The bill would force foreign delegates involved in any influence of state legislation to register as lobbyists, subjecting them to all requirements and restrictions
California: Still smarting from the defeat of his resolution that the state officially recognize the Dalai Lama and Tibet last month, Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee has taken aim at the Chinese government.
A San Luis Obispo resident who represents the 33rd Assembly District, Blakeslee has introduced a bill that would require agents of a foreign government who lobby for or against state legislation to be registered as lobbyists.
His bill, AB 1334, is in response to the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China’s opposition to his resolution marking Dalai Lama and Tibet Awareness Day. Under pressure from the Chinese government, a vote on his resolution was blocked and the measure was sent back to the Assembly Rules Committee.
“This is not some theoretic issue,” Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, said in a prepared statement. “Representatives of the Chinese government entered this building and defeated a measure. It’s a shocking breach of the sovereignty of this body. The public needs to know that we act solely in their interest, not at the behest of any special interest, foreign or domestic.”
Federal regulations cover lobbying activities by “foreign agents,” but California has no such restrictions.
Shandon rancher William P. Clark backed Blakeslee’s bill, saying in a letter to the assemblyman: “In my years as Chief of Staff to Governor Ronald Reagan and again as Deputy Secretary of State and later National Security Advisor to President Reagan, I do not recall any case of foreign consular officials lobbying at our state level in such a blatant and aggressive way. To suggest that such activity is irregular is to state the obvious; in fact, such actions appear to be inappropriate.”
AB 1334 requires foreign agents engaged in lobbying to register with the secretary of state and subjects them to all of the registration, disclosure and gift limit requirements and prohibitions imposed upon lobbyists by the Political Reform Act.
“The Chinese government is the only special interest I’m aware of that’s getting away with organizing overseas junkets, hosting dinners for legislators at the Consulate General’s home and taking positions on bills without a single disclosure requirement,” Blakeslee said in his news release. “All special interests should play by the same rules.”
