BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 800
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 800 (Gordon) - As Amended: April 30, 2013
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes several modifications to the Political Reform
Act (PRA), including:
1)Enumerating specified circumstances that establish a committee
is presumed to be a controlled committee of a candidate. These
provisions are consistent with formal advice previously
provided in this regard by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC).
2)Requiring subagents and subcontractors making expenditures on
behalf of a candidate or committee to inform the agent or
independent contractor of the candidate about those
expenditures, and requiring the agent or independent
contractor to make this information available to the candidate
or committee not later than three working days prior to the
filing deadline for the campaign statement. If an expenditure
is required to be reported within 24 hours of the time it is
made, the agent or independent contractor must make this
information available to the candidate or committee within 24
hours.
3)Extending, for 90 days, the time before campaign funds under
the control of a former candidate or elected officer become
surplus campaign funds, and are thus subject to additional
restrictions on expenditure of those funds.
4)Repealing a prohibition on the FPPC beginning audits or
investigations of certain entities prior to the election.
5)Allowing the FPPC and the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to make
audits and investigations regarding any statement or report
AB 800
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required by the PRA, instead of allowing audits and
investigations only of specified statements or reports.
6)Extending, from one to two years, the time FTB has to complete
its report of any audit conducted under specified provisions
of the PRA.
7)Permitting the FPPC and the FTB to audit any PRA-related
record to ensure compliance with the PRA prior to an election,
permitting the commission to seek injunctive relief in
superior court to compel disclosure in furtherance of the PRA,
and requiring the court to grant expedited review to an action
filed pursuant to this procedure.
FISCAL EFFECT
Any additional costs to the FPPC will be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill makes a number of significant changes to
state law governing audits and investigations that are
conducted under the PRA. Some of these provisions appear to
be in response, in part, to an $11 million campaign
contribution made to the Small Business Action Committee PAC
(SBAC PAC) three weeks prior to the November 2012 statewide
general election.
This bill gives the FPPC additional tools to ensure compliance
with the PRA by permitting the commission to seek injunctive
relief to compel disclosure required by the PRA, and by
requiring the court to grant expedited review to any such
action to ensure disclosure of campaign contributions and
expenditures prior to an election. The bill also gives the
FPPC additional auditing authority.
For a thorough discussion of the policy rationale for each of
these changes to the PRA, see the Assembly Elections Committee
analysis of this bill.
2)Related Legislation . AB 45 (Dickinson), also on today's
committee agenda, makes numerous changes to the Political
Reform Act (PRA) regarding reporting of payments by
multipurpose organizations, adjusting minimum thresholds for
reporting campaign contributions, and authorizing the FPPC to
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seek court actions to compel disclosures.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081