BILL NUMBER: SB 1001 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 8, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
(Coauthor: Senator Blakeslee)
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
An act to amend Section 86102 of, and to add Sections 84101.5 and
84613 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act
of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1001, as amended, Yee. Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists
and committees: fees.
(1) Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974
require a committee, as defined, to file a statement of organization
with the Secretary of State and, as applicable, to file semiannual
campaign statements.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to charge each
committee that is required to file a statement of organization, and
would require each committee to pay, except as specified and
subject to specified deadlines, a fee not to exceed $50 per
year until the committee is terminated , as specified
. The bill would require the Fair Political Practices
Commission to adjust this fee limit on December 1 of each
even-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price
Index and to round the adjustment to the nearest $5.
(2) Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974
regulate the activities of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist
employers, as defined, in connection with attempts to influence
legislative and administrative action by legislative and other state
officials. The act requires that lobbying firms and lobbyist
employers register with the Secretary of State, and authorizes the
Secretary of State to charge each lobbying firm and lobbyist employer
a fee of up to $25 per year for each lobbyist required to be listed
on its registration statement.
This bill would increase the maximum amount of this fee to $50 per
year. The bill would require the Fair Political Practices Commission
to adjust this fee limit on December 1 of each even-numbered year to
reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index and to round the
adjustment to the nearest $5.
(3) This bill would establish the Political Disclosure, Access,
and Transparency Account in the State Treasury and require that
moneys collected as fees as described above and as fees for
late filing of reports and statements under the act, as specified,
be deposited in the account. The bill would require
that fees collected for lobbyist registration prior to
January 1, 2013, be deposited in the General Fund. The bill
also would express the intent of the
Legislature require that moneys deposited in the
account be expended for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of
the online or electronic disclosure program implemented by the
Secretary of State, as specified. except that
the bill would also allow the Secretary of State to use these moneys
for purposes of implementing the bill. The bill would prohibit the
use of these moneys to improve or replace the online or electronic
disclosure program until the Secretary of State has completed and
submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the
Department of Finance a feasibility study report regarding a new
online or electronic disclosure program.
(4) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure,
provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's
purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 84101.5 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
84101.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 81006, the Secretary of
State shall charge each committee that is required to file a
statement of organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
84101, and each committee that is required to file a statement of
organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 84101 shall pay,
a fee of not more than fifty dollars ($50) per year until the
committee is terminated pursuant to Section 84214.
(b) A committee shall pay the fee prescribed in subdivision (a) no
later than 15 days after filing its statement of organization.
(c) (1) A committee annually shall pay the fee prescribed in
subdivision (a) no later than January 15 of each year.
(2) A committee that is created and pays the initial fee pursuant
to subdivision (b) in the final three months of a calendar year is
not subject to the annual fee pursuant to paragraph (1) for the
following calendar year.
(3) A committee that existed prior to January 1, 2013, shall pay
the fee prescribed in subdivision (a) no later than February 15,
2013, and in accordance with paragraph (1) in each year thereafter. A
committee that terminates pursuant to Section 84214 prior to January
31, 2013, is not required to pay a fee pursuant to this paragraph.
(b)
(d) (1) A committee that fails to timely pay a fee required by
this section is subject to a penalty equal to three times the amount
of the fee.
(2) The Commission shall enforce the requirements of this section.
(e) The Commission shall adjust the fee
limit in subdivision (a) on December 1 of each even-numbered year to
reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index. The Commission
shall round each adjustment pursuant to this subdivision to the
nearest five dollars ($5).
SEC. 2. Section 84613 is added to the Government Code, to read:
84613. (a) (1) The Political Disclosure,
Access, and Transparency Account is hereby established in the State
Treasury. All moneys Moneys collected
pursuant to Sections 84101.5 , and
86102 , and 91013 shall be deposited in the
Political Disclosure, Access, and Transparency Account.
(2) Fees collected pursuant to Section 86102 prior to January 1,
2013, shall be deposited in the General Fund.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys
Moneys deposited in the Political Disclosure,
Access, and Transparency Account are subject to appropriation by
the Legislature and shall be expended for the maintenance,
repair, and improvement of the online or electronic disclosure
program implemented by the Secretary of State pursuant to this
chapter. In addition, the Secretary of State may use moneys
deposited in the Political Disclosure, Access, and Transparency
Account for purposes of implementing the act that added this section.
(c) Moneys deposited in the Political Disclosure, Access, and
Transparency Account shall not be used to improve or replace the
online or electronic disclosure program until the Secretary of State
has completed and submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
and the Department of Finance a feasibility study report regarding a
new online or electronic disclosure program.
SEC. 3. Section 86102 of the Government Code is amended to read:
86102. (a) Each lobbying firm and lobbyist employer required to
file a registration statement under this chapter may be charged not
more than fifty dollars ($50) per year for each lobbyist required to
be listed on its registration statement.
(b) The Commission shall adjust the registration fee limit in
subdivision (a) on December 1 of each even-numbered year to reflect
any increase in the Consumer Price Index. The Commission shall round
each adjustment pursuant to this subdivision to the nearest five
dollars ($5).
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning
of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.