BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 3
Author: Yee (D), et al.
Amended: 5/15/13
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 4/30/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla
NOES: Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974
SOURCE : California Common Cause
League of Women Voters of California
DIGEST : This bill requires the Legislature to develop a
single, statewide electronic filing system that consolidates the
filing of all campaign statements and reports and requires the
Secretary of State (SOS) to develop a feasibility study report
for the electronic filing system by December 31, 2014, as
specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Provides, under the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Act), for
the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including
requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and
expenditures, as defined, and imposing other reporting and
recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees, as
defined.
2. Requires, under the Act, SOS, in consultation with the Fair
Political Practices Commission (FPPC), to develop online and
electronic filing processes for specified entities. A
violation of the Act's provisions is punishable as a
misdemeanor.
This bill:
1. Requires the Legislature to develop a single, statewide
electronic filing system that consolidates the filing of all
campaign statements and reports.
2. Requires the SOS to develop a feasibility study report for
the electronic filing system by December 31, 2014, as
specified.
3. Requires, under the Act, each committee to have a designated
treasurer who is identified in the statement of organization.
A committee may not make an expenditure without the
authorization of the treasurer.
4. Requires a treasurer for a committee or committees that have
made cumulative contributions or expenditures in excess of
$250,000 to complete an online certification course, designed
and administered by the FPPC, that addresses the statutes and
regulations governing the financing of campaigns and the
duties and responsibilities of a treasurer within 20 business
days after being designated as the treasurer, or within 20
business days of exceeding the $250,000 threshold if the
committees have not exceeded the threshold at the time the
treasurer is designated.
5. Increase the fines and penalties imposed for campaign
statements and reports that are filed late.
6. Revises the terms "late contribution" and "late independent
expenditure," as defined in the Act, to "election-cycle
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contribution" and "election-cycle independent expenditure,"
respectively, and makes conforming changes.
Background
Cal-Access status . Created in 1999, Cal-Access is a database
and filing system the SOS has used to make much of the lobbying
and campaign finance information available online at no cost to
users. In late November 2011, the Cal-Access system went down,
and the system was unavailable for most of the month of
December. (Note: See the Senate Elections and Constitutional
Amendments Committee for information, provided by SOS, about the
status of the Cal-Access system and the challenges to replacing
that system.)
Political Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access
Fund (PDATA Fund) . SB 1001 (Yee, Chapter 506, Statutes of 2012)
imposed a new $50 fee on specified committees that are required
to file disclosure reports pursuant to the Act and increased
fees by $25 per year on lobbying firms and lobbyist employers.
The bill created the PDATA Fund in the State Treasury and
required the new fee revenue to be used for the online and
electronic disclosure of reports filed pursuant to the Act.
Moneys deposited in the PDATA Fund are subject to appropriation
by the Legislature for the maintenance, repair, and improvement
of the online or electronic disclosure program implemented by
the SOS pursuant to existing law (Cal-Access). It is estimated
that these fees will result in approximately $490,000 of new
revenue yearly for the PDATA Fund.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
The SOS anticipates costs of $100,000 to conduct the
feasibility study (Special).
The costs of implementing a new filing system for state and
local reports is unknown, but would likely be between $15
million and $25 million (General).
Approximately $18,000 one-time to updating the automated
fine assessment system to accommodate the increase in late
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filing penalties (General).
FPPC indicates annual costs of $269,467 for three personnel
years and one-time costs of $6,000 for workstations and
furniture (General). These costs could possibly be offset by
fee revenue depending on the number of treasurers who are
required to complete the course.
Estimated penalty revenue of $200,000 to $300,000 annually
(General).
It is possible that the PDATA Fund could be used to conduct the
feasibility study. The cost of replacing the existing
Cal-Access database is unknown at this time - the range shown
above is purely estimation, however, after completion of the
study, a more definitive cost will be known. A study completed
in 2008 estimated costs at about $7.5 million, however, that
estimate is outdated and did not include the additional local
filings that are required in this bill. There are 20 different
local filings systems that will have to be accommodated plus
different local filing thresholds adding significant complexity
and costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Common Cause (co-source)
League of Women Voters of California (co-source)
California Clean Money Campaign
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, Common Cause
sponsored legislation that created a dedicated funding source
for a new online disclosure system through registration fees
gathered from lobbyists and political committees. SB 1001
created the PDATA Fund for the purpose of paying for maintenance
and an eventual upgrade to the Cal-Access system.
This bill is the second half of the Sunshine in Campaigns Act
(including SB 2 (Lieu and Yee, 2013)). This bill is also a
continuation of the work done in SB 1001 with its major
provisions that set out statutory deadlines for when the SOS
will need to complete the design and development of a new online
disclosure system that will meet today's information technology
standards. A new disclosure system will make searching for data
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more accessible and make campaign and lobbying spending easier
for the regulated community, all while improving the public's
experience with this important resource.
In addition to providing for a new state online disclosure
system, this bill also allows local jurisdictions to allow for
electronic filing in lieu of paper disclosures if the
jurisdiction allows it. This reform will save local governments
money and make filing campaign statements easier for local
candidates and committees.
This bill also makes important changes to what the state
designates as "late" contributions or independent expenditures.
This change will amend the term "late" with the term
"election-cycle" which is less confusing to voters and regulated
individuals and closer to how the FPPC designates these
transactions in regulations.
RM:k 5/23/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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