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Business Crimes BulletinWhite Collar CrimeLegislationFeatures

State Legislatures Take on FARA with New FARA-Style Bills

By Jason Abel and Adie Olson and Claire Rajan and Elizabeth Goodwin
October 31, 2025

This year has seen a wave of proposed bills in state legislatures across the United States aimed at regulating foreign-influenced political activity at the state level. While legislation varies from state to state, their shared goal is to bring transparency to political activity by foreign entities or countries or to target influence activities undertaken by certain foreign governments. While stylized to mirror portions of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), in reality, many of these laws are broader than FARA and lack the core exemptions that companies may have grown accustomed to relying upon.

FARA, enacted in 1938, is a federal disclosure statute that requires “foreign agents” to register with the Attorney General and follow onerous disclosure requirements. Between 1966 and 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought only seven criminal prosecutions under FARA. However, since 2016, there has been a surge in prosecutions, including some high-profile cases. Due to FARA’s broad disclosure requirements and various exemptions, ambiguity persists regarding the scope of the statute’s requirements. This surge in FARA enforcement activity has sparked interest in regulating foreign agent activity at the state level.

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