BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 3
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 3 (Yee and Lieu)
As Amended August 28, 2013
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :30-6
ELECTIONS 5-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bocanegra, Bonta, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Hall, Perea | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes numerous significant changes to the Political
Reform Act of 1974 (PRA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a person who serves as a treasurer for one or more
committees to complete an online training course designed and
administered by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
not later than 20 business days after being designated as a
treasurer. Requires the course to address campaign finance
laws and the duties of a treasurer, and requires a treasurer
to complete the course every two years. Requires each person
completing the training course to certify his or her identity
under penalty of perjury. Permits the FPPC to charge a fee of
up to $50 for each applicant for training. Requires the FPPC
to maintain a list of treasurers who have completed training
on its Web site.
2)Requires the FPPC, prior to developing the online training
course, to coordinate with one or more other state agencies or
departments, including the Department of Technology, to
identify existing online training courses that may be
converted for the purposes of this bill.
3)Requires the FPPC to complete the development of the online
training course no later than June 30, 2015, and provides that
treasurers shall be subject to the training requirement
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beginning 30 days after the FPPC certifies a training course,
but no sooner than July 1, 2015.
4)Provides for fines of up to $500 for a treasurer who fails to
complete the training course.
5)Provides that the FPPC has no liability with respect to a
violation of the PRA by a treasurer that completed the
training or by a committee that has designated that person as
its treasurer.
6)Declares the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary of
State (SOS) develop a statewide electronic filing system that
provides for the following:
a) Electronic filing of committee organization statements;
lobbyist, lobbying firm, and lobbyist employer
registrations; campaign statements by all state committees,
without regard to the amounts of contributions and
expenditures; periodic reports filed by lobbyists, lobbying
firms, and lobbyist employers; and reports by all major
donors at the state level when specified thresholds are
met;
b) A statewide, Internet-accessible system that provides
for search capabilities that are data driven and
user-friendly for all members of the public; and,
c) A system that provides for lobbying and committee data
to be made regularly available to the public in raw,
machine-readable data format.
7)Requires the SOS to develop a feasibility study report (FSR)
not later than December 31, 2014, that outlines the technology
requirements and the costs of the statewide electronic filing
system described above. Requires the SOS to consult and
coordinate with other state agencies including the FPPC with
respect to data transitioning. Requires the FSR to include an
examination of the feasibility of establishing a statewide
electronic filing system that permits state-required committee
disclosure forms and reports to be imported into the statewide
database from local jurisdictions that have their own
electronic filing systems.
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8)Increases the penalty imposed when a report required by the
PRA is filed after the deadline from $10 per day after the
deadline to $30 per day. Increases the maximum amount of such
penalties from the cumulative amount stated on the late
statement or report or $100, whichever is greater, to 150% of
the cumulative amount stated in the late statement or report
or $1,000, whichever is greater. Provides that if the SOS is
the filing officer, he or she shall deposit two-thirds of any
funds received pursuant to this provision into the Political
Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund
(PDATA Fund), and the remainder into the General Fund (GF).
9)Changes the terms "late contribution" and "late independent
expenditure" to "election-cycle contribution" and
"election-cycle independent expenditure," respectively.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) FPPC . One-time GF costs of $200,000 for the equivalent
of two positions to develop the treasurer training program
and update regulations, and ongoing GF costs of about
$140,000 to administer the training program. The number of
treasurers is unknown, but revenue from course fees would
offset a significant portion of the ongoing costs.
Annual increased penalty revenue of around $30,000.
2) SOS . Absorbable costs to complete the FSR and minor
one-time costs ($20,000) for programming changes.
Increased penalty revenue in the low hundreds of thousands of
dollars annually, to be deposited into the PDATA Fund.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "In winter of 2011, the
Secretary of State's online campaign finance and lobbying
disclosure website (also known as Cal-ACCESS) crashed for nearly
a month. During that time regulated parties sought other means
of filing legally required disclosure forms; the media and
government watchdogs were forced to wait until the system was
restored in order to conveniently access the system to do
important accountability work?.
"In 2012, Common Cause sponsored legislation authored by Senator
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Yee that created a dedicated funding source for a new online
disclosure system through registration fees gathered from
lobbyists and political committees. Senate Bill 1001 created the
Political Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access
Fund for the purpose of paying for maintenance and an eventual
upgrade to the Cal-ACCESS system?.
"SB 3 is?a continuation of the work done in Senate Bill 1001
with its major provisions that require the Secretary of State to
conduct a feasibility study on the design and development of a
new online disclosure system that meets today's information
technology standards, including online and electronic filing
capabilities?. Finally, SB 3 will require campaign committee
treasurers to complete an online certification course, designed
and administered by the Fair Political Practices Commission."
SB 1001 (Yee), Chapter 506, Statutes of 2012, imposed a $50
annual fee on specified committees that are required to file
disclosure reports pursuant to the PRA and increased the fee on
lobbying firms and lobbyist employers from $25 to $50 per year
per lobbyist. The revenue generated by the bill is deposited
into the newly-created PDATA Fund, and is available to be used
for the online and electronic disclosure of reports filed
pursuant to the PRA. It is estimated that these fees will
result in approximately $490,000 of new revenue yearly for the
PDATA Fund.
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.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0002131
SB 3
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