On April 28, 2022, the San Ramon Valley Democratic Club endorsed:
Assembly Bill 1819 – Stop Foreign Influence in California Elections
AB1819 will prevent U.S. based corporations with appreciable levels of foreign ownership from spending money from their corporate treasuries to influence California elections if the corporation meets one of the following criteria:
1) A single foreign shareholder owns or controls 1 percent or more of the corporation’s equity
2) Multiple foreign shareholders own or control—in the aggregate—5 percent or more of the corporation’s equity.
Cal Matters article on AB1819
Twelve years ago, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling that allowed U.S. corporations to spend unlimited amounts in U.S. elections through independent expenditures – candidate-related election spending not coordinated with any candidate. Since Citizens United, independent spending on elections has grown exponentially. More than $3.3 billion in independent expenditures were spent to influence the 2020 federal elections. Corporations are able to spend unlimited amounts on elections themselves or by funneling money through super PACs, trade associations and other groups that are not required to disclose the source of the money.
Add Your Organization’s name if it endorsed AB1819