General Assembly Committee Bill No. 582
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 5746
*_____SB00582GAE___032817____*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
General Assembly
Committee Bill No. 582
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 5746
*_____SB00582GAE___032817____*
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 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) a business 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 business entity" means any business 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 business entity in the United States, including, but not limited to, the political activities of such business entity during an election in the state or any town, city, municipality, borough or other unit of local government within the state.
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 9-601d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(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) a certification that, after due inquiry, such person is not a foreign-influenced business entity on the date such independent expenditure or expenditures were made or obligated to be made, if applicable; (7) the date of the primary or election for which the independent expenditure or expenditures were made or obligated to be made; [(7)] (8) 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)] (9) the name, telephone number and electronic mail address for the individual filing such report. Such individual filing such report shall affirm that the expenditure reported is an independent expenditure under penalty of false statement.
Sec. 3. Subsection (g) of section 9-613 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(g) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (f), inclusive, of this section, and except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a corporation, cooperative association, limited partnership, professional association, limited liability company or limited liability partnership, whether formed in this state or any other, acting alone, may make independent expenditures.
(2) No foreign-influenced business entity, as defined in subdivision (33) of section 9-601, as amended by this act, may make independent expenditures or covered transfers.
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 9-601d of the general statutes is 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 the amount of any such covered transfer or transfers accepted in any calendar year shall not exceed seventy thousand dollars in the aggregate. 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.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage 9-601
Sec. 2 from passage 9-601d(c)
Sec. 3 from passage 9-613(g)
Sec. 4 from passage 9-601d(a)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
9-601
Sec. 2
from passage
9-601d(c)
Sec. 3
from passage
9-613(g)
Sec. 4
from passage
9-601d(a)
GAE House Favorable
GAE
House Favorable