Conservative groups who have successfully backed legislation in six states this year to ban foreign funding of ballot initiatives have one message for Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte about his state’s measure. 

Veto it. 

House Bill 818 passed the Montana Legislature but was watered down through amendment and lacks the same strong protections against foreign funding of ballot measures that passed in other states, conservative critics said.

States have enacted bans on both direct and indirect funding of state ballot initiatives. They are designed to prevent a foreign person or entity from bankrolling a ballot measure. Conservative groups have pointed to the foreign money that in some cases indirectly funded state abortion measures. But such funding bans would just as easily prevent a foreign donor from indirectly funding a ballot measure favored by a pro-Second Amendment or pro-school choice group. 

Foreign contributions to candidates are already banned, but foreign contributions for ballot initiatives has been a loophole that has been exploited in the past.

Montana is significant in the nationwide push to block foreign contributions of ballot measures. 

That’s because in 2023, the Federal Election Commission recommended that Congress close the legal loophole allowing foreign money for ballot measures in a case stemming from a Montana ballot measure. The FEC contended that under existing law, it had no power to police foreign donations for ballot initiatives, only donations to candidates.

The recommendation came after the FEC, in charge of enforcing federal election law, dismissed a 2021 complaint that Australian mining company Sandfire Resources contributed over $280,000 to defeat a Montana ballot initiative that would have increased the power of state mining regulators to deny mining permits.  

As an Australian mining company doing business in Montana, Sandfire opposed the possibility of reducing the availability of mining permits in the state.

The dismissal came because the FEC determined it lacked the authority to hear the case. 

“Heritage Action has seen a groundswell of conservative grassroots support nationwide to ban foreign funding for state ballot initiatives,” Heritage Action for America Vice President Janae Stracke said in a public statement. 

“Six states have enacted laws prohibiting this corrupt practice, and several more states are considering similar legislation,” Stracke continued. “These states have taken decisive action to close all loopholes in their election laws. Unfortunately, HB 818 stops short of actually protecting Montanans’ voices at the ballot box. We urge Gov. Gianforte to veto this ineffective foreign funding legislation.”

Gianforte’s spokesperson, Kaitlin Price, did not immediately respond to email and phone inquiries from The Daily Signal on whether the governor would sign or veto the measure. 

House Bill 818 would still allow U.S.-based political organizations to collect money from foreign individuals or entities to fund ballot measures, said Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project. 

“House Bill 818 was originally intended to protect the integrity of Montana elections by banning foreign influence,” Snead said in a statement.  

“Unfortunately, the Montana Legislature passed a version of the bill with amendments that leave it substantially weakened,” Snead continued. “If signed into law, foreign-funded groups like the Sixteen Thirty Fund would remain free to pour millions into state ballot measures, drowning out the will of Montana voters. We urge Gov. Gianforte to veto House Bill 818 so that lawmakers can pass a true ban on foreign funding for ballot measures. The people of Montana deserve no less.”

The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a nonprofit advocacy group that was established as part of the Arabella Advisors, a firm that oversees a network of left-leaning advocacy groups. 

“While House Bill 818 was once a recognition of the need to address foreign influence in Montana’s politics, the bill was amended and now fails to comprehensively prohibit foreign funding of state ballot issue campaigns,” said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, in a statement.  “Foreign-backed organizations like the Sixteen Thirty Fund will still be able to dump money into state ballot measures unimpeded, drowning out the voice and will of Montana voters. We urge Gov. Gianforte to veto HB 818, and hope Montana lawmakers will pass legislation at the earliest opportunity that actually closes this foreign influence loophole.”