California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1418

Introduced by Committee on Elections and Redistricting (Fong (Chair), Bocanegra, Bonta, Hall, Logue, and Perea)

March 20, 2013

An act to amend Sections 81008, 83109, and 84102 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1418, as introduced, Committee on Elections and Redistricting. The Political Reform Act of 1974: omnibus bill.

(1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires each campaign committee, as specified, to file a statement of organization. For a campaign committee that does not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures as its primary activity, the statement of organization must include, among other things, a brief description of the committee’s political activities, including whether it supports or opposes candidates or measures and whether such candidates or measures have common characteristics, such as a political party affiliation.

This bill would change the requirement that a campaign committee that does not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures as its primary activity include in the description of the committee’s political activities the common characteristics of candidates or measures it supports or opposes, such as a political party affiliation, to instead require that the description of the committee’s political activities include common characteristics of candidates or measures, such as a political party preference.

(2) The act requires a committee that is controlled by a candidate for partisan office to provide a statement indicating the political party with which the candidate is affiliated.

This bill would instead require a committee that is controlled by a candidate for partisan office or voter-nominated office to provide a statement indicating the political party for which the candidate has disclosed a preference.

(3) The act provides that any report or statement filed pursuant to the act is a public record that must be open for public inspection and copying, as specified. The act requires that campaign statements filed pursuant to the act made available on the Internet by the Secretary of State. The act further requires that the statements be open for public inspection and reproduction on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election at specified locations.

This bill would repeal the requirement that campaign statements be open for public inspection and reproduction on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election at the specified locations.

(4) The act establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission and authorizes the Commission to appoint officers, counsel, and employees consistent with applicable civil service laws. The act provides that a nonclerical position under the Commission shall not be included in the same class in the civil service classification plan with any position of any other department or agency.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

(5) 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: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 81008 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

81008.  

begin delete (a) end delete begin delete   end delete Every report and statement filed pursuant to this
title is a public record open for public inspection and reproduction
during regular business hours, commencing as soon as practicable,
but in any event not later than the second business day following
the day on which it was received. No conditions whatsoever shall
be imposed upon persons desiring to inspect or reproduce reports
and statements filed under this title, nor shall any information or
identification be required from these persons. Copies shall be
provided at a charge not to exceed ten cents ($0.10) per page. In
addition, the filing officer may charge a retrieval fee not to exceed
five dollars ($5) per request for copies of reports and statements
which are five or more years old. A request for more than one
report or statement or report and statement at the same time shall
be considered a single request.

begin delete

(b) Campaign statements shall be open for public inspection
and reproduction from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday
preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election in the
offices of the Secretary of State, Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles
County, Registrar of Voters of San Diego County, and Registrar
of Voters of the City and County of San Francisco.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 83109 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

83109.  

For purposes of Section begin delete 18801 of the Government Code,
no non-clerical end delete begin insert 19818.6, a nonclerical end insert position under the
Commission shall begin insert not end insert be included in the same class in the civil
service classification plan with any position of any other
department or agency.

SEC. 3.  

Section 84102 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

84102.  

The statement of organization required by Section
84101 shall include all of the following:

(a) The name, street address, and telephone number, if any, of
the committee. In the case of a sponsored committee, the name of
the committee shall include the name of its sponsor. begin delete Whenever end delete begin insert If end insert
a committee has more than one sponsor, and the sponsors are
members of an industry or other identifiable group, a term
identifying that industry or group shall be included in the name of
the committee.

(b) In the case of a sponsored committee, the name, street
address, and telephone number of each sponsor.

(c) The full name, street address, and telephone number, if any,
of the treasurer and any other principal officers. begin delete A end delete

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert committee with more than one principal officer shall
identify its principal officers as follows:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  A committee with three or fewer principal officers shall
identify all principal officers.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  A committee with more than three principal officers shall
identify no fewer than three principal officers.

begin delete

If

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert If end insert no individual other than the treasurer is a principal officer,
the treasurer shall be identified as both the treasurer and the
principal officer.

(d) The full name and office sought by begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert candidate, and the
title and ballot number, if any, of any measure, that the committee
supports or opposes as its primary activity. A committee that does
not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures
as its primary activity shall provide a brief description of its
political activities, including whether it supports or opposes
candidates or measures and whether such candidates or measures
have common characteristics, such as a political party begin delete affiliation. end delete
begin insert preference. end insert

(e) A statement whether the committee is independent or
controlled and, if it is controlled, the name of each candidate or
state measure proponent by which it is controlled, or the name of
any controlled committee with which it acts jointly. If a committee
is controlled by a candidate for partisan begin insert or voter-nominated end insert office,
the controlled committee shall indicate the political party, if any,
begin delete with end delete begin insert for end insert which the candidate begin delete is affiliated. end delete begin insert has disclosed a
preference. end insert

(f) For a committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision
(a) or (b) of Section 82013, the name and address of the financial
institution begin delete where end delete begin insert in which end insert the committee has established an account
and the account number.

(g)  begin delete Such other end delete begin insert Other end insert information as shall be required by the
rules or regulations of the Commission consistent with the purposes
and provisions of this chapter.

SEC. 4.  

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
Code.