Republicans push to bar foreign donors to Michigan ballot committees
LANSING — A Republican bill moving through the state House is seeking to clamp down on alleged foreign influence in Michigan ballot proposals by banning foreign sources from giving to the efforts — without giving state officials any way to tell if the law is being followed.
The legislation would amend Michigan’s campaign finance law to require ballot questions committees to submit an “affirmation” that the committee hasn’t knowingly received donations from foreign nationals, and require the committees to get similar assurances from dark money sources that they’ve not been funded by foreign sources, either.
If the donation is from a foreign-owned company in the U.S., funds could only be donated if raised in the US and contributed by US-based employees.
Rep. Rachelle Smit, the Martin Republican who’s sponsoring the legislation, said in committee testimony that the possibility of foreign funding behind Michigan ballot proposals is a “critical loophole that exposes state and local initiatives and referenda to otherwise illegal contributions.
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/republicans-push-to-bar-foreign-donors-to-michigan-ballot-committees/
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