BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 800
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 800 (Gordon)
          As Amended  June 13, 2013
          2/3 vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |54-22|(May 30, 2013)  |SENATE: |27-12|(September 12, |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2013)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    E. & R.  

           SUMMARY  :  Makes numerous significant changes to the Political  
          Reform Act of 1974 (PRA).  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Requires subagents and subcontractors that make expenditures  
            on behalf of or for the benefit of a candidate or committee to  
            make known to the agent or independent contractor of the  
            candidate information about those expenditures.

          2)Extends, for a period of 90 days, the period of time before  
            campaign funds that are under the control of a former  
            candidate or elected officer become surplus campaign funds,  
            and thus subject to additional restrictions on how those funds  
            can be spent.

          3)Repeals a provision of law that prohibits the Fair Political  
            Practices Commission (FPPC) from beginning audits or  
            investigations of certain entities prior to the election.

          4)Allows the FPPC and the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to make  
            audits and investigations regarding any statement or report  
            that is required by any provision of the PRA, instead of  
            allowing such audits and investigations only of specified  
            statements or reports.

          5)Extends, from one year to two years, the limit on the amount  
            of time that the FTB has to complete its report of any audit  
            that it conducts under specified provisions of the PRA.

          6)Prohibits the FPPC and its staff from divulging or making  
            known in any manner the particulars of any information that it  
            receives as part of an audit or investigation conducted  
            pursuant to the PRA, except in furtherance of the work of the  
            FPPC or in connection with a court proceeding or the lawful  








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            investigation of any agency.

          7)Permits the FPPC, and the FTB at the direction of the FPPC, to  
            audit any record required to be maintained under the PRA to  
            ensure compliance with the PRA prior to an election, even if  
            the record or statement has not yet been filed.  Permits the  
            FPPC, to further the purposes of this provision, to seek  
            injunctive relief in superior court to compel disclosure.   
            Permits a superior or appellate court to grant a stay of an  
            order granting relief pursuant to these provisions.  Requires  
            the court to grant expedited review to an action filed  
            pursuant to this procedure, as specified.

           The Senate amendments  delete provisions of the bill that would  
          have specified that a committee was presumed to be a controlled  
          committee of a candidate if certain conditions were met.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "More and more, voters  
          receive information from or see advertisements funded by  
          entities other than the candidate for office or the committee  
          proposing a ballot measure.  It is vital for a fully informed  
          electorate that the public knows, in a timely manner, who if not  
          the candidate or ballot measure committee, is paying for  
          political messaging. Moreover, there must be a means of  
          inhibiting improper practices and holding entities involved with  
          election campaigns accountable?.AB 800 contains several distinct  
          changes to the Political Reform Act intended to clarify the Fair  
          Political Practices Commission's authority to carry out the  
          provisions of the PRA in a manner that ensures information is  
          provided to the public in an expedited manner prior to  
          elections."

          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 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  








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          requiring the court to grant expedited review to any such action  
          to ensure disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures  
          prior to an election. 

          This bill additionally gives the FPPC the authority to audit any  
          record that is required to be maintained prior to an election in  
          order to ensure compliance with the PRA, and permits the FPPC to  
          make investigations and audits with respect to any report or  
          statement that is required to be filed pursuant to the PRA.   
          Finally, this bill repeals a prohibition against an audit or  
          investigation of a candidate, controlled committee, or committee  
          primarily supporting or opposing a candidate or measure in  
          connection with a report or statement required by certain  
          provisions of the PRA from being commenced prior to the  
          election.  
           
          California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 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 Senate amendments deleted a provision from the  
          Assembly-approved version of this bill, but did not otherwise  
          change 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 


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