BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ron Calderon, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2552 HEARING DATE:
6/18/08
AUTHOR: KREKORIAN ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 6/12/08
FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT
Political Reform Act: independent expenditures; disclosure
DESCRIPTION
Existing law also requires a broadcast or mass mailing
advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot
measure that is paid for by an independent expenditure to
include a disclosure statement identifying the name of the
committee making the expenditure and the names of the
persons from whom the committee making the independent
expenditure received its two highest cumulative
contributions of $50,000 or more during the 12-month period
prior to the expenditure.
Existing law requires any advertisement for or against any
ballot measure to include a disclosure statement
identifying any person whose cumulative contributions are
$50,000 or more. If there are more than two donors of
$50,000 or more, the committee is only required to disclose
the highest and second highest donors in that order.
Existing law defines "cumulative contributions" as the
cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee
beginning 12 months prior to the date the committee made
its first expenditure to qualify, support, or oppose a
measure and ending within seven days of the time that an
advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcast station.
This bill would require a broadcast or mass mailing paid
for by independent expenditure to identify the names of the
persons from whom the committee making the independent
expenditure has received its three, rather than two,
highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more during
the preceding 12 months. If one of those persons is a
committee other than a candidate-controlled committee, they
must identify that other committee by the names of the
three donors who made the highest cumulative contributions
of $50,000 or more to that committee. This bill would
exempt from this "top three" list any donors whose
contributions were spent for purposes other than the
broadcast or mass mailing advertisement.
This bill would require a broadcast or mass mailing
advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot
measure that is paid for by an independent expenditure to
include a statement or phrase that clearly identifies the
economic or other special interest of the major donors of
$50,000 or more, listing the economic or other special
interest in descending order based on the amount of
contributions made by the respective donor to the
committee.
This bill would also similarly require a committee that
supports or opposes one or more ballot measures to list
each major donor of $50,000 or more in descending order
based on the amount of the contributions made by the donors
to the committee, in any reference to the committee
required by law.
BACKGROUND
Existing Disclosure Requirements for Ballot Measure
Advertisements : As noted above, existing law already
requires any advertisement for or against any ballot
measure to include a disclosure statement identifying the
two largest donors of $50,000 or more to the committee
paying for the advertisement, and requires those donors to
be listed in descending order based on the amount of
contributions received. Additionally, existing law
requires any broadcast or mass mailing advertisement that
is paid for by an independent expenditure to include the
names of the two persons from which the committee making
the independent expenditure received its two highest
cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more during the
12-month period prior to the expenditure, but this
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provision does not explicitly require that the names be
listed in descending order based on the amount of
contributions received.
This bill explicitly specifies that, on a broadcast or mass
mailing advertisement that is paid for by an independent
expenditure, the top donors of $50,000 or more must be
listed in descending order based on the amount of
contributions received. Because a similar requirement
already applies to all ballot measure advertisements, the
practical effect of this bill is to extend that requirement
to apply to independent expenditures that support or oppose
candidates.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , seeing a need to expand and
enhance those disclosures about the sources of funds and
the makeup of those organizations that coordinate to form
independent expenditure committees, AB 2552 will
implement a reform that will give voters more information
as to the makeup of committees comprised of a coalition
of different interests.
When an independent expenditure committee must disclose its
two highest donors who have contributed a sum of $50,000
or more, they must be listed in descending order of their
contribution. This is commonly referred to as "Cereal
Box Labeling," because it discloses the composition of
the committee in order of its greatest contributors.
2.Civil Penalties Only . One of the provisions of this bill
provides that a violation of the provisions of the bill
"shall not constitute a crime." While this means that a
person who violates the provisions of this bill is not
subject to imprisonment for such a violation, the person
could face civil or administrative penalties for a
violation. Under existing law, fines of up to $5,000 per
violation can be imposed through a civil or
administrative enforcement action for a violation of the
Political Reform Act (PRA).
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PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee:7-0
Assembly Floor: 76-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: California Common Cause
Support: California Clean Money Campaign
Oppose: None received
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