BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 52|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 52
Author: Leno (D) and Hill (D), et al.
Amended: 5/16/13
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/30/13
AYES: Correa, Hancock, Padilla, Yee
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures
SOURCE : California Clean Money Campaign
DIGEST : This bill repeals existing advertisement disclosure
requirements and imposes new disclosure requirements for radio,
prerecorded telephonic messages, television or video, mass
mailing or printed political advertisements.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides, pursuant to the Political
Reform Act (PRA), for all of the following regarding political
advertisement disclosures:
Requires an advertisement for or against any ballot measure
to include a disclosure statement identifying any person
whose cumulative contributions are $50,000 or more. Provides
that if there are more than two donors of $50,000 or more,
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the disclosure only needs to include the highest and second
highest donors in that order.
Requires a committee that supports or opposes one or more
ballot measures to name itself using a name or phrase that
identifies the economic or other special interest of its
major donors of $50,000 or more. Provides that if the major
donors of $50,000 or more share a common employer, the
identity of the employer must also be disclosed.
Requires a broadcast or mass mailing advertisement
supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure that is
paid for by an independent expenditure (IE) to include a
disclosure statement identifying the name of the committee
making the expenditure and the names of the persons from whom
the committee making the IE received its two highest
cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more during the
12-month period prior to the expenditure.
Provides that when a disclosure of the top two donors is
required on an advertisement pursuant to either of the above
provisions, only the largest donor needs to be disclosed on
an advertisement that is an electronic broadcast of 15
seconds or less or a print advertisement of 20 square inches
or less.
Existing law does not require committees to establish or
maintain their own Internet Web sites nor does it require them
to disclose their campaign finance information on them.
This bill:
1. Repeals and recasts various terms.
2. Provides that a committee that has paid for political
advertisements and that has received cumulative contributions
that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold, as defined,
must establish and maintain a disclosure Internet Web site.
The homepage of the disclosure Internet Web site and any
landing pages that visitors are directed to on the disclosure
Internet Web site and any other Internet Web site maintained
by the committee shall include a disclosure area that
satisfies specified criteria.
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3. Requires that these Internet Web sites include a list of the
identifiable contributors who have made the 10 largest
cumulative contributions to the committee and a hyperlink to
another page on the disclosure Internet Web site that lists
all of the committee's identifiable contributors, as
specified.
4. Authorizes the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to
promulgate regulations to require disclosures on all forms of
political advertisements not covered by this bill, including,
but not limited to, electronic media advertisements and
billboards. If feasible, the regulations shall require the
listing of the name of the committee and as many of the three
identifiable contributors that made the largest cumulative
contributions as possible in a conspicuous manner, as
specified.
5. Requires the FPPC to promulgate regulations to require
disclosure of the name of the committee, if feasible, on all
advertisements that are paid for by a candidate-controlled
committee and that are advertisements relating to the
candidate's own election and not for any other campaign.
6. Repeals a committee identification requirement and the
disclosure statement requirements relating to advertisements
for or against any ballot measure paid for by any person
whose cumulative contributions are $50,000 and advertisements
paid for by an IE.
7. Imposes new disclosure statement requirements for political
advertisements that are radio advertisements, prerecorded
telephonic messages, television or video advertisements, or
mass mailing or print advertisements that would require the
identification of identifiable contributors, ballot measures,
and other funding details, as specified.
Background
Under the PRA, committees must put "paid for by" disclaimers on
campaign advertising, including campaign mailers, radio and
television ads, telephone robocalls, and electronic media ads.
The following, which is based on a publication produced by the
FPPC, discusses disclaimer requirements for committees that
purchase advertisements or circulate material supporting or
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opposing a state or local candidate or ballot measure in
California.
Mass mailings, including blast campaign emails, must include
identification of the sender.
Paid telephone calls must identify the candidate or
committee who paid for or authorized the call.
Radio and television ads must include "paid for by"
disclaimer under Federal Communications Commission law.
Ballot measure ads and IE ads must include "paid for by
committee name" and such ads by primarily formed committees
must also list top two donors of $50,000 or more. This
applies to television, radio, and electronic media
advertisements, robocalls, mass mailings, and print ads such
as newspaper ads, billboards and yard signs.
Radio and telephone . A political radio advertisement or
prerecorded telephonic message must include a disclosure at the
end of the advertisement read in a clearly spoken manner and in
a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the
advertisement that reads as follows: "Top funders of this ad
are [state names in descending order of identifiable
contributors who have made the three largest cumulative
contributions, if applicable]. Paid for by [name of the
committee that paid for the advertisement]."
Television and video . A political television or video
advertisement must include a disclosure area with a solid black
background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or
video display screen for a minimum of six seconds at the
beginning of the advertisement that includes all of the
following:
The text "Top Funders of This Ad" shall be located at the
top of the disclosure area, centered horizontally, yellow in
color in Arial equivalent type and at least 4% of the height
of the television or video display screen in size.
The names of the identifiable contributors who have made the
three largest cumulative contributions shall be immediately
below that text in a similar fashion except white in color.
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The text "Funding Details At [insert Internet Web site
address of the disclosure Internet Web site]." This text
must be yellow in color in Arial Narrow equivalent type 2.5%
of the height of the television or video display screen in
size and left-aligned, as specified.
The text "Paid for by [name of the committee that paid for
the advertisement]." This text shall also be yellow in color
in Arial Narrow equivalent 2.5% of the height of the
television or video display screen in size but right-aligned,
as specified.
If there are fewer than three identifiable contributors, the
disclosure shall be adjusted accordingly. If the committee does
not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be
adjusted to include the name of the committee in place of the
names of identifiable contributors.
Mass mailing and print . Except for slate mailers, a political
advertisement that is a mass mailing or a print advertisement
and that is 12 square inches or more in size shall include a
disclosure area on the largest page of the advertisement that
satisfies all of the following:
The disclosure area must have a solid white background so as
to be easily legible in a printed or drawn box on the bottom
of the page that is set apart from any other printed matter.
All text in the disclosure area must be black in color.
The text "Top Funders of This Ad" shall be centered
horizontally at the top of the disclosure area in an Arial
equivalent type at least 12-point in size for advertisements
smaller than 93 square inches and at least 14-point in size
for advertisements that are equal to, or larger than, 93
square inches.
Immediately below the text shall be the names of the
identifiable contributors who have made the three largest
cumulative contributions centered horizontally in an Arial
Narrow equivalent type at least 10-point in size for
advertisements smaller than 93 square inches and at least
12-point in size for advertisements that are equal to, or
larger than, 93 square inches. The text "Funding Details At
[insert Internet Web site address of the disclosure Internet
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Web site]" shall be similarly displayed unless the
advertisement is five inches tall or less.
If the advertisement is four inches tall or less, it need
only show the names of the identifiable contributors who have
made the two largest cumulative contributions. If the
advertisement is three inches tall or less, it need only show
the name of the identifiable contributor who made the largest
cumulative contribution.
The text "Paid for by [name of the committee that paid for
the advertisement]" shall be located at the bottom of the
disclosure area in an Arial Narrow equivalent type at least
eight-point in size for pages smaller than 8.5 inches and at
least 10-point in size for pages that are equal to, or larger
than, 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
If there are fewer than three identifiable contributors, the
disclosure shall be adjusted accordingly. If the committee does
not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be
adjusted to include the name of the committee in place of the
names of identifiable contributors.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the FPPC
indicates annual costs of $426,344 for 3.5 personnel years and
one-time costs of $7,000 for workstations/furniture (General
Fund (GF)).
FPPC will incur the above GF costs, for the equivalent of 3.5
positions, associated with the initial writing of new
regulations and campaign materials, with increased ongoing costs
to provide advice and for investigation and enforcement. FPPC
could also incur significant costs for litigation related to the
constitutionality of some of this bill's provisions.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/13)
California Clean Money Campaign (source)
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
California Alliance of Retired Americans
California Church IMPACT
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California Common Cause
California League of Conservation Voters
California National Organization for Women
California Public Interest Research Group
Common Cause
Consumer Federation of California
Endangered Habitats League
Fresno Stonewall Democrats
Friends Committee on Legislation
Green Chamber of Commerce
League of Women Voters of California
Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California
MapLight
National Council of Jewish Women
Pacific Palisades Democratic Club
Progressives United
Public Citizen's Congress Watch
Sierra Club of California
Southwest California Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
RM:k 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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