BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1103
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Date of Hearing: August 13, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1103 (Padilla) - As Amended: August 7, 2014
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to limit the
number of different campaign contribution accounts that an
elected official or candidate for state office may have
simultaneously. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides, if an individual has previously filed a statement of
intention to be a candidate for elective state office,
subsequent filing of a statement of intention for a different
elective state office constitutes a revocation of the
previously filed statement, and the individual is thus
prohibited from soliciting or receiving a contribution for
that office. The revocation is effective 31 days after filing
the subsequent statement of intent, and any remaining funds in
the corresponding campaign account shall be treated as surplus
funds pursuant to current law.
2)Provides if a candidate for Assembly files a subsequent
statement of intention to be a candidate for State Senate or
any other state constitutional office to be voted on at a
separate election, that subsequent filing shall not constitute
a revocation of the previously filed statement of intention.
3)Provides that an individual shall not file, and the Secretary
of State (SOS) shall not accept, either of the following
statements of intention:
a) To be a candidate for the Assembly at other than the
next two regularly scheduled elections where that office
will appear on the ballot.
b) To be a candidate for elective state office other than
SB 1103
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the Assembly at other than the next regularly scheduled
election where that office will appear on the ballot.
FISCAL EFFECT
Any costs to the Fair Political Practices Commission for
monitoring and enforcement should be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The limits for campaign contributions to
candidates for elective state office are as follows:
a) For other than a statewide elective office, no person
may contribute more than $4,100 per election and no small
contributor committee may contribute more than $8,200 per
election;
b) For elective statewide office other than a candidate for
Governor, no person may contribute more than $6,800 per
election and no small contributor committee may contribute
more than $13,600 per election;
c) For Governor, no person or small contributor committee
may contribute more than $27,200 per election.
A statement of intention to be a candidate for an elective
office serves as a notice of an individual's intent to raise
campaign contributions toward seeking a particular office.
2)Purpose . According to the author, "Despite the
contribution limits, an individual who decides to open
two candidate-controlled committees can cumulatively
generate more money than what is legally permitted and
undermine the effectiveness of existing campaign
contribution limits.
"Currently, it is legal to declare an intention to run for
more than one office at a time. By simply expressing the
intent to run for multiple offices an official may open
multiple campaign committees. These multiple campaign
committees can potentially be used to cumulatively raise funds
far in excess of the established campaign contribution
limits."
SB 1103
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Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081