Amazon’s headquarters is in Seattle. The bill prohibits corporations or companies from spending money on city elections if at least 5% of their stock is owned by foreign investors. 9% of Amazon stock is owned by foreign investors.
City Council president and the bill’s author, Lorena Gonzales, believes that this “legislation closes a loophole that previously allowed foreign persons to use their ownership in a corporation to influence political activity.” In 2019, Amazon made political contributions to political candidates that exhibited support to businesses such as theirs.
Seattle followed St. Petersburg, Florida’s footsteps in passing such a bill restriction.
Read the full article from CNBC.