BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 510
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 510 (Ammiano)
As Amended May 28, 2014
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |58-16|(January 30, |SENATE: |27-9 |(August 18, |
| | |2014) | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Requires an advertisement relating to a ballot measure
to include a specified disclaimer if it includes an appearance
by an individual who is paid to appear in the advertisement and
it communicates that the individual is a member of an occupation
that requires licensure or specialized training. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires 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, to do
both of the following:
a) File a report within 10 days of the expenditure
identifying the measure, date of the expenditure, name and
occupation of the recipient, and amount expended; and,
b) Include the following statement in the advertisement in
highly visible roman font shown continuously if the
advertisement consists of printed or televised material, or
spoken in a clearly audible format if the advertisement is
a radio broadcast or telephone message:
Persons portraying members of an occupation in
this advertisement are compensated spokespersons
not necessarily employed in those occupations.
2)Permits a committee to omit the statement detailed above in an
advertisement if the occupation of the individual who is being
paid to appear in the advertisement is substantially similar
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to the occupation portrayed in the advertisement and the
committee maintains credible documentation of the license,
certification, or other training that permits the individual
to engage in the occupation portrayed in the advertisement and
provides it to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
upon request.
The Senate amendments delete a requirement that a committee must
obtain a waiver from the FPPC in order to omit the disclosure
statement required by this bill, and instead permit a committee
to omit that statement as long as the committee maintains
documentation that the occupation of the individual who is being
paid to appear in the advertisement is substantially similar to
the occupation portrayed in the advertisement.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Campaign commercials use
the professional status of commercial participants as
spokespersons in an attempt to sway the opinion of the voters by
giving the viewer the impression that professionals in that
field may be better informed than they. These spokespersons, be
they doctors, engineers, or other professionals are often
compensated by the campaign for their participation in the
commercial with the audience left knowing no better."
In 2000, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1223
(Burton), Chapter 102, which became Proposition 34 on the
November 2000 General Election ballot. One of the provisions of
Proposition 34 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, any
entity that qualifies as a "committee" under the Political
Reform Act (PRA) is required to itemize all expenditures of $100
or more on periodic campaign disclosure reports. To the extent
that a committee paid a spokesperson $100 or more to appear in
an advertisement supporting or opposing a ballot measure, that
information is already required to be reported on the
committee's campaign disclosure statements.
The primary difference between the existing "paid spokesperson"
requirement and this bill is that this bill's reporting and
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disclaimer requirements apply if a person was paid any amount of
money, but only if the advertisement suggested or stated that
the person who was being paid 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 this bill's reporting and
disclosure requirements are important to ensure that voters are
not mislead into thinking that the opinions of paid
spokespersons are those of a licensed professional.
California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9 of 1974,
that created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and
prohibitions on candidates, officeholders and lobbyists. That
initiative is commonly known as the 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.
The disclaimer created by this bill is not required to be
included in an advertisement related to a ballot measure if the
person who appears in the advertisement actually engages in the
occupation that is represented in the advertisement. As
approved by the Assembly, this bill would have required the
committee to seek and obtain a waiver from the FPPC in order to
omit the disclaimer. The Senate amendments delete the
requirement to obtain a waiver, and instead require the
committee to maintain documentation that the person in the
advertisement is permitted to engage in the occupation
represented, and to make that documentation available to the
FPPC upon request so that the FPPC can verify compliance with
this bill. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent
with Assembly actions.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004174
AB 510
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