BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1104
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 1104 (Padilla) - As Amended: June 15, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 28-9
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign communication
disclosure.
SUMMARY : Requires all campaign communications that support or
oppose a candidate for state office or a statewide ballot
measure to be submitted to the Secretary of State (SOS) and
posted on his or her website. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a candidate for elective state office, a slate mailer
organization, or a committee that authorizes an expenditure
for a campaign contribution to file an electronic copy of the
campaign communication with the SOS as follows:
a) For a campaign communication that is distributed by
postal mail in the last 90 days prior to the election at
which the candidate or measure that is the subject of the
communication will appear on the ballot, the communication
must be filed with the SOS not later than 72 hours after
the first distribution of the communication;
b) For a campaign communication that is distributed in a
manner other than by postal mail in the last 90 days prior
to the election at which the candidate or measure that is
the subject of the communication will appear on the ballot,
the communication must be filed with the SOS not later than
24 hours after the first distribution of the communication;
and,
c) For a campaign communication that is distributed at any
other time, the communication must be filed with the SOS
not later than five business days after the first
distribution of the communication.
2)Requires the SOS to maintain an archive of all campaign
communications that are filed pursuant to this bill, and to
make the communications available for public inspection on the
SOS's Internet website.
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3)Defines "campaign communication," for the purposes of this
bill, to mean an advertisement, mass mailing, or slate mailer
that advocates support for or opposition to a candidate for
elective state office or a statewide ballot measure.
4)Provides that the term "elective state office," for the
purposes of this bill, does not include members of the Board
of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System
or of the Teachers' Retirement Board.
5)Provides that this bill shall become operative on January 1,
2017.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and
makes it responsible for the impartial, effective
administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act
(PRA).
2)Regulates certain campaign communications, including mass
mailings, slate mailers, print advertisements, and broadcast
advertisements, by requiring those items to include specified
information and disclosures.
3)Defines the following terms, for the purposes of the PRA:
a) "Advertisement," to mean any general or public
advertisement which is authorized and paid for by a person
or committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a
candidate for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot
measures. Provides that the term "advertisement" does not
include a communication from an organization (other than a
political party) to its members, a campaign button smaller
than 10 inches in diameter, a bumper sticker smaller than
60 square inches, or other advertisement as determined by
regulations of the FPPC.
b) "Elective state office" to mean the office of Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Insurance
Commissioner, Controller, SOS, Treasurer, Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Member of the Legislature, member
elected to the Board of Administration of the Public
Employees' Retirement System, member elected to the
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Teachers' Retirement Board, and member of the State Board
of Equalization.
c) "Mass mailing" as over two hundred substantially similar
pieces of mail.
d) "Slate mailer" as a mass mailing which supports or
opposes a total of four or more candidates or ballot
measures.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program;
contains a crimes and infractions disclaimer.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
The Secretary of State serves as a general repository
of historical state documents. The initial Political
Reform Act required candidates to submit "a copy of
every mass mailing in support of or in opposition to a
state candidate or state measure?Such copies sent to
the commission shall be public records." (Gov. §
84305). Since then, technology has advanced to
facilitate electronic communications between the
public and those running for office. Reinstating this
requirement will serve to inform and engage voters,
thus helping to restore public trust in elected
officials.
Electronic disclosure of communications is consistent
with the increasing acceptance of digital filings for
public disclosure reports. The public is served in
that any interested individual will be able to access
these documents on the Secretary of State's website.
Providing the public with swift and easy access to
candidate filings would promote the goal of an
informed electorate.
It would also serve another important public policy
purpose by allowing candidates and others subject to
disclosure to monitor online their own submissions to
the Secretary of State to confirm compliance with the
law.
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2)Local Jurisdictions and Other States : The cities of Berkeley,
Los Angeles, Palmdale, and San Jose, and Marin County all
require copies of certain campaign communications made in
connection with local elections to be publicly disclosed.
Other states that have a similar requirement include New York
and New Jersey.
3)Campaign Communication Disclosure History : The PRA, as
originally enacted via Proposition 9 of 1974, required that
"?a copy of every mass mailing in support of or in opposition
to a state candidate or state measure shall be sent to the
[FPPC]. Such copies sent to the [FPPC] shall be public
records."
According to Robert Stern, one of the architects of Proposition
9 and former General Counsel to the FPPC, this provision was
inserted in the PRA because "it was hoped that it would reduce
negative mailings since a copy would be on file with the
FPPC." The FPPC sponsored the repeal of this requirement in
the late 1970s because, according to Stern, "very few people
were coming to the office to look at the mailings and the
boxes were piling high in our storage room."
4)Political Reform Act of 1974 : 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Association of University Women-California (prior
version)
California League of Conservation Voters
Edwin Lee, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco
League of Women Voters of California (prior version)
MapLight (prior version)
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094