Support Seattle Ordinance to Ban Super PACs at SEEC Meeting

Come support the Seattle Defend Our Democracy Ordinance at the next Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission meeting on August 13th!

See copy of draft ordinance below.

Fix Democracy First & Free Speech for People are supporting an ordinance that would ban super PAC and foreign money coming through corporations in Seattle elections. Seattle CM Lorena González is the primary sponsor. We just need the support of Seattle residents to get this through.

Please RSVP or add your name to a letter of support here:
https://bit.ly/2OukSSG

Contact: 206-552-3287 or cindy@fixdemocracyfirst.org

Proposed Draft Ordinance
CITY OF SEATTLE

AN ORDINANCE amending Sections 2.04.010, 2.04.260, 2.04.270, 2.04.370 and 2.04.280
The City Council of the City of Seattle, makes the following findings regarding super PAC funding, foreign influence, and commercial advertisements:
WHEREAS, independent expenditure committees, are a growing phenomenon in local elections and in Washington;
WHEREAS, large contributions to independent expenditure committees, pose the risk of quid pro quo corruption or the appearance of quid pro quo corruption, even if the independent expenditure committee’s media activities are not “coordinated” with political campaigns;
WHEREAS, independent expenditures in Seattle’s 2017 mayoral election were five times higher than 2009 spending and almost double the amount spent in 2013 according to the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission;
WHEREAS, independent expenditures in council races hit a fifteen year high in 2015 according to the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission, and in 2017 a single independent expenditure committee accounted for more than half of all independent expenditures in 2017 elections in Seattle;
WHEREAS, the status quo allows wealthy donors to circumvent limits on contributions to candidates by making unlimited contributions to independent expenditure committees;
To protect the integrity of the democracy of Seattle, it is necessary to place limits on contributions to independent expenditure committees.
WHEREAS, the United States government has concluded that the 2016 presidential election was subject to extensive foreign involvement, as set forth in the U.S. Director of National Intelligence’s January 2017 report on “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”
WHEREAS, the United States Government has concluded that Russia, China, Iran and other foreign actors are engaged in ongoing campaigns to undermine democratic institutions, as set forth in the “Joint Statement from the ODNI, DOJ, FBI and DHS: Combating Foreign Influence in U.S. Elections” on October 19, 2018;
WHEREAS, the FBI has concluded that foreign influence operations include “criminal efforts to suppress voting and provide illegal campaign financing,” as set forth in FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Statement at Press Briefing on Election Security on August 2, 2018;
WHEREAS, the United States Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, have already recognized the need to protect U.S. elections (including local elections) from foreign influence, through the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals imposed by 52 U.S.C. 30121 and upheld by the Supreme Court in Bluman v. Federal Election Commission, 800 F. Supp. 2d 281 (D.D.C. 2011) (3-judge court), aff’d, 565 U.S. 1104 (2012);
WHEREAS, current law does not adequately protect against foreign interference through corporate political spending by U.S. corporations with significant foreign ownership, as explained by Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub in her July 19, 2017 statement “How Our Broken Campaign Finance System Could Allow Foreign Governments to Buy Influence in Our Elections and What We Can Do About It.”
WHEREAS, federal law and academic literature on corporate governance recognize that a single shareholder owning 1% or more may be in a position to influence corporate decision-making;
WHEREAS, corporations with foreign ownership at these levels have been politically active in recent years, including in local elections around the country;
To protect the integrity of the democracy of Seattle, it is necessary to ensure that corporations that spend money in city elections are not foreign-influenced.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 2.04.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 124694, is amended as follows:
2.04.010 Definitions
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“Chief executive officer” means the highest-ranking officer or decision-making individual with authority over the corporation’s affairs.
“Corporation” means a corporation, company, limited liability company, limited partnership, business trust, business association, or other similar entity.
“Foreign-influenced corporation” means a corporation for which at least one of the following conditions is met: (a) a single foreign owner holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has direct or indirect beneficial ownership of 1% or more of the total equity, outstanding voting shares, membership units, or other applicable ownership interests of the corporation; (b) two or more foreign owners, in aggregate, hold, own, control, or otherwise have direct or indirect beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the total equity, outstanding voting shares, membership units, or other applicable ownership interests of the corporation; or (c) a foreign owner participates directly or indirectly in the corporation’s decision-making process with respect to the corporation’s political activities in the United States.
“Foreign investor” means a person or entity that (1) holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has direct or indirect beneficial ownership of equity, outstanding voting shares, membership units, or other applicable ownership interests of a corporation, and (2) is a government of a foreign country, or a foreign political party, or a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons organized under the laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country, or an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
“Foreign owner” means (a) a foreign investor or (b) a corporation wherein a foreign investor holds, owns, controls, or otherwise has directly or indirectly acquired beneficial ownership of equity or voting shares in an amount that is equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total equity or outstanding voting shares.
“Independent expenditure committee” means any political committee that makes an independent expenditure, or makes contributions to other independent expenditure committees, totaling one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more in an election cycle for a city election.
Section 2. Section 2.04.260 of the Seattle Municipal Code is amended by adding subsection d to Subsection A.2:
d. a copy of the certification, provided pursuant to Section 2.04.270.D by the chief executive officer of any corporation making a contribution, that the corporation is not a foreign-influenced corporation.
Section 3. Section 2.04.270 of the Seattle Municipal Code is amended to revise subsection B and add subsection D:
B.1. Any person who contributes in the aggregate amount of $100 or more during the preceding 12 month period to any political committee not domiciled in the state or not otherwise required to report under this chapter, if the person reasonably expects such political committee to make contributions or independent expenditures in respect to any election covered by this chapter, shall file with the City Clerk a report signed by the contributor disclosing the contributor’s name and address, the date, nature, purpose, amount, and recipient of such contribution, and any instructions given as to the use or disbursement of such contribution.
2. The initial report shall be filed with the City Clerk within five days after the date on which the amount of $100 or more is reached, and each subsequent report shall be filed within five days after each subsequent contribution is made to the same such political committee.
D. Any corporation making an independent expenditure or contributing to an independent expenditure committee shall, within 7 business days after making such expenditure or contribution, file with the City Clerk a statement of certification signed by its chief executive officer under penalty of perjury, avowing that after due inquiry, the corporation was not a foreign-influenced corporation on the date such expenditure or contribution was made. The corporation shall also provide a copy of the statement of certification to any independent expenditure committee to which it makes a contribution.
Section 4. Section 2.04.370 of the Seattle Municipal Code is amended as follows:
2.04.370 – Mandatory Limitations on contributions
A. No person shall make a contribution to any candidate for Mayor, member of the City Council, or City Attorney of the City, except in the election cycle for that candidate as defined in Section 2.04.010.
B. No person shall contribute more than $500 to any candidate for Mayor, member of the City Council, or City Attorney of the city, in any election cycle.
C. A candidate for Mayor, member of the City Council, or City Attorney of the City, may only accept or receive a campaign contribution during an election cycle as defined in Section 2.04.010.
D. No candidate for Mayor, member of the City Council or City Attorney of the City shall solicit or receive campaign contributions of more than $500 from any person in any election cycle.
E. The limitations imposed by this section 2.04.370 shall not apply to:
1. A candidate’s contributions of his or her own resources to his or her own campaign or contributions to the candidate’s campaign by the candidate or the candidate’s spouse or state registered domestic partner of their jointly owned assets;
2. Independent expenditures as defined by this Chapter 2.04 except as provided by Subsections F and G;
3. The value of in-kind labor; and
4. Contributions consisting of the rendering of clerical or computer services on behalf of a candidate or an authorized political committee, to the extent that the services are for the purpose of ensuring compliance with City, county, or state election or public disclosure laws.
F. No person shall contribute more than $5,000 to any independent expenditure committee in any election cycle, and no independent expenditure committee may accept contributions of more than $5,000 in any election cycle from any person, unless the committee specifically dedicates any excess amount for use in elections outside of the City of Seattle.
G. No foreign-influenced corporation shall make an independent expenditure or a contribution to an independent expenditure committee.
H. F. The limitations imposed by this section shall apply to contributions of the candidate’s spouse’s or state registered domestic partner’s separate property.
I. G. The limitations in this Section 2.04.370 shall be adjusted commencing before the 2019 election cycle, and prior to each election cycle thereafter, by the Commission to account for inflation or deflation using the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical works, CPI-W, or a successor index, for the period since the effective date of this measure or the prior adjustment, as calculated by the United States Department of Labor. The declaration of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries each September 30 regarding the rate by which Washington State’s minimum wage rate is to be increased effective the following January 1, shall be the authoritative determination of the rate or percentage of increase or decrease to be adjusted, except that the Commission may round off the new figures to amounts judged most convention for public understanding.

Section 5. Section 2.04.280 of the Seattle Municipal Code is amended as follows:
Section 2.04.280 – Commercial advertisers’ duty to report.
A. Each commercial advertiser that has accepted or provided political advertising during the election campaign and/or qualified public communication as defined in this subsection shall maintain open for public inspection during the campaign and for a period of no less than three years after the date of the applicable election, and, in the case of a qualified public communication shall maintain open for public inspection from the first date on which the qualified public communication appears and for no less than four years after the last date on which the qualified public communication appeared, during normal business hours, documents and books of account which shall contain specify:
1. The names and addresses of persons from whom it accepted political advertising or qualified public communications, including, if the person is a business entity, a list of the chief executive officers or members of the executive committee or of the board of directors of such entity;
2. The exact nature and extent of the advertising services rendered, including information regarding: (i) the average rate charged for the advertisement; (ii) the name of the candidate or elected official to which the advertisement refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election or which the elected official holds, the election to which the advertisement refers, or the legislative issue to which the advertisement refers (as applicable); (iii) in the case of a request made by or on behalf of, a candidate, the name of the candidate, the authorized committee of the candidate, and the treasurer of such committee.
3. The consideration and the manner of paying that consideration for such services.
4. A digital copy of the advertisement;
5. A description of the audience targeted by the advertisement, the number of views generated from the advertisement, and the date and time that the advertisement is first displayed and last displayed.
B. Each commercial advertiser that must comply with subsection A of this section shall deliver to the Executive Director, upon his or her request, copies of such information as must be maintained open for public inspection pursuant to subsection A of this section, and shall maintain such information in an easily searchable, sortable, and downloadable library prominently displayed on the commercial advertiser’s website.
C. For purposes of this subsection, a ‘qualified public communication” shall mean:
1. Any paid advertisement (including search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements, and sponsorships) that communicates a message relating to any political matter of local importance, including (i) legislation, as defined in Chapter 2.06, Section 2.06.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code, or (ii) an elected official’s position on such legislation or any efforts to influence the development, proposal, drafting, consideration, reconsideration, promotion, adoption, enactment, rejection, approval, disapproval veto, or failure to take action upon such legislation.
Section 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance, or any application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of the ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and word not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this ordinance or application thereof would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 7. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.