Tom Umberg
- Democratic
- Senator
- District 34
Author
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would remove prohibitions imposed on a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public funds, as defined, for the purpose of seeking elective office unless the funds are earmarked by a state or local entity for education, transportation, or public safety. The bill would require candidates to abide by specified expenditure limits and meet strict criteria, as defined, to qualify for public funds. The bill would prohibit public funds from being used to pay legal defense fees or fines or to repay personal loans to their campaign. The bill would permit a statute, ordinance, or charter to establish standards to increase the expenditure limits for each qualified, voluntarily participating candidate pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would provide that the Fair Political Practices Commission is not responsible for administering or enforcing a system of public funding of candidates established by a local governmental agency. Existing law prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal, as defined, from making a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition to, any state or local ballot measure or in connection with the election of a candidate to state or local office. Under existing law, a person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine equal to the amount contributed or expended. This bill would instead require that a person guilty of that misdemeanor, in addition to other penalties, be fined an amount at least equal to the amount contributed or expended, but not exceeding a maximum amount of 3 times the amount contributed or expended. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill, as specified, to the voters for approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 85320 of the Government Code proposed by AB 953 to be operative pursuant to specified conditions.
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 245, Statutes of 2025.
Approved by the Governor.
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 29. Noes 8. Page 3038.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 59. Noes 20. Page 3424.) Ordered to the Senate.
Read third time and amended.
Ordered to third reading.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 29).
July 16 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Coauthors revised.
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 28. Noes 10. Page 1372.) Ordered to the Assembly.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1189.) (May 23).
Set for hearing May 23.
April 21 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Set for hearing April 21.
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 608.) (April 1).
Set for hearing April 1.
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
Read first time.
From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 5.
Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
| Bill Text Versions | Format |
|---|---|
| SB42 | HTML |
| 12/05/24 - Introduced | |
| 02/05/25 - Amended Senate | |
| 04/02/25 - Amended Senate | |
| 05/23/25 - Amended Senate | |
| 06/25/25 - Amended Assembly | |
| 09/03/25 - Amended Assembly | |
| 09/17/25 - Enrolled | |
| 10/02/25 - Chaptered |
| Document | Format |
|---|---|
| 03/28/25- Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments | |
| 04/18/25- Senate Appropriations | |
| 05/23/25- Senate Appropriations | |
| 05/27/25- Sen. Floor Analyses | |
| 06/30/25- Assembly Elections | |
| 07/14/25- Assembly Appropriations | |
| 09/02/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 09/03/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 09/12/25- Sen. Floor Analyses |
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