candidate and PAC rules.
The Senate State and Local Government Committee on Monday advanced House Bill 45 as amended, a bill that would prohibit foreign nationals from funding ballot measure advocacy and require disclosure for express-advocacy advertisements.
Representative John Hodgson, the bill sponsor, said the legislation would "put ballot issue donations on the same footing" as candidate and PAC contributions and that since 2009 foreign donors have injected nearly a billion dollars into U.S. ballot campaigns, according to testimony. Hodgson said the bill excludes U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
Senator Chambers Armstrong pressed the sponsor on language in Section 4(c) that appears to bar "a foreign national" (defined in the bill as anyone without citizenship or green-card status) from "directly or indirectly" dictating, controlling or participating in another person's decision to influence a ballot measure. Chambers Armstrong said the wording could sweep in one-on-one political discussions by students on temporary visas; he asked whether that would expose such individuals to civil liability. Hodgson replied that the statute’s focus is on "express advocacy"—paid communications that say "vote yes" or "vote no"—and that de minimis one-on-one conversations would not typically draw enforcement.
Hodgson and committee members also discussed national groups and donors; the sponsor cited the "16 30 fund" and a donor named in testimony as Hans Georgweiss as examples of foreign-funded activity that has supported ballot measures elsewhere. Senator Rawlings said he filed a companion Senate bill and noted the committee had heard evidence of foreign donations affecting Kentucky campaigns in recent years.
A roll call followed the amendment. Senator Chambers Armstrong explained a no vote saying, "I'm gonna vote no today because I'm worried about how it's as drafted chilling participation in our civic institutions." The committee chair reported the vote as "the bill as amended has passed 8 to 1 to 1 pass" in the transcript; the clerk recorded the amendment and the committee advanced the bill to the floor.
The transcript does not provide statutory section text beyond the exchange on Section 4(c) nor does it include fiscal estimates or enforcement provisions beyond the sponsor's description.
