STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7578 IN SENATE January 28, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GIANARIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "democracy preservation act"; and in relation to prohibiting contributions by foreign-influenced business entities and requiring certification The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "democracy 2 preservation act". 3 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 14-116-a to 4 read as follows: 5 § 14-116-a. Prohibited contributions by foreign-influenced business 6 entities. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, it 7 shall be unlawful for a foreign-influenced business entity, directly or 8 indirectly, to make a contribution or donation of money or other thing 9 of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contrib- 10 ution or donation, in connection with a state or local election. 11 2. It shall be unlawful for a business entity prohibited under subdi- 12 vision one of this section, directly or indirectly, to make a contrib- 13 ution or donation to a constituted committee, independent expenditure 14 committee, political committee, or party committee. 15 3. It shall be unlawful for a business entity prohibited under subdi- 16 vision one of this section, directly or indirectly, to make an expendi- 17 ture, independent expenditure, or disbursement for a political communi- 18 cation. 19 4. It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly solicit, accept, or 20 receive a contribution or donation described in subdivision one, two or 21 three of this section from a foreign-influenced business entity. 22 5. Any person found in violation of this section shall be guilty of a 23 class E felony and shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to the 24 contribution or donation amount plus a fine of up to ten thousand 25 dollars, to be recoverable in a special proceeding or civil action to be 26 brought by the state board of elections chief enforcement counsel. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14906-02-0

S. 7578 2 1 § 3. Section 14-100 of the election law is amended by adding two new 2 subdivisions 18 and 19 to read as follows: 3 18. "foreign-influenced" shall mean a business entity for which at 4 least one of the following conditions is met: 5 i. a single foreign national holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has 6 direct or indirect beneficial ownership of one percent or more of the 7 total equity, outstanding voting shares, membership units, or other 8 applicable ownership interests of the business entity; or 9 ii. two or more foreign nationals, in aggregate, hold, own, control, 10 or otherwise have direct or indirect beneficial ownership of five 11 percent or more of the total equity, outstanding voting shares, member- 12 ship units, or other applicable ownership interests of the business 13 entity; or 14 iii. a foreign national participates directly or indirectly in the 15 business entity's decision-making process with respect to the business 16 entity's political activities in the United States. 17 19. "business entity" shall mean a corporation, company, limited 18 liability company, limited partnership, business trust, business associ- 19 ation, joint-stock association or other corporate entity doing business 20 in the state. 21 § 4. Section 14-116 of the election law is amended by adding a new 22 subdivision 4 to read as follows: 23 4. Every business entity that makes an expenditure, or contribution, 24 for political purposes shall file with the state board of elections, 25 within seven business days after making such expenditure or contrib- 26 ution, on the form prescribed by the state board of elections, a state- 27 ment of certification signed by the chief executive officer, president 28 or owner under penalty of perjury, avowing that after due inquiry, such 29 business entity was not a foreign-influenced business entity on the date 30 such expenditure or contribution was made. Business entities shall 31 provide a copy of the statement of certification required by this subdi- 32 vision to any campaign to which it contributes. 33 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 34 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 35 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 36 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 37 completed on or before such effective date.

Enacts the democracy preservation act

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