State lawmakers could consider legislation or ethics rules that would require people in Oklahoma advocating on behalf of a foreign entity, country, organization or individual to disclose their relationship with that entity.
During an interim study Monday, Sept. 29, in the Senate Judiciary committee, senators considered ways to establish the state’s own version of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
FARA is a federal law that requires those advocating on behalf of a foreign entity, country, organization or individual to dislose the nature of their relationship with that entity. Under the law, activities that require foreign agents to register include lobbying, campaign contributions and other political activity.
At least four states have recently enacted their own registration and disclosure requirements, including Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas and Utah.
The federal law requires disclosure and registration for all foreign agents regardless of which country they may be advocating for. But the discussion in the Oklahoma state Capitol focused on the Chinese government and its potential influence in state politics.
China has begun to focus on how it can influence state leaders as its access to federal leaders is diminishing, said Tom Rawlings, the policy director for State Shield, a political organization dedicated to curbing influence by the Chinese Communist Party in the U.S.
More: After dangerous crashes, why doesn’t Oklahoma require seat belts on buses?
“The Chinese government plays the long game,” Rawlings said during the study. “They are aware that an up and coming leader at the state level may end up becoming a U.S. senator one day, or may end up being president.”
Rawlings added that a state law modeling FARA can help lawmakers evaluate a lobbyist’s sincerity and whether they’re working on behalf of a hostile foreign government.
Guest speakers and senators did not mention an example of foreign influence in Oklahoma politics during the interim study.
Oklahoma lawmakers have attempted to pass legislation modeling FARA in recent years, though each attempt has failed to meet passage requirements.
But rules requiring a person representing a foreign principal to disclose the nature of that relationship to the state could be accomplished without legislation, said Lee Anne Bruce Boone, executive director of the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.
Bruce Boone said the Ethics Commission sees a state level FARA law as a “great interest.” She said the commission’s staff has been authorized to begin the rulemaking process for registration and disclosure by an individual lobbying on behalf of an adversarial nation or country of concern.
The rulemaking request comes after Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, advocated for such a rule during the Ethics Commission’s January meeting. Ethics rules may be enacted, modified or repealed after a public hearing on the proposed changes. The Ethics Commission will then submit adopted changes to the governer and state Legislature on the second day of the legislative session in February.
Bruce Boone said the Ethics Commission is in the process of gathering feedback from stakeholders statewide on potential rule changes. The state Legislature will reconvene Feb. 2.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK senators consider rules on foreign lobbying, citing China concerns
