BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 800 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 800 (Gordon) As Amended June 13, 2013 2/3 vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |54-22|(May 30, 2013) |SENATE: |27-12|(September 12, | | | | | | |2013) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 800 Page 2 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 AB 800 Page 3 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 FN: 0001689