AB 914, as amended, Gordon. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 imposes various reporting requirements with regard to contributions and independent expenditures, as defined, made for political purposes. The act establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission as the agency responsible for administering and enforcing the act. A violation of the act’s provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor.
This bill would require the Commission to develop a Nonprofit and Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement form. The bill would require that the form provide for the disclosure of specified information relating to certain contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures made by, and donations made to, a nonprofit corporation. The bill wouldbegin insert, except as otherwise provided,end insert require a nonprofit corporation to file a Nonprofit and Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement, at a time prescribed by the Commission, in any year in which the nonprofit corporation makes combined contributions, expenditures, or independent expenditures in support of or opposition to a candidate, political party, or ballot measure in this state aggregating $50,000 or more during the nonprofit corporation’s fiscal year.
The bill would require the Commission to make Nonprofit and Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statements available to the public. The bill would authorize a nonprofit corporation or a donor to the nonprofit corporation to petition the Commission to maintain the confidentiality of information relating to donors and donations. The bill would require the Commission to grant a petition to maintain the confidentiality of donor and donation information if the petitioner establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the public disclosure of donor information will cause undue harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals to the donor, or that the donor did not know or have reason to know that his or her donation would be used to make a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in support of or opposition to a candidate, political party, or ballot measure, as specified.
By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2⁄3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 84350) is
2added to Chapter 4 of Title 9 of the Government Code, to read:
(a) This section shall apply only to a nonprofit
4corporation, as defined in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue
5Code, that satisfies both of the following:
6(1) The nonprofit corporation makes, in this state, contributions,
7expenditures, or independent expenditures, as defined in Sections
882015, 82025, and 82031, respectively, in support of or opposition
9to a candidate, political party, or ballot measure, or any
10combination thereof.
11(2) The aggregate contributions, expenditures, or independent
12expenditures described in paragraph (1) total, in any combination,
13fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more
during abegin delete fiscal year of the begin insert calendar year.end insert
14nonprofit corporation.end delete
15(b) The Commission shall develop a Nonprofit and Multipurpose
16Organization Disclosure Statement form that provides for the
17disclosure of all of the following information relative to the
18contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures made
19by a nonprofit corporation in support of or opposition to a
20candidate, political party, or ballot measure:
21(1) The aggregate combined dollar amount of contributions,
22expenditures, and independent expenditures that are made during
23the reporting period.
24(2) The amount of expenses attributable to contributions,
25expenditures, and independent expenditures as a percentage of the
26nonprofit corporation’s total expenses that are made during the
27reporting period.
28(3) For purposes of a nonprofit corporation for which the
29combined amounts of contributions, expenditures, and independent
30expenditures made during the reporting period exceed 10 percent
31of the nonprofit corporation’s total expenses, each of the following
32with respect to contributions, expenditures, and independent
33expenditures made during that period:
34(A) The amount of any funds, or the fair market value of any
35services or assets, that are provided in relation to a contribution,
36expenditure, or independent expenditure.
37(B) The amount or fair market value of any liabilities incurred
38in relation to a contribution, expenditure, or independent
39expenditure.
P4 1(C) The date that the funds, services, or assets were provided
2or the liabilities were incurred.
3(D) The name and address of the recipient of the contribution,
4expenditure, or independent expenditure.
5(E) A description of the contribution, expenditure, or
6independent expenditure and its purpose, including whether the
7contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure was made
8in support of or opposition to a candidate, political party, or ballot
9measure.
10(F) Information related to each donor who made donations
in
11an aggregate amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more to
12the nonprofit corporation during the reporting period, including
13each of the following:
14(i) The name and address of the donor.
15(ii) The name of the employer of the donor, if available.
16(iii) The date and amount of each donation from that donor
17during the reporting period.
18(c) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a
19nonprofit corporation described in subdivision (a) shall file, at a
20time to be determined by the Commission, a Nonprofit and
21Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement with the
22Commission for any year in which the nonprofit corporation
meets
23the fifty thousand dollar ($50,000) threshold described in
24subdivision (a). Except as provided in subdivision (d), the
25Commission shall make the filed Nonprofit and Multipurpose
26Organization Disclosure Statement available to the public, as
27required by Section 81008.
28(2) A nonprofit corporation is not required to disclose the
29information described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) if that
30information has been previously disclosed by the nonprofit
31corporation in any other campaign statement or report required by
32this title.
33(2) A nonprofit
corporation shall not be required to file a
34Nonprofit and Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement
35for any period when the nonprofit corporation is filing reports
36either as a committee under Section 82013 or as a sponsor of a
37committee, and the information described in paragraphs (1) and
38(2) of subdivision (b) is disclosed on the committee’s reports in a
39manner prescribed by the Commission.
P5 1(3) If a nonprofit corporation required to file a Nonprofit and
2Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement pursuant to this
3section maintains one or more segregated bank accounts for the
4purpose of making election-related contributions, expenditures,
5or independent expenditures described in subdivision (a), and those
6accounts represent the exclusive source of the nonprofit
7corporation’s election-related contributions, expenditures, and
8independent
expenditures in this state, the nonprofit corporation
9is only required to report information described in subparagraph
10(F) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) with respect to donations
11deposited into the segregated election-related accounts.
12(d) A nonprofit corporation or a donor to a nonprofit corporation
13
that is subject to the reporting requirements of this section may
14petition the Commission, no later than 45 days prior to the date
15on which the Nonprofit and Multipurpose Organization Disclosure
16Statement must be filed, to maintain the confidentiality of donor
17information that is disclosed on the statement. If a petitioner
18demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the public
19disclosure of donor information reported on the Nonprofit and
20Multipurpose Organization Disclosure Statement will cause undue
21harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals to the donor or that the donor
22did not know or have reason to know that his or her donation would
23be used to make a contribution, expenditure, or independent
24expenditure described in subdivision (a) in this state, the
25Commission shall, notwithstanding Section 81008, treat the donor
26and donation information as confidential and shall redact the
donor
27and donation information from any documents that are made
28available to the public. The Commission shall inform the petitioner,
29in writing, whether the petition to maintain the confidentiality of
30donor and donation information has been granted or denied. The
31Commission’s grant or denial determination shall include a
32statement of findings and conclusions, and the reasons or basis for
33the determination.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
35Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
36the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
37district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
38infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
39for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
40the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
P6 1the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
2Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
4the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
5meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
6Code.
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