The Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday barring foreign nationals from donating political funds to candidates or towards constitutional amendments and referendums in state elections.
House Bill 363 (HB363) by State Rep. James Lomax (R-Huntsville) would prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns, ballot measures, political parties or political action committees (PACs).
"Currently, under federal law, foreign nationals are not able to contribute to any elections," Lomax said, presenting his bill before the House. "This would simply mirror this within the state of Alabama."
The bill didn't face any real opposition from House members. However, the standard Democratic lawmakers who frequently use time for seemingly no reason did eat up some debate time.
The bill defines "Foreign National" as the following:
- An individual who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
- A government or subdivision of a foreign country or municipality thereof.
- A foreign political party.
- Any entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons, that is organized under the laws of or has its principal place of business in a foreign country.
- Any U.S. entity, such as a partnership, association, corporation, or organization, which is wholly or majority owned by any foreign national, unless: (i) any contribution or expenditure the entity makes derives entirely from funds generated by the entity's U.S. operations; and (ii) all decisions concerning the contributions or expenditures are made by individuals who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, except decisions setting overall budget amounts.
Under the bill's provisions, foreign nationals are prohibited from directly or indirectly contributing money or anything of value in connection with a state election, contributing to a state political party or spending funds on electioneering.
Parties, PACs and campaign committees are likewise barred from accepting contributions from foreign nationals.
Under the bill's provision, a person who willingly violates the law would be charged with a Class C felony, carrying a penalty of 1-10 years in prison.
"Elections directly impact the day-to-day lives of every Alabamian. Protecting ballot initiative elections from foreign influence should be of great importance to every Alabamian," Lomax said. "I am proud that the House voted to bolster election integrity and look forward to continuing to work this bill through the legislative process."
The bill passed 100-0. It must now go through the Senate before being signed into law.
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