MONTGOMERY — Members of the Alabama House of Representatives passed on Thursday legislation barring online political contributions from sources whose billing addresses are not in the United States.
Senate Bill 92 (SB923) by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) would ban campaigns, Political Action Committees (PACs) and political parties from accepting online credit card contributions if the billing address is in a foreign country.
The bill includes an exception for U.S. citizens living abroad, provided they give the address that comports with their voter registration to the person or entity to whom they are attempting to contribute.
State Rep. Mike Shaw (R-Hoover) brought the bill before the House, touting it as a method for “tightening” the state’s campaign finance laws. According to Shaw, the bill targets donations that lack a U.S.-based billing address, such as gift cards or cases in which a third-party processor does not maintain one.
“Most legitimate transactions have a billing address, a zip code, a CVV. sometimes with gift cards and things like that, with other third parties, they don’t necessarily capture that information,” Shaw said. “So, this is basically signaling to the financial institutions, this is the way that transactions should be processed.”
Some House Democrats questioned the need for the legislation, with some expressing concern that it could hinder legitimate contributions.
This is one of a handful of bills aimed at reducing foreign participation in state elections.
Last month, lawmakers passed legislation that would prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns, ballot measures, political parties, or political action committees and prohibit political parties, political action committees, principal campaign committees, and others from soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
Shaw did offer a technical amendment to the bill on the floor. The Senate agreed with the changes later in the afternoon. It will now go to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
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