AB 447

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, conflicts of interests of public officials, and the lobbying industry, and further establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission to administer and enforce the provisions of the act. Among its provisions, the act requires each campaign committee to file a statement of organization upon qualifying as a committee, and further requires elected officers, candidates, and committees to file periodic campaign statements reporting contributions received and expenditures made during specified reporting periods. Specifically, the act requires each elected officer, candidate, and committee to file a semiannual statement for each 6-month period, and further requires that preelection statements be filed at various specified times depending upon the type of election and the identity of the filer. The act also requires the filing of supplemental preelection statements, independent expenditure reports, and campaign statements by committees that make contributions of $10,000 or more in odd-numbered years. Under the act, a late contribution report or a late independent expenditure report is required to be filed within 24 hours if a contribution or independent expenditure is made before an election but after the closing date of the last campaign statement, and a committee is required to file a report online or electronically within 10 business days each time it makes a contribution or expenditure of $5,000 or more to support or oppose a ballot measure. This bill would instead require each elected state officer; each candidate for elective state office; and each elected officer, candidate, or committee that receives contributions or makes expenditures totaling $50,000 or more to file a quarterly statement for each calendar quarter in each odd-numbered year and a monthly statement for each calendar month in each even-numbered year, except that a committee that has received contributions of less than $500 and made expenditures of less than $500 in a reporting period would be permitted to file instead a statement of inactivity for that reporting period. The bill would also provide that there be only one type of preelection statement, to be referred to as a 16-day report, for all elections and all filers, to be filed no later than 16 days before an election for the period ending 21 days before the election. The bill would repeal provisions requiring the filing of supplemental preelection statements, independent expenditure reports, and odd-numbered year committee statements, and the bill would require a 90-day contribution report or a 90-day independent expenditure report to be filed within 24 hours if the contribution or independent expenditure is made within 90 days before the date of an election. Under the bill, a committee would be required to file a report online or electronically within 24 hours each time it makes a contribution or expenditure of $25,000 or more to support or oppose a ballot measure. In addition, the bill would require specified elected officers, candidates, and committees to file a copy of each campaign statement with the elections official of any jurisdiction in which the filer made expenditures of $25,000 or more during the reporting period. (2) Existing law requires that each filer of a campaign statement include in the campaign statement specified information, including the amount of contributions received or expenditures made during the reporting period and specified identifying information about each person who has made contributions totaling $100 or more. This bill would also require that each filer include in the campaign statement specified information about a 3rd party if the filer knows or has reason to know that contributions from 2 or more persons have been made at the behest of that 3rd party and the cumulative amount of those contributions, plus the amounts the 3rd party has contributed to the filer directly, if any, equals or exceeds the maximum amount that the 3rd party would be permitted to contribute to the filer. (3) Existing law prohibits a local government agency from enacting an ordinance imposing filing requirements additional to or different from those imposed by the act, unless the additional or different filing requirements apply only to a candidate or ballot measure being voted upon only in that jurisdiction or to a city or county general purpose committee active only in that jurisdiction. This bill would also permit a local government agency to enact an ordinance imposing additional or different filing requirements if those requirements apply only to a general purpose committee that spends $25,000 or more in the jurisdiction of that local government agency. (4) Existing law requires that every campaign committee have a treasurer who is responsible for authorizing any expenditure made by or on behalf of the committee. The treasurer is required to be designated on the committee's statement of organization, and a committee cannot accept a contribution or make an expenditure at a time when there is a vacancy in the office of the treasurer. This bill would require each treasurer, prior to his or her designation as a treasurer or within 15 business days after that designation, to complete an online certification course that addresses the statutes and regulations governing the financing of campaigns and the duties and responsibilities of a treasurer. The bill would permit the Commission to charge each applicant for certification a fee not to exceed $50 for the costs of administering the certification program, which could be paid from campaign funds, and the bill would require each treasurer to verify under penalty of perjury that he or she has been certified under the certification program. The bill would also require a treasurer to renew his or her certification every 2 years and would further require the Secretary of State to maintain on his or her Internet Web site a list of each treasurer who is currently certified. (5) Existing law provides that regulation of the operation of automatic dialing-announcing devices, as defined, is within the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission. This bill would permit the Fair Political Practices Commission to regulate the content of a prerecorded telephonic message that is disseminated by means of an automatic dialing-announcing device and that advocates support of, or opposition to, a candidate, ballot measure, or both. (6) Existing law imposes various requirements on slate mailers, defined as mass mailings that support or oppose multiple candidates or ballot measures, and on slate mailer organizations that produce and distribute slate mailers. Specifically, existing law requires a slate mailer organization to file a semiannual campaign statement for each 6-month period. In addition, existing law requires that each slate mailer disclose specified information, in a specified manner, about the slate mailer organization and identify each candidate and ballot measure that has paid to appear in the slate mailer. This bill would instead require a slate mailer organization to file a quarterly statement for each calendar quarter in each odd-numbered year and a monthly statement for each calendar month in each even-numbered year, except that a slate mailer organization that has received payments of less than $500 and made expenditures of less than $500 in a reporting period would be permitted to file instead a statement of inactivity for that reporting period. The bill would also permit the Commission to impose, by regulation, other requirements regarding the contents of a slate mailer. (7) Existing law imposes penalties on a person who files a campaign statement or report after the applicable deadline in the amount of $10 per day up to a maximum of $100 or the amount being reported in the statement or report, whichever is greater. This bill would increase those penalties to $25 per day up to a maximum of $750 or 150% of the amount reported in the statement or report, whichever is greater. The bill would also make those penalties applicable to a campaign statement or report submitted on behalf of a committee that does not have a currently certified treasurer. In addition, the bill would prohibit a candidate or elected officer from using campaign funds to pay a fine imposed on him or her for tardy filing of a statement of economic interests. (8) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to develop online or electronic filing processes for the filing of campaign statements and reports, and further requires that candidates, general purpose committees, and other entities file required statements and reports online or electronically if the total amount of contributions or expenditures being reported exceed a specified threshold. Existing law prohibits a fee or charge from being collected for the filing of a campaign statement or report, except as provided for under the act. This bill would require the Secretary of State and the Commission to jointly work toward the development of a single, statewide electronic filing system that consolidates the filing of all state and local campaign statements and reports into one searchable database that meets specified criteria. The bill would require the Secretary of State and the Commission to develop a feasibility study report for the electronic filing system by December 31, 2013, to develop a funding plan, to engage in fundraising, and to complete work on the electronic filing system by December 31, 2017. In addition, the bill would permit the Secretary of State to collect a fee or charge for the filing of a campaign statement or report required under the act, provided that the amounts collected are used only for, and do not exceed the costs of, development and maintenance of the electronic filing system. (9) Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. (10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (11) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.