BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1413
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Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1413 (Elections & Redistricting Committee) - As Introduced:
March 14, 2011
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974.
SUMMARY : Makes various minor and technical changes to the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals a requirement that campaign statements must be open
for public inspection and reproduction from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or
statewide general election in the offices of the
Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County, the Registrar of
Voters of San Diego County, and the Registrar of Voters of the
City and County of San Francisco.
2)Corrects an erroneous cross-reference in a provision of the
PRA that governs the civil service classification of staff
positions at the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).
3)Corrects an erroneous cross-reference in a provision of the
PRA that governs the content of campaign statements, thereby
clarifying that when a candidate's campaign statement
identifies a committee that has received contributions or made
expenditures on behalf of his or her candidacy, the statement
must disclose the number assigned to that committee by the
Secretary of State (SOS).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the FPPC, and makes it responsible for the impartial,
effective administration and implementation of the PRA.
2)Requires campaign statements to be open for public inspection
and reproduction from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday
preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election in
the offices of the SOS, Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles
County, the Registrar of Voters of San Diego County, and the
Registrar of Voters of the City and County of San Francisco.
3)Prohibits any non-clerical staff position at the FPPC from
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being included in the same class in the civil service
classification plan with any position of any other department
or agency.
4)Requires, when a campaign statement is required to disclose
the name of a committee other than the committee filing the
report, that the statement also include the number assigned to
the committee by the SOS.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
a crimes and infractions disclaimer.
AB 1413
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : This is one of the Assembly Elections &
Redistricting Committee's annual omnibus bills, containing
various minor and technical changes to the PRA.
2)Availability of Campaign Statements : Until this year, state
law required statewide office holders, candidates for
statewide office, and certain other statewide campaign
committees to file a copy of all campaign reports with the
Registrars of Voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco
counties. To ensure that voters had access to these campaign
reports immediately before an election, existing law also
requires the offices of the SOS and of the Registrars of
Voters in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco to be open
for public inspection and reproduction of campaign statements
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday preceding a
statewide primary or statewide general election.
Last year, however, the Legislature approved and the Governor
signed AB 1181 (Huber), Chapter 18, Statutes of 2010, a bill
that promoted the increased use of electronic filing of
campaign reports while eliminating the need for duplicative
paper copies of campaign reports to be filed in certain
circumstances. Among other provisions, AB 1181 eliminated the
requirement for statewide office holders, candidates for
statewide office, and certain other statewide campaign
committees to file a copy of all campaign reports with the
Registrars of Voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco
counties. As a result, these counties no longer receive paper
copies of these campaign reports, and will not be able to
provide that information to voters. Furthermore, given the
increased availability of these campaign reports online, the
counties have reported that it is uncommon for voters to come
to the office of the registrar of voters on the Saturday
before a statewide election to view or obtain copies of
campaign statements.
In light of the increased availability of campaign reports
online, and the fact that Los Angeles and San Francisco
counties no longer receive copies of campaign reports from
statewide office holders, candidates for statewide office, and
other statewide campaign committees, this bill would repeal
the requirement for the offices of the Registrars of Voters in
Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco counties to be open
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for public inspection and reproduction of campaign statements
on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or general
election.
Additionally, this bill corrects two erroneous
cross-references in the PRA.
3)Political Reform Act of 1974 : 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. Amendments to the PRA that are not
submitted to the voters, such as those contained in this bill,
must further the purposes of the initiative and require a
two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support / Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094