AN ORDINANCE related to elections; prohibiting foreign-influenced corporations from making independent expenditures or contributing to campaigns and independent expenditure committees; amending Sections 2.04.010, 2.04.260, 2.04.270, 2.04.360, and 2.04.370 of the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC); and adding a new Section 2.04.400 to the SMC.
The bill passes and the chair will sign. It will now move on to the committee reports. We have a report from the Select Committee on Campaign Finance Reform. Can you please read the report? The report of the Select Committee on Campaign Finance Reform Agenda Item one Cancer Bill 119 731 relating to elections prohibiting foreign influence corporations from making independent expenditures or contributing to campaigns and independent expenditure committees. Amending Section 2.04.0. 10.2 60.2. 70.3 69.3 77. Civil Code and adding a new section 2.0 4.400. To the Seattle Code. The committee recommends the bill pass. And test it. Thank you. Just moving right into the amendments. I want to start off and we can speak to the merits of the bill after passage of the amendments. I move Amendment one to amend Council Bill 11 9731, Section two, as presented on Amendment one of the agenda and second. Thank you. This amendment adds the definition of independent expenditure committee to the Definition Definitions section. This necessary definition was previously missing. So any comments? All right. That pass those in favor of voting in support of the amendment vote i. I can oppose not abstaining. A member two is I move to amend a council bill 11 9731 Section seven as presented on Amendment two of the agenda. I have a second ticket. Thank you. Okay. This amendment changes the title of section seven from limits on expenditures to independent expenditure committees to simply independent expenditures. This what seemed to be a technical amendment is actually a subset of amendment because it would ensure that foreign influence corporations would not be able to simply make political expenditures themselves. The bill. As drafted focuses on limitations to foreign influence corporations, to expenditure to independent expenditure committees. And so this is definitely another loophole that would be useful. To. Close any comments. See no comments. Those in favor of amendment to please vote i. I. I am opposed and abstaining so to the bulk of the bill. I want to thank Councilmember Gonzalez for her leadership on this effort, as well as the various stakeholders who have been involved in the Clean Campaigns effort. We know that out of the 20 largest corporations to PAC in 2019, at least seven of those 20 could have met the definition of a foreign influence corporation, federal law and judicial decisions. Interpreting that law make abundantly clear that foreign foreigners are barred from spending money to influence U.S. elections. This is true whether they attempt to influence U.S. elections in their personal capacity or through a corporation. Foreign investors own increasing shares of U.S. corporate stock, going from only 5% in 1982 to approximately 35% in 2017. Foreign interests can easily diverge from U.S. interests. That is true nationally, and it can be certainly true locally in municipal government. The areas of tax, trade, investment and labor law, there are often divergent interests. Corporate directors and managers view themselves as accountable to their stakeholders, including foreign stakeholders. And a quote from four former CEO of U.S. based ExxonMobil Corp.. Starkly stated. I'm not a U.S. company, and I don't make my decisions based on what's good for the U.S. corporate governance. Governance experts and regulators agree alike that these thresholds, as proposed in this bill, capture the level of ownership. Necessary to influence corporate decisions. And even the conservative former chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and the Business Roundtable concur that 1% is a threshold at which a single shareholder is able to influence significant corporate decisions. One of the most important campaign finance limits that we have is that foreign nationals are absolutely barred from spending directly or indirectly in U.S. elections at any political level federal, state or city. Thus, it defies logic to allow groups of foreign nationals or foreign nationals in combination with American citizens to fund political spending through corporations. One cannot have a right collectively that one does not have individually. That concludes my comments on the first of the two bills related to clean campaigns that we're going to hear today. And do I call for the vote? If there are any questions or comments. Good. Okay, Rock. All right. Get to my right. Please call the role on the passage of the bill as amended. Whereas. I. Lewis i. Morales i. Peterson I. Swann i. Strauss i. Pro tem herbold i. Seven in favor and unopposed. Thank you. The second bill that we have. I'm sorry. Absolutely. The bill passes and the chair will sign it. Thank you. The next bill is Council Bill 11 9732 Agenda item to Council Bill 119 732.