BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 594
Page 1
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, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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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.
AB 594
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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
AB 594
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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