Georgia CommonsHB 963: Elections; prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to or participating in any campaign
Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled
House Bill 963 would ban foreign nationals from donating to or steering Georgia ballot measure campaigns, and would require campaign committees to certify their donors aren't foreign nationals.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law already regulates campaign committees that raise money to support or oppose ballot questions, constitutional amendments, and referendums. This bill adds new rules aimed specifically at foreign influence in those campaigns. It defines 'foreign national' to include non-citizens who aren't lawful permanent residents, foreign governments, foreign political parties, and foreign-controlled business entities, and it defines 'preliminary activity' to include polling, focus groups, and drafting ballot language. The bill bars foreign nationals from directing, controlling, or participating in decisions about ballot-question campaigns, and from soliciting donations for them. Campaign committees must certify, when registering and when filing disclosure reports, that no foreign national funded preliminary activity and that no donor is a foreign national or has funneled more than $100,000 through foreign nationals in the prior four years. It also limits government disclosure of tax-exempt donors' identities unless a violation is confirmed, with penalties tied to existing Code Section 21-5-9.
What the bill does
- Prohibits foreign nationals from directing, controlling, or participating in decisions of ballot-question campaigns, or soliciting donations for them, whether directly or indirectly.
- Defines 'foreign national' to cover non-citizens without lawful permanent residency, foreign governments, foreign political parties, and foreign-controlled or foreign-based business entities.
- Requires campaign committees pursuing ballot measures to certify at registration that no foreign national funded 'preliminary activity' like polling or drafting ballot language.
- Requires committees to certify with each disclosure report that donors are not foreign nationals and haven't funneled more than $100,000 through foreign nationals in the prior four years.
- Restricts state and local government entities and courts from disclosing donor identities to tax-exempt organizations unless a violation has been confirmed.
- Extends the existing definition of 'campaign committee' to explicitly include committees active in county and municipal ballot questions, not just state-wide ones.
Who it affects
Campaign committees organized around ballot questions, constitutional amendments, and referendums at the state, county, and municipal level; donors to those committees; foreign individuals, governments, political parties, or foreign-controlled businesses; and government investigators or courts handling disclosure of donor identities.
Why it matters
Committees running ballot-measure campaigns would face new paperwork requiring them to certify donor citizenship status and screen out foreign money, with potential penalties for violations. Donors to tax-exempt groups would gain some protection from having their identities disclosed unless a violation is confirmed.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-5-3 to add definitions for 'directly or indirectly,' 'foreign national,' 'foreign political party,' and 'preliminary activity,' and clarifies that 'campaign committee' includes county and municipal ballot question committees.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-5-34 to require campaign committee registrations to certify no foreign national funded preliminary activity.
- Section 2 also requires each disclosure report to certify that donors are not foreign nationals and have not funneled more than $100,000 through foreign nationals in the prior four years.
- Section 3 creates new Code Section 21-5-37, barring foreign nationals from directing, controlling, or soliciting contributions for ballot-question campaigns.
- Section 3 requires committees to obtain donor affirmations of non-foreign-national status upon receiving contributions.
- Section 3 limits disclosure of tax-exempt donor identities by government entities and courts unless a violation is confirmed, with penalties under Code Section 21-5-9.
- Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, or control, directly or indirectly, or participate in the decision-making process of any person with regard to that person's activities to influence the approval or rejection by the voters of any proposed constitutional amendment, proposed state-wide, county, or municipal question, or state-wide referendum.”
“No state or local governmental entity, court, or officer of the court shall disclose to the public, or another government official not directly involved in the investigation or action brought pursuant to Code Section 21-5-7, information revealing the identity of any donor”
Status timeline
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Engrossed (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
Show full history (12 actions)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
- Victor Anderson (R, HD-010)
- Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
- John Carson (R, HD-046)
- Shaw Blackmon (R, HD-146)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
Votes
- House voteMarch 4, 2026
140 yea, 24 nay (1 not voting, 12 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
33 yea, 15 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)
Topics
- election law
- campaign finance
- foreign influence
- ballot measures
- donor privacy