BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 594


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          594 (Gordon)


          As Amended  August 17, 2015


          2/3 vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  | 77-0 | (May 7, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0  | (August 31,     |
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          Original Committee Reference:  E. & R.




          SUMMARY:  Eliminates certain campaign reporting requirements.   
          Standardizes the dates by which preelection reports must be  
          filed.  Requires contributions and independent expenditures of  
          $1,000 or more that are received or made on Election Day to be  
          reported within 24 hours.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Provides that a contribution or an independent expenditure of  
            $1,000 or more that is received or made on Election Day is a  
            "late contribution" or a "late independent expenditure" that  
            is required to be reported within 24 hours of having been  
            received or made.


          2)Eliminates supplemental preelection and supplemental  
            independent expenditure reporting requirements.








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          3)Requires all preelection reports to be filed pursuant to the  
            same schedule, instead of having a slightly different schedule  
            for preelection reports that are filed in connection with  
            statewide elections held in June and November of even-numbered  
            years.


          4)Eliminates the requirement for city general purpose committees  
            to file preelection reports if they do not receive  
            contributions of $1,000 or more.


          5)Makes corresponding and technical changes.


          The Senate amendments: 


          1)Increase the amount of contributions that an entity must  
            receive in a calendar year order to be considered a  
            "committee" under the Political Reform Act (PRA) from $1,000  
            to $2,000.
          2)Increase the maximum amount of contributions that a candidate  
            or officeholder can receive, and the maximum amount of  
            expenditures they can make, in a calendar year and be eligible  
            to file a "short form" campaign disclosure report, from $1,000  
            to $2,000.


          3)Increase the maximum amount of contributions that a member of  
            or candidate for county central committee of a political party  
            can receive, and the maximum amount of expenditures they can  
            make, in a calendar year and not be required to file campaign  
            disclosure reports under the PRA, from $1,000 to $2,000.


          4)Make technical, corresponding, and conforming changes.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  








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          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "AB 594 would streamline  
          some of the campaign finance rules in the [PRA] to reduce  
          redundancy and improve accountability.  Overall, the bill would  
          make small, but meaningful reforms to the [PRA], while  
          maintaining the highest ethical standards."


          Under the PRA, there are two general types of reporting  
          requirements:  periodic reports that are filed according to  
          specified time schedules, and activity-based reports, which are  
          triggered when a candidate or committee has campaign activity  
          that meets or exceeds a specific dollar threshold.


          This bill seeks to eliminate two types of special activity-based  
          reports in an effort to streamline the campaign reporting  
          process.  The reports that would be eliminated are supplemental  
          preelection statements and supplemental independent expenditure  
          reports.  Due to modifications made to campaign limits and  
          disclosure requirements after these reporting requirements were  
          established, these special activity-based reporting requirements  
          no longer serve their original purposes.


          This bill also standardizes the schedule for filing preelection  
          reports so that the first preelection report is always due by  
          the 40th day before the election, covering all activity through  
          the 45th day before the election, regardless of when the  
          election is held.  Finally, this bill eliminates the requirement  
          for city general purpose committees to file preelection reports  
          in connection with an election if the committees are not  
          recipient committees (that is, if they do not receive  
          contributions of $1,000 or more).  Unlike city general purpose  
          committees, state and county general purpose committees are  
          required to file preelection reports only if they are recipient  
          committees.  State and county general purpose committees that  
          are not recipient committees -that is, committees that make  
          independent expenditures or contributions, but that do not  
          receive contributions - are not required to file preelection  








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          reports.  Those committees' preelection activities typically  
          will be disclosed on other reports (including through late  
          independent expenditure reports and late contribution reports).


          California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974  
          that created the Fair Political Practices Commission 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.


          Senate amendments to this bill added provisions that increase  
          the monetary threshold of contributions that must be received in  
          order to qualify as a committee under the PRA, make related  
          changes relative to the eligibility of committees to file a  
          "short form" campaign disclosure report and to provisions of law  
          governing when candidates for party central committee are exempt  
          from filing campaign disclosure reports, and make conforming  
          changes.  The subject matter of these additions to this bill has  
          not been heard in an Assembly policy committee during the  
          current legislative session. 


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094  FN:  
          0001376