HB05589 - Campaign Finance Reform Summary

• Establishes independent expenditure political committees as a new category of political committee that makes only independent expenditures and contributions to other independent expenditure committees, with their own disclosure and coordination requirements.

• Expands the definition of "coordinated spender" to include persons formed by or under influence of candidates, family members of candidates, advisors/consultants to candidates, and persons with more than incidental discussions about campaign matters with candidate family members; expenditures by coordinated spenders are presumed non-independent.

• Creates caps on covered transfers to independent expenditure committees at $70,000 per calendar year and requires disclosure of top five largest sources of covered transfers on certain campaign communications during 90-day pre-election period.

• Prohibits foreign-influenced entities (foreign nationals or entities with 5%+ foreign ownership or foreign participation in political decisions) from making independent expenditures or covered transfers.

• Requires boards of governance for entities making campaign-related disbursements over $4,000 to authorize and publicly disclose each payment within 48 hours, and requires CEOs/equivalents to appear in entity-funded independent expenditure advertisements with personal approval statements.