Valladares Bill Blocking Foreign Involvement In California Elections Passes Assembly
A bill authored by Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, which seeks to ban campaign donations from foreign governments and people in California, passed the California State Assembly Thursday.
Assembly Bill 319 (AB 319), written by Valladares and passed through the assembly with no “no” votes Thursday, would allow the Fair Political Practices Commission to enforce federal laws banning campaign donations from foreign entities.
“This bill protects the integrity of California’s elections and helps keep out foreign contributions that undermine our democratic process,” said Valladares. “I thank my colleagues for recognizing that these illegal contributions cannot go unnoticed or unpunished.”
Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt is hoping to be the next governor of California.
“My campaign is basically this: innovation, innovation, innovation,” Hewitt told News Channel 3 on Monday.
The libertarian businessman is running to challenge Governor Gavin Newsom in the upcoming recall election.
“The straw that broke the camels back for me was actually when it seemed like the governor was actually doing vaccines for folks. I mean Riverside County and San Bernardino County both got 80 percent less in their allocation of vaccines when they were so in demand especially early on,” he said.
The main issues he’ll focus on if elected are water, housing and education.
An effort to recall three Shasta County supervisors has been “terminated” and proponents will now have to start over if they want to continue.
In a letter to one of the attorneys working for the anti-recall group Shasta Forward, Cathy Darling Allen, county clerk and registrar of voters, said the recall supporters did not include the signatures of the proponents, which is required under the elections code.
“As such, the current recall efforts against the Supervisors are terminated,” Darling Allen stated in the letter to attorney George M. Yin of Kaufman Legal Group in Los Angeles.
The letter was attached to a news release Shasta Forward sent out Monday night announcing Darling’s decision.
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How behested payments work
A behested payment occurs when an elected official solicits or suggests that a person or organization give to another person or organization for a legislative, governmental or charitable purpose. For example, a lawmaker or someone acting on their behalf might ask a company to donate money or services to a nonprofit or government agency, such as asking for cash donations to support food banks or accepting pro bono consulting work.
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There is no limit on how much a company or individual can donate on behalf of an elected official. Newsom helped secure $226 million for various causes during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. State lawmakers helped arrange $10.3 million in donations in 2020.
There is no limit on how much a company or individual can donate on behalf of an elected official. Newsom helped secure $226 million last year.
More than $43 million in behested payments was earmarked in 2020 for the governor’s office, including $500,000 from YouTube, $300,000 from TikTok and $227,000 from Netflix, with those donations used for public health ads. COVID-19 vaccine maker Pfizer Inc. gave $250,000 on behalf of the governor to a nonprofit providing trailers to house families in need of shelter during the pandemic.
Paramount Pictures, Amazon, T-Mobile and Bank of America Corp. were among the more than 100 donors that gave on behalf of Newsom last year.