BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1103
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1103 (Padilla)
As Amended August 14, 2014
2/3 vote
SENATE VOTE :34-1
ELECTIONS 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fong, Donnelly, Bonta, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Hall, Perea, Rodriguez | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Ridley-Thomas |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Prohibits an elected state officer or a candidate for
elected state office from having campaign contribution accounts
open to run for more than one elective state office at the same
election, or from opening a campaign contribution account to run
for elective state office at an election that is more than four
years in the future. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that if an individual has previously filed a
statement of intention to be a candidate for an elective state
office, and that individual subsequently files a statement of
intention to be a candidate for a different elective state
office to be voted on at the same election, the filing of the
second statement of intention shall constitute a revocation of
the previously filed statement of intention. Provides that
the individual shall not thereafter solicit or receive a
contribution or a loan for the elective state office for which
he or she previously filed a statement of intention to be a
candidate. Provides that a revocation of a statement of
intention pursuant to this provision is effective 31 days
after the filing of the subsequent statement of intention.
Provides that any funds remaining in a campaign contribution
account associated with the revoked statement of intention
SB 1103
Page 2
shall be treated as surplus funds, in accordance with existing
law.
2)Prohibits an individual from filing, and prohibits the
Secretary of State from accepting, either of the following:
a) A statement of intention to be a candidate for the
office of Member of the Assembly at an election other than
the next two elections at which the office will appear on
the ballot; or,
b) A statement of intention to be a candidate for an
elective state office other than the office of Member of
the Assembly at an election other than the next election at
which that elective state office will appear on the ballot.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, any costs to the Fair Political Practices Commission
(FPPC) for monitoring and enforcement should be minor and
absorbable.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "There is a need to build
and restore government trust in the election process. The
belief that money buys influence from elected legislators has
led to laws that attempt to diminish the influence of money.
Currently, the [Political Reform Act (PRA)] limits campaign
contributions to $4,100 per person for candidates or office
holders that are running for California State Senate and
Assembly. Candidates running for statewide constitutional
offices have contribution limits of $6,800 per person, with the
exception of the Governor who has a limit of $26,000. 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."
A statement of intention to be a candidate for an elective
SB 1103
Page 3
office serves as a notice of an individual's intent to raise
campaign contributions toward seeking a particular office.
Nomination papers, including declarations of candidacy, are
filed with elections officials in order for the individual's
name to appear on the ballot as an actual candidate for the
office.
The author contends that permitting individuals to raise
campaign contributions for multiple elective state offices at
the same time could allow that individual to circumvent the
applicable contribution limits in place for the individual
offices. Notwithstanding the author's concern about the
potential for candidates to circumvent the contribution limits,
the PRA and regulations adopted by the FPPC already contain
provisions to protect against such circumvention. When a person
files a statement of intention to be a candidate, the PRA
requires that statement to be filed under penalty of perjury.
As a result, any person who filed a statement of intention for
an office that the person had no intention of seeking could be
charged with perjury. Once a candidate files a statement of
intention, and raises money into a committee associated with
that statement of intention, expenditures from that committee
must be related to the campaign for the office that the
candidate stated an intention to seek. Transfers of funds
between two committees for the same candidate are subject to
rules that require those funds to be attributed to individual
contributors at the time the funds are transferred, thereby
protecting against the circumvention of contribution limits. As
a result, the extent to which campaign contribution limits can
be circumvented through the use of multiple candidate committees
under existing law is unclear.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
SB 1103
Page 4
FN: 0004611