Cal Matters recently published a new op-ed by FSFP Senior Counsel Courtney Hostetler and Money Out Voters In Co-Founder Michele Sutter on a new bill that seeks to ban multinational corporations from spending money in California elections.

The following is an excerpt from the new piece:

The Citizens United ruling created a loophole to foreign election spending bans. Luckily, there is a solution to close this loophole, and it is one that Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat from Milpitas, has proposed in AB 1819, the Stop Foreign Influence in California Elections Act.

This bill will create a bright line rule to prevent foreign influence over California elections: if a single foreign entity owns 1% or more of a U.S. corporation, it will be prohibited from spending money on California’s elections. If two or more foreign entities together own 5% or more of a U.S. corporation, that corporation also will be prohibited from spending money on California elections.

Free Speech For People has researched, drafted, and fought for state and local legislation to fight political spending by foreign-influenced corporations in multiple states across the country, including California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington State. We have also supported Congressman Jamie Raskin’s bill in the US House of Representatives to bar multinational corporations like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb from spending money to influence U.S. elections.

Read the full oped here.

Learn more about the Stop Foreign Influence in California Elections Act here.

Learn more about how we’re working to challenge foreign influence in elections here.