BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 488
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 488 (Correa)
As Amended August 15, 2011
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :28-7
ELECTIONS 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 9-4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fong, Logue, Bonilla, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Charles |
| |Gatto, Mendoza, Swanson | |Calderon, Campos, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Nielsen, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, Norby, |
| | | |Wagner |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires a slate mailer that represents the position of a
public safety organization to include specified information about
the organization's membership. Prohibits the use of a logo of a
governmental organization or of specified non-governmental
organizations in a slate mailer without the written consent of the
organization. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a slate mailer organization to obtain express written
consent from a governmental agency prior to using the logo,
insignia, emblem, or trademark of the agency, or a substantially
similar logo, insignia, emblem, or trademark, in a slate mailer or
other mass mailing, if the use of the item would reasonably be
understood to imply the participation or endorsement of that
agency.
2)Requires a slate mailer organization to obtain express written
consent from a nongovernmental organization that represents law
enforcement, firefighting, emergency medical, or other public
safety personnel, prior to using the logo, insignia, emblem, or
trademark of the organization, or a substantially similar logo,
insignia, emblem, or trademark, in a slate mailer or other mass
mailing, if the use of the item would reasonably be understood to
imply the participation or endorsement of that organization.
3)Requires a slate mailer organization that sends a slate mailer or
SB 488
Page 2
other mass mailing that identifies itself or its source material
as representing a nongovernmental organization with a name that
includes the term "peace officer," "reserve officer," "deputy,"
"deputy sheriff," "police," "highway patrol," "California Highway
Patrol," "law enforcement," "firefighter," "fire marshal,"
"paramedic," "emergency medical technician," "public safety," or
any other term that 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 the total number of members in the
organization identified in the slate mailer or mass mailing.
Requires this disclosure to be included on the outside of each
piece of mail and on at least one of the inserts in no less than
12-point roman type, in a color or print that contrasts with the
background so as to be easily legible.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
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.
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 : According to the author, "ÝS]late mailers can claim to
represent just about any group or cause under the sun. SB 488 is an
attempt to shed some light on slate mailers that claim to represent
law enforcement, firefighting, and other public safety personnel.
This bill would require slate mail organizations to obtain prior
consent before using a logo or other emblem that is identical or
substantially similar to one used by a government agency or other
organization that represents any of these public safety groups.
This bill would also require that a slate mailer purporting to
represent one of these groups disclose the total number of members
in their organization and the number of members working or living
within the county where the slate mailer is sent. Unauthorized use
of these logos in slate mailers can mislead the public as they
attempt to distinguish between legitimate public safety
communications and political advertisements."
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
SB 488
Page 3
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. The United States
Supreme Court has been particularly wary of laws that compel
political speech. In McIntyre, the United States Supreme Court
found that an Ohio law that prohibited the distribution of anonymous
campaign literature was unconstitutional.
A federal district court cited McIntyre in two separate cases that
raised questions about the constitutionality of California laws that
required certain information to be included on slate mailers. In
light of these 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. The requirement for
certain slate mailers to include a disclosure of the number of
members of the organization sending the mailer on the mailer itself
could be particularly susceptible to a court challenge.
The provisions of this bill apply only when a slate mailer
organization is using the logo of, or purports to represent, public
safety organizations. Nothing in this bill protects private
organizations that are not public safety organizations from the
misuse of their logos in campaign mailers, nor does this bill
require membership figures to be disclosed on slate mailers
purporting to represent organizations that are not public safety
organizations.
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 Political Reform Act (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.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094 FN:
0001908
SB 488
Page 4