BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 488 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 17, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 488 (Correa) - As Amended: August 15, 2011 Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:6-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to place notification requirements on slate mailer organizations for mailings that could be understood to represent the position of a governmental agency or a public-safety related non-governmental organization. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires a slate mailer organization to obtain express written consent-from a governmental agency or a nongovernmental organization representing law enforcement, firefighting, emergency medical, or other public safety personnel-prior to using a logo, insignia, emblem or trademark or substantially similar logo, insignia, emblem, or trademark of one of these entities in a slate mailer if such use would reasonably be understood to imply the participation or endorsement of one of these entities. 2)Requires a slate mailer organization that sends a slate mailer identifying itself or its source material as representing a nongovernmental organization with a name that includes terms, such as "peace officer," which would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of, or affiliated with, law enforcement, firefighting, emergency medical, or other public safety personnel, to disclose on each piece of mail, as specified, the total number of members in that organization. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor absorbable costs to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for enforcement related to violations of the bill's requirements, offset to some extent by fine revenues. SB 488 Page 2 2)Potential minor absorbable costs to the Attorney General and potential nonreimbursable costs to local prosecutors for enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . According to the author, "Existing law requires most slate mailers to disclose three things: a) Who sent it. b) Who paid to appear on it. c) And a statement that it doesn't reflect official party positions. "However, slate mailers can claim to represent just about any group or cause under the sun. SB 488 Ýsponsored by the California Professional Firefighters] is an attempt to shed some light on slate mailers that claim to represent law enforcement, firefighting, and other public safety personnel." 1)Constitutional Issues . According to the analysis of this bill by the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting, this measure could be interpreted as a violation of the United States and California Constitutions' rights to free speech. While the right to freedom of speech is not absolute, when a law burdens core political speech, the restrictions on speech generally must be "narrowly tailored to serve an overriding state interest," McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission (1995), 514 US 334. In light of this and other decisions, the provisions of this bill may be susceptible to challenge on the grounds that the bill's requirements impermissibly burden the First Amendment rights of slate mailer organizations and of those candidates and other individuals who use slate mailers to communicate with voters. In particular, the provisions requiring certain slate mailers to include a disclosure of the number of members of the organization sending the mailer on the mailer itself could be viewed as compelled political speech that must be narrowly tailored to serve an overriding state interest. 2)Opposition . The American Association of Political Consultants opposes the bill on constitutional grounds as discussed above. SB 488 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081