BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 510
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 23, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   AB 510 (Ammiano) - As Amended:  January 6, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:5-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill amends the Political Reform Act to require reporting  
          and disclosure of political advertisements portraying persons in  
          licensed occupations. Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires a committee providing any compensation to someone for  
            appearing in an advertisement regarding a ballot measure that  
            suggests the person is a member of an occupation requiring  
            licensing or certification to file a report of such  
            expenditure with the Fair Political Practices Commission  
            (FPPC) within 10 days.

          2)Requires an advertisement as described in (1) to include the  
            following disclosure statement: "Persons portraying  members  
            of an occupation in this advertisement are compensated  
            spokespersons not necessarily employed in those occupations."

          3)Authorizes a committee to petition the FPPC for a waiver of  
            the disclosure statement, and requires the commission to grant  
            the waiver if: (a) the occupation in the report is  
            substantially similar to the occupation portrayed in the  
            advertisement and (b) the committee submits credible  
            documentation that the compensated individual may engage in  
            the occupation portrayed in the advertisement.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Ongoing General Fund costs to the FPPC of up to $70,000 for  
          one-half attorney position for regulations, responding to  
          inquiries and potential litigation, and administering waiver  
          requests.









                                                                  AB 510
                                                                  Page  2

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Proposition 34, approved by the voters in November  
            2000, in part established new reporting and disclaimer  
            requirements for ballot measure advertisements that featured  
            paid spokespeople.  Those requirements apply only when a  
            committee makes an expenditure of $5,000 or more to the  
            individual appearing in the advertisement.

            Additionally, under the PRA, a committee is required to  
            itemize all expenditures of $100 or more on the periodic  
            campaign disclosure reports filed with the FPPC. To the extent  
            that a committee paid a spokesperson $100 or more to appear in  
            an advertisement supporting or opposing a ballot measure, such  
            information is therefore already report on the committee's  
            campaign disclosure statements.

           2)Purpose  . Under AB 510, the reporting and disclaimer  
            requirements will apply if a person was paid any amount of  
            money, but only if the advertisement suggested or stated that  
            the person is a member of an occupation that requires  
            licensure, certification, or other specialized, documented  
            training as a prerequisite to engage in that occupation. The  
            author argues that these requirements are important to ensure  
            that voters are not mislead into thinking that the opinions of  
            paid spokespersons are those of a licensed professional.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081