BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2062| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2062 Author: Davis (D) Amended: 5/25/12 in Assembly Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 07/03/12 AYES: Correa, La Malfa, Gaines, Lieu, Yee SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/6/12 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, Steinberg ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 6/11/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: statements of economic interest SOURCE : California Association of Clerks of Election Officials DIGEST : This bill allows an agency to permit the electronic filing of a statement of economic interests (SEI), in accordance with regulations adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes, until December 31, 2012, a pilot program authorizing specified local government agencies to develop and implement a system for the electronic filing of statements of economic interests CONTINUED AB 2062 Page 2 by certain public officials, as specified. This bill: 1. Authorizes an agency to permit the electronic filing of an SEI, including amendments, in accordance with regulations adopted by the FPPC. 2. Requires the FPPC, in consultation with interested agencies, to use common database integration features in developing database design requirements for all electronic filings. 3. Requires an agency which intends to permit electronic filing of SEIs to submit a proposal along with a $1,000 filing fee to the FPPC for approval and certification. Prohibits an agency from recovering the costs of the filing fee by charging a person to electronically file an SEI. 4. Requires the FPPC to review an agency's proposal for compliance with the system requirement regulations adopted as required by this bill. Requires the FPPC to approve and certify the agency's filing system as soon as practicable after receiving the agency's submitted proposal if the system complies with the regulations. 5. Requires an agency's proposed electronic filing system to meet certain requirements, as specified. 6. Permits the FPPC to adopt regulations to require an agency to redact information on an SEI prior to posting it on the Internet. 7. Permits the FPPC to conduct discretionary audits of an agency's approved and certified electronic filing system to evaluate its performance. 8. Requires the FPPC to accept an electronic copy of an SEI that is forwarded to it by an agency that has received an electronically filed statement from a filer as provided for under this bill. 9. Permits a city or county, which developed an electronic AB 2062 Page 3 filing system pursuant to a specified pilot program established in law, to continue to use that system for purposes of this bill, including, but not limited to, the time during which the FPPC is adopting regulations as required by this bill. Requires the city or county, after the FPPC's regulations take effect, to submit a description of its electronic filing system for approval and certification within a reasonable time as determined by the FPPC. Prohibits a city or county from continuing to use an electronic filing system originally developed pursuant to law if the FPPC does not approve and certify that electronic filing system. 10.Contains an urgency clause, allowing this bill to take effect immediately upon enactment. Background In 2009, a pilot project was established which permitted participating governmental entities to accept electronic filing of an SEI in accordance with regulations adopted by the FPPC. As required by law, participants in the pilot project were required to submit reports to the FPPC and the FPPC was required to forward the reports and provide additional comments to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO). Additionally, the LAO was required to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the pilot project earlier this year. According to the LAO report, the participating government entities indicated that the paper-based filing process was time-consuming and required significant amounts of staff time to review the SEIs, work with the filers to correct errors and maintain the paper file systems. However, after implementing the electronic filing system, participating entities found that that electronic filing resulted in operational efficiencies through reduced personnel due to the significant reduction in the number of errors in the filers' SEIs and other operational costs. Additionally, it was reported to the LAO that none of government entities reported any security issues with the electronic filing systems and found that most of the public officials and employees who filed using the electronic filing system considered it to be a useful and an easy process. AB 2062 Page 4 As a result of these findings, the LAO made the following recommendations: (1) the Legislature should allow participating entities to continue electronic filing on an ongoing basis; (2) the Legislature should consider giving all governments the option to establish an electronic filing system; and (3) the Legislature should authorize the FPPC to establish any guidelines and specifications to be followed by the government entities when developing and using the electronic filing systems. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the FPPC indicates annual costs of approximately $150,000, likely offset by fee revenue (General). There are thousands of local agencies including counties, cities, special districts and school districts. If only 150 of those agencies elect to use electronic filing and pay the $1,000 fee, all costs to the FPPC will be reimbursed. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/9/12) California Association of Clerks of Election Officials (source) Common Cause Fair Political Practices Commission Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 6/11/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wieckowski, AB 2062 Page 5 Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Cedillo, Halderman, Huber, Jones, Mansoor, Monning, Morrell, Smyth, Wagner DLW:d 8/9/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****