BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1430|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1430
Author: Garrick (R), et al
Amended: 5/8/07 in Assembly
Vote: 27
SEN. ELECTIONS, REAPP. & CONST. AMEND. CMTEE. : 4-1,
7/10/07
AYES: Battin, Cogdill, Padilla, Calderon
NOES: Migden
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/24/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: contribution
limitations:
communications
SOURCE : State Building and Construction Trades Council
DIGEST : This bill prohibits local governments from
adopting campaign finance ordinances that restrict
communications between an organization and its members
unless state law similarly restricts such communications,
or by regulation by the Fair Political Practices
Commission.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that payments made for
communications to members, employees, shareholders, or
families of members, employees, or shareholders of an
organization for the purpose of supporting or opposing a
candidate or a ballot measure are not contributions or
CONTINUED
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expenditures, if those payments are not made for general
public advertising such as broadcasting, billboards, and
newspaper advertisements. However, such payments made by a
political party for communications to its members that
would otherwise qualify as contributions or expenditures
are to be reported in the same manner as contributions or
expenditures.
Existing law provides that nothing in the Political Reform
Act (PRA) shall nullify contribution limitations or
prohibitions of any local jurisdiction that apply to
elections for local elective office, except that those
limitations and prohibitions cannot conflict with the
provision of state law that provides that payments made by
an organization for communications to its members are not
contributions or expenditures.
Existing law prohibits a person from making a contribution
to a political party totaling more than $30,200 in a
calendar year for the purpose of making contributions for
the support or defeat of candidates for elective state
office, or for the purpose of making expenditures at the
behest of a candidate for elective state office for
communications to party members related to the candidate's
candidacy for elective state office. [Proposition 34 of
2000]
This bill prohibits local governments from adopting
campaign finance ordinances that restrict communications
between an organization and its members unless state law
similarly restricts such communications. Specifically,
this bill prohibits a local jurisdiction from doing any of
the following:
1. Imposing source restrictions on payments for member
communications that are not expressly made applicable to
member communications by a state statute or by a
regulation adopted by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC).
2. Adopting limits on payments to a political party
committee for member communications that are not
expressly made applicable to member communications by a
state statute or FPPC regulation.
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3. Adopting limits on the scope of payments considered
directly related to the making of a member
communication, including costs associated with the
formulation, design, production and distribution of the
communication such as surveys, list acquisition, and
consulting fees that are not expressly made applicable
to member communications by a state statute or FPPC
regulation.
Ongoing Regulatory Process . In implementing the provisions
of the PRA governing member communications, the FPPC has
adopted a regulation that sets parameters for what
constitutes a "payment for communications to members" by an
organization. Among other provisions, Title 2, California
Code of Regulations, Section 18531.7 (Regulation 18531.7)
defines various terms used in the member communications
statute (including "organization," "member," "shareholder,"
and "family"), specifies what constitutes a payment for
communications, provides a safe harbor for communications
inadvertently directed to nonmembers, addresses payments
for member communications made at the behest of a candidate
or committee, and specifies the reporting requirements for
member communications made by entities that are considered
committees under the PRA.
The FPPC is currently reviewing its regulations governing
member communications, and is deciding whether to modify
Regulation 18531.7, to adopt new regulations, or both.
Among the issues being considered by the FPPC in reviewing
its member communications regulation are whether to extend
the regulation (or adopt a new regulation) to govern member
communications by political parties (Regulation 18531.7
defines the term "organization" to exclude political
parties, so communications by political parties are not
currently covered by Regulation 18531.7), and what rules
and restrictions (if any) should be placed on member
communications by political parties.
Fulhorst Opinion Request . Some of the issues that the FPPC
plans to address in reviewing its regulations governing
member communications, as detailed above, came to light due
to an opinion request sent to the FPPC from Stacey
Fulhorst, the Executive Director of the City of San Diego
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Ethics Commission. Ms. Fulhorst posed 10 questions to the
FPPC on how existing law governing member communications
was to be enforced, including (1) whether a member
communication made by a political party at the behest of a
candidate is considered a contribution to that candidate,
(2) whether contributions earmarked for member
communications at the request of a candidate are considered
contributions to the candidate, and (3) whether a local
jurisdiction can enact a law defining as a "contribution"
any payment for member communications that are made at the
behest of a candidate, and therefore subjecting such
payments to local contribution limits.
The FPPC ultimately declined to issue an opinion in
response to Ms. Fulhorst's request, and instead decided to
incorporate the questions raised in her request into its
review of regulations governing member communications.
However, because the issues raised in Ms. Fulhorst's
request are directly related to some of the issues
addressed by this bill, any new or revised regulations that
result from the FPPC's review of its member communication
regulations could directly impact issues addressed by this
bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/12/07)
State Building and Construction Trades Council (source)
American Motorcyclist Association District 37
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Democratic Party
California Labor Federation
California League of Conservation Voters
California Off-Road Vehicle Association
California Pro Life Council
California Republican Party
California State Council of Laborers
National Rifle Association of America
National Right to Life Committee
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Diego Off-Road Coalition
Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
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Service Employees International Union State Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/12/07)
California Clean Money Campaign
California Common Cause
California Public Interest Research Group
City of San Diego Ethics Commission
League of Women Voters of California
Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill clarifies existing law regarding protected
'member communications' for political parties, labor
unions, and other membership organizations.
Existing state law allows local jurisdictions to establish
regulations 'not in conflict' with state law or regulations
promulgated by the FPPC. However, some local jurisdictions
have begun the process of attempting to promulgate local
laws and regulations that conflict with the clear meaning
of the PRA and FPPC regulations and which, as such, are in
clear conflict with both bodies.
In particular, local jurisdictions have begun the process
of attempting to restrict the First Amendment free speech
of political parties and labor unions to communicate with
their memberships without regulation by or from local
jurisdictions.
This bill clarifies the clear intent of the PRA and FPPC
regulations to allow membership organizations to
communicate with their own members, and the primacy of
state government's authority to interpret the clear meaning
of the PRA.
Political parties, labor unions, and other membership
organizations have a clear First Amendment right, bolstered
by the actual language and clear intent of the PRA and the
FPPC, to communicate with their own members. This bill
clearly defines this right, so that there will be no future
confusion.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents state:
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"AB 1430 would prevent many cities and counties from
enacting any laws that would restrict the funneling of
large contributions through political parties to benefit
candidates -- even when the candidate, party, and donor
coordinate the payment and expenditure. Without such
safeguards, local contribution limits would be rendered
meaningless. Contribution limits are a fundamental and
constitutional means that many cities and counties can
and do use to prevent corruption and the appearance of
corruption in their elections. AB 1430 would create an
enormous loophole in these laws, allowing special
interest groups to use large campaign contributions to
dominate city elections and exert undue influence over
city officials.
"The right of many cities and counties to regulate their
own elections is enshrined in the state constitution and
Political Reform Act. AB 1430 threatens to abridge these
rights, substituting the view of the state legislature
for that of voters and local officials as to what
campaign finance laws best meet the needs of local
jurisdictions."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garcia,
Garrick, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston,
Huff, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene,
Krekorian, La Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,
Ma, Maze, Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello,
Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price, Richardson, Sharon
Runner, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio,
Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Walters, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Soto, Nunez, Vacancy
DLW:mw 7/13/07 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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