BILL NUMBER: AB 182 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 96
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 25, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 25, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 1, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 22, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis
JANUARY 24, 2011
An act to amend and repeal Section 87500.1 of the Government Code,
relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 182, Davis. Political Reform Act of 1974: statements of
economic interests.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates conflicts of interests
of public officials and requires that public officials file, with
specified filing officers, periodic statements of economic interests
disclosing certain information regarding income, investments, and
other financial data. Under the act, specified local government
agencies are permitted to participate in a pilot program whereby
certain officials of those agencies may file their statements of
economic interests electronically. Existing law provides that the
pilot program shall be completed by January 1, 2012, and the
provisions of law authorizing the electronic filing of statements of
economic interests will be repealed on March 1, 2012.
This bill would permit the pilot program to continue until
December 31, 2012, and would make technical changes to incorporate
references to participation in the program by the City of Long Beach.
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 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Under the Local Agency Electronic Form 700 Pilot Project,
specified local government agencies may permit certain public
officials to electronically file the statements of economic interests
required by the Political Reform Act of 1974 in lieu of filing a
paper form.
(b) The agencies participating in the pilot program have invested
considerable resources in developing or acquiring computer system
software and establishing procedures to permit electronic filing.
(c) The participating agencies report that the pilot program has
been a positive experience for both the agencies themselves and for
the officials who file their statements of economic interests
electronically under the program.
(d) Existing law requires each participating county to file a
report with the Fair Political Practices Commission by July 1, 2011,
describing its experience with the pilot program and reporting on the
effectiveness of the program. The Commission is then required to
forward the reports to the Legislative Analyst's Office with
comments, and the Legislative Analyst's Office is required to submit
a final evaluation report to the Legislature by February 1, 2012.
(e) Existing law requires that the pilot program be completed by
January 1, 2012, and existing provisions of law providing for the
pilot program are scheduled to be repealed on March 1, 2012.
Therefore, existing law does not permit the electronic filing of
statements of economic interests to continue while the Legislature
considers the final evaluation report of the Legislative Analyst's
Office and considers legislation to allow for electronic filing of
all statements of economic interests required by the Political Reform
Act of 1974. The termination of the pilot program would be
disruptive to the filing processes of the participating agencies,
waste the investments the participating agencies have made in their
electronic filing systems and procedures, and hinder transparency and
the public's timely access to vital public information.
(f) An extension of the termination date of the pilot program is
necessary to enable the participating agencies to continue to accept
electronically filed statements of economic interests while the
Legislature evaluates the efficacy of the pilot program.
SEC. 2. Section 87500.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:
87500.1. (a) The Counties of Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Santa
Clara, Stanislaus, and Ventura and the City of Long Beach may permit
the electronic filing of a statement of economic interests required
by Article 3 (commencing with Section 87300) in accordance with
regulations adopted by the Commission. Each participating county
shall use the standard form for electronic filing found online, as
required by the Commission.
(b) A public official subject to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 87200) shall not participate in the pilot program.
(c) A statement filed electronically shall include an electronic
transmission that is submitted under penalty of perjury and that
conforms to subdivision (b) of Section 1633.11 of the Civil Code.
(d) (1) The filing officer shall issue to a person who
electronically files his or her statement of economic interests or
amendment electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that his or
her statement of economic interests or amendment was received. The
confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement
of economic interests or amendment was received by the filing officer
and the method by which the filer may view and print the data
received by the filing officer.
(2) A paper copy retained by the filer of a statement of economic
interests or amendment that was electronically filed and the
confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows that the
filer timely filed his or her statement of economic interests or
amendment shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer filed
his or her statement of economic interests or amendment on time.
(e) The filing officer shall utilize a system that includes
firewalls, data encryption, secure authentication, and all necessary
hardware and software and industry best practices to ensure that the
security and integrity of the data and information contained in the
statement of economic interests are not jeopardized or compromised.
(f) The filing officer shall provide the public with a copy of an
official's statement of economic interests upon request, in
accordance with Section 81008. The paper copy of the electronically
filed statement of economic interests shall be identical to the
statement of economic interests published by the Commission and shall
include the date that the statement was filed.
(g) (1) The pilot program shall commence on or after January 1,
2009, and shall be completed by December 31, 2012. The pilot program
shall include the reporting periods of 2008 through 2011. A city or
county participating in the pilot program shall submit a report to
the Commission not later than July 1, 2011. The report shall include
the following:
(A) A listing and estimate of associated operational efficiencies
and related savings.
(B) A listing and estimate of associated costs from implementing
and operating the pilot program.
(C) A listing of safety, security, or privacy issues encountered
and explanation of how those issues were addressed.
(D) Available information relating to feedback from electronic
filing participants.
(E) Any other relevant information on the implementation of the
pilot program.
(2) The Commission shall transmit the city and county reports
received, as well as any comments on the reports, to the Legislative
Analyst's Office not later than August 15, 2011. The Legislative
Analyst's Office shall provide a report to the Legislature evaluating
the pilot program not later than February 1, 2012.
(h) The Commission, in conjunction with the Legislative Analyst's
Office, may develop additional criteria for the report to be
submitted to the Commission by the participating city and counties
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (g).
(i) This section shall remain in effect until December 31, 2012,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
which is enacted before December 31, 2012, deletes or extends that
date.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning
of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.