AB 510, as amended, Ammiano. Political Reform Act of 1974: advertisement disclosures.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires a committee that makes an expenditure of $5,000 or more to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement to support or oppose the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure to file a report, as specified, and to include in the advertisement a statement regarding payment of the individual by the committee or its donors.
This bill would impose additional requirements on a committee that makes an expenditure of any amount to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement that supports or opposes the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure and that states or suggests that the individual is a member of an occupation that requires licensure, certification, or other specialized, documented training as a prerequisite to engage in that occupation. The bill
would also require the committee to file a report that identifies, among other things, the individual’s occupation. The bill would require the committee to include a specified disclosure statement in the advertisement indicating that the individuals are compensated spokespersons and not necessarily employed in the occupationsbegin delete portrayed. The bill would authorize a committee to petition the Fair Political Practices Commission for a waiver of the disclosure statement requirement, which the Commission would be required to grant if prescribed conditions are satisfiedend deletebegin insert portrayed, except as specifiedend insert.
A violation of the act’s provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
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: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 84511 of the Government Code is
2repealed.
Section 84511 is added to the Government Code, to
4read:
(a) This section applies to a committee that does either
6of the following:
7(1) Makes an expenditure of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or
8more to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement
9that supports or opposes the qualification, passage, or defeat of a
10ballot measure.
11(2) Makes an expenditure of any amount to an individual for
12his or her appearance in an advertisement that supports or opposes
13the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure and that
14states or suggests that the individual is a member of an occupation
P3 1that requires licensure, certification, or other specialized,
2documented
training as a prerequisite to engage in that occupation.
3(b) A committee described in subdivision (a) shall file, within
410 days of the expenditure, a report that includes all of the
5following:
6(1) An identification of the measure that is the subject of the
7advertisement.
8(2) The date of the expenditure.
9(3) The amount of the expenditure.
10(4) The name of the recipient of the expenditure.
11(5) For a committee described in paragraph (2) of subdivision
12(a), the occupation of the recipient of the expenditure.
13(c) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in
14paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure
statement
15stating “(spokesperson’s name) is being paid by this campaign or
16its donors” in highly visible roman font shown continuously if the
17advertisement consists of printed or televised material, or spoken
18in a clearly audible format if the advertisement is a radio broadcast
19or telephonic message.
20(d) (1) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in
21paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure statement
22stating “Persons portraying members of an occupation in this
23advertisement are compensated spokespersons not necessarily
24employed in those occupations” in highly visible roman font shown
25continuously if the advertisement consists of printed or televised
26material, or spoken in a clearly audible format if the advertisement
27is a radio broadcast or telephonic message.
28(2) A committee maybegin delete petition the Commission for a waiver ofend delete
29begin insert omitend insert the disclosure statement required by thisbegin delete subdivision. The begin insert subdivisionend insert if all of the
30Commission shall grant the waiverend delete
31following are satisfied with respect to each individual identified
32in the report filed pursuant to subdivision (b) for that advertisement:
33(A) The occupation identified in the report is substantially
34similar to the occupation portrayed in the advertisement.
35(B) The committeebegin delete submitsend deletebegin insert
maintainsend insert credible documentation
36of the appropriate license, certification, or other trainingbegin delete to the as evidence that the individual may engage in the
37Commissionend delete
38occupation identified in the report and portrayed in the
39advertisementbegin insert and makes that documentation immediately available
40to the Commission upon requestend insert.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
2Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
3the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
4district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
5infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
6for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
7the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
8the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
9Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
11the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
12meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
13Code.
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