BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 481
                                                                Page  1

        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 481 (Gordon)
        As Amended  August 13, 2012
        2/3 vote
         
         
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        |ASSEMBLY: |     |(May 12, 2011)  |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 30, 2012)    |
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
             (vote not relevant)


         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
        |COMMITTEE VOTE:  |5-0  |(August 31, 2012)   |RECOMMENDATION: |concur    |
        |(E. & R.)        |     |                    |                |          |
         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

        Original Committee Reference:    E. & R.

        SUMMARY  :  Makes numerous substantive changes to state law governing 
        independent expenditures (IEs) in campaigns.  

         The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of this bill, and 
        instead:

        1)Require every committee that makes an IE of $1,000 or more within 
          90 days before the election involving the candidate or measure 
          that the IE supports or opposes, to file a report publicly 
          disclosing that IE within 24 hours, regardless of whether the 
          committee is required to file campaign reports online or 
          electronically with the Secretary of State (SOS). 

        2)Require every candidate, controlled committee, or committee that 
          is primarily formed or existing primarily to support or oppose a 
          candidate or measure, that receives a contribution of $1,000 or 
          more within 90 days before the election at which the candidate or 
          measure is to be voted on, to file a report publicly disclosing 
          the receipt of that contribution within 24 hours, regardless of 
          whether the candidate or committee is required to file campaign 
          reports online or electronically with the SOS.  Require every 
          political party committee that receives a contribution of $1,000 
          or more within 90 days before a state election to file a report 
          publicly disclosing the receipt of that contribution within 24 
          hours, regardless of whether the committee is required to file 
          campaign reports online or electronically with the SOS.








                                                                AB 481
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        3)Add the principal officers of campaign committees to a list of 
          officials (including candidates, campaign treasurers, and elected 
          officers) that are required to maintain detailed accounts, 
          records, bills, and receipts necessary to prepare campaign 
          statements, to establish that campaign statements were properly 
          filed, and to comply with the other provisions of the Political 
          Reform Act (PRA).  Define the term "principal officer" for the 
          purposes of the PRA.

        4)Require a specified person, who is affiliated with a campaign 
          committee that is required to disclose an IE on a campaign 
          statement or report, to sign a verification on a report 
          prescribed by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), 
          declaring that the person has not received unreported 
          contributions or reimbursements for making the IE, and has not 
          coordinated any expenditure made during the reporting period with 
          the candidate, proponent of the measure, or opponent of the 
          candidate or measure, that is the subject of the IE.

        5)Make every advertisement that is paid for by an IE under 
          specified circumstances, regardless of the medium, subject to an 
          existing requirement that currently applies only to broadcast and 
          mass mailing advertisements, whereby the advertisement must 
          include a disclosure of the name of the committee making the IE 
          and the names of the two largest contributors of $50,000 or more 
          to the committee making the IE, as specified. 

        6)Make corresponding changes.

         AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill required a person who was 
        collecting petition signatures to wear a badge indicating whether 
        he or she was a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer signature 
        gatherer, and required similar information be disclosed on any 
        state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition.

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
        the FPPC indicates minor, absorbable General Fund costs.
         
        COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "More and more, voters receive 
        information from or see advertisements funded by ÝIE] committees.  
        As with any information, it is important to know the source.  In 
        this case, voters should be entitled to know who is responsible for 
        and financing these campaigns.  According to the ÝFPPC], ÝIEs] have 
        been on the rise in California politics at both the state and local 








                                                                AB 481
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        level for the past decade.  In June 2010, the ÝFPPC] issued a 
        finding that $127 million had been spent on ÝIEs] in the previous 
        ten years?.This growth of ÝIEs] makes appropriate disclosure all 
        the more necessary.  In order for voters to make fully informed 
        decisions, it is important that they know, in a timely manner, who 
        if not the candidate, is paying for the political messaging."  

        California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974 that 
        created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and 
        prohibitions on candidates, officeholders and lobbyists. That 
        initiative is commonly known as the PRA.  Most amendments to the 
        PRA that are not submitted to the voters, including those contained 
        in this bill, must further the purposes of the initiative and 
        require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.

        This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the 
        Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted.  As a 
        result, this bill was re-referred to the Assembly Elections and 
        Redistricting Committee pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2, and the 
        committee subsequently recommended that the Assembly concur in the 
        Senate amendments to this bill.

        Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of 
        this bill.


         Analysis Prepared by  :    Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094



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