BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 370


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          Date of Hearing:   March 25, 2015


                  ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING


                           Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair


          AB 370  
          (Brown) - As Introduced February 17, 2015


          SUBJECT:  Election campaigns:  candidate misrepresentation.


          SUMMARY:  Expands the list of activities that constitute a crime  
          of candidate misrepresentation.  Specifically, this bill  
          specifies that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if, with the  
          intent to mislead the voters, he or she assumes, pretends, or  
          implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the  
          incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity  
          of a public officer, when that is not the case.  


          EXISTING LAW:  Provides that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor  
          who, with the intent to mislead the voters in connection with  
          his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public  
          office, or connection with the campaign of another person for  
          nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or  
          implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is  
          the incumbent of a public office, or that he or she is or has  
          been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is  
          not the case.  Provides that any violation may be enjoined in a  
          civil action brought by any candidate for the public office  
          involved. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown.  State-mandated local program: contains  








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          a crimes and infractions disclaimer.


          COMMENTS:  


          1)Purpose of the Bill:  According to the author:


               I have had numerous constituent complaints about the false  
               and or misleading advertising they receive or view during  
               campaigns.  Especially, signs that mislead the public as to  
               a candidate's occupation or profession.  Specifically,  
               professing to be the incumbent, when in fact they are the  
               challenger.  This is not only false and misleading but  
               should be illegal.  It is time that we place some  
               reasonable limits on false and misleading campaign  
               materials, including signage.


          2)Misrepresentation By Candidates:  Current law provides that it  
            is a crime for a person to knowingly try to mislead voters by  
            his or her statements or conduct by assuming, pretending, or  
            implying that he or she is an incumbent of a public office or  
            has been acting in the capacity of the public officer, when  
            that is not the case.  A violation of this law is a  
            misdemeanor.  This bill expands current law to include  
            misrepresentations in a candidate's campaign materials.  



          According to author's office, this clarification is needed  
            because candidate misrepresentation is occurring and most  
            recently occurred in the author's district during the November  
            2014 general election.  The author's office provided the  
            committee with a picture of a campaign sign which can be  
            interpreted to be a false claim of incumbency by a challenger.  
             Despite this district example, however, the author's office  
            was unable to provide the committee with further examples  








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            demonstrating a statewide problem.
            Moreover, it can be argued that campaign materials, such as  
            campaign signs, are already included within the existing  
            prohibition against statements or conduct that falsely  
            suggests that a person is an incumbent.  Nevertheless, this  
            bill will strengthen and clarify current law by explicitly  
            including campaign materials and could help prevent candidate  
            misrepresentation in future elections.    


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          None on file.




          Opposition


          None on file.




          Analysis Prepared by:Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094















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