Amended in Assembly April 14, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 700

Introduced by Assembly Members Gomez and Levine

February 25, 2015

An act to begin delete add Section 84503.1 to end delete begin insert amend Section 84511 of end insert the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 700, as amended, Gomez. Political Reform Act of 1974: advertisement disclosures.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. Existing law additionally imposes begin insert a end insert disclosure statement begin delete requirements end delete begin insert requirement end insert with respect to advertisements supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure paid for by begin delete donors making contributions of specified amounts or by independent expenditures and defines several terms and phrases for these purposes end delete begin insert a committee that makes an expenditure of $5,000 or more end insert .

This bill would begin delete impose new disclosure statement requirements for political advertisements regarding a ballot measure paid for by specified committees that are radio advertisements, prerecorded telephonic messages, or television or video advertisements that would require the identification of identifiable contributors, as defined end delete begin insert require that if the advertisement is a television or video advertisement, the disclosure statement shall be shown continuously end insert .

This bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would implement a California Disclose Act begin delete , with provisions similar to a specified bill from the 2013-14 Regular Session of the Legislature end delete .

Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2⁄3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would implement a California Disclose Act to
ensure that advertisements that seek to persuade voters to cast a
vote in favor or against ballot measures do not mislead voters as
to who is funding the campaign that paid for the advertisement.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 84511 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

84511.  

(a) This section applies to a committee that does either
of the following:

(1) Makes an expenditure of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or
more to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement
that supports or opposes the qualification, passage, or defeat of a
ballot measure.

(2) Makes an expenditure of any amount to an individual for
his or her appearance in an advertisement that supports or opposes
the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure and that
states or suggests that the individual is a member of an occupation
that requires licensure, certification, or other specialized,
documented training as a prerequisite to engage in that occupation.

(b) A committee described in subdivision (a) shall file, within
10 days of the expenditure, a report that includes all of the
following:

(1) An identification of the measure that is the subject of the
advertisement.

(2) The date of the expenditure.

(3) The amount of the expenditure.

(4) The name of the recipient of the expenditure.

(5) For a committee described in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a), the occupation of the recipient of the expenditure.

(c) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure statement
stating “(spokesperson’s name) is being paid by this campaign or
its donors” in highly visible roman font shown continuously if the
advertisement consists of printed or televised material, or spoken
in a clearly audible format if the advertisement is a radio broadcast
or telephonic message. begin insert If the advertisement is a television or video
advertisement, the statement shall be shown continuously. end insert

(d) (1) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure statement
stating “Persons portraying members of an occupation in this
advertisement are compensated spokespersons not necessarily
employed in those occupations” in highly visible roman font shown
continuously if the advertisement consists of printed or televised
material, or spoken in a clearly audible format if the advertisement
is a radio broadcast or telephonic message.

(2) A committee may omit the disclosure statement required by
this subdivision if all of the following are satisfied with respect to
each individual identified in the report filed pursuant to subdivision
(b) for that advertisement:

(A) The occupation identified in the report is substantially
similar to the occupation portrayed in the advertisement.

(B) The committee maintains credible documentation of the
appropriate license, certification, or other training as evidence that
the individual may engage in the occupation identified in the report
and portrayed in the advertisement and makes that documentation
immediately available to the Commission upon request.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Ever-increasing amounts of funds are raised and spent in
support of and opposition to state and local ballot measures,
especially in the form of advertisements. The outcomes of such
elections are disproportionately impacted by campaign expenditures
in support of and opposition to those measures.

(b) Ever-increasing amounts of funds are spent on campaigns
by persons who do one or more of the following:

(1) Frequently use their wealth to fund local and state ballot
measures designed to advance their own economic interests.

(2) Increasingly avoid having their identities disclosed in
election-related advertisements by channeling funds through one
or more persons before those funds are received by a committee,
thereby undermining the purpose and intent of laws requiring
disclosure on such advertisements.

(3) Spend extraordinary amounts of money running
election-related advertisements while hiding behind dubious and
misleading names, including, but not limited to, advertisements
by primarily formed committees and general purpose committees.

(4) Increasingly evade disclosure by funding advertisements
designed to persuade voters without expressly advocating support
or opposition.

(c) The activities described in subdivision (b) cause the public
to become increasingly disaffected with the democratic process,
discouraging participation in elections and coloring public
perceptions of the legitimacy and integrity of state and local
government.

(d) The people of California and their government officials have
a compelling interest in knowing the true and original source of
committee funding and receiving clear information identifying the
largest original contributors responsible for political advertisements
funded by such committees.

(e) The disclosure of original contributors on advertisements
serves the following important governmental and societal purposes:

(1) Providing the people and government officials current and
easily accessible information regarding who is funding
advertisements that are intended to influence their votes on ballot
measures.

(2) Enabling the people and government officials to identify
potential bias in advertisements to assist them in making more
informed decisions and giving proper weight to different speakers
and messages.

(3) Deterring actual corruption and avoiding the appearance of
corruption by providing increased transparency of contributions
and expenditures.

(4) Improving the people’s confidence in the democratic process
and increasing their motivation to actively participate in that
process by regular voting and other forms of civic engagement.

(5) Promoting compliance with and detecting violations of the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000) of the Government Code), while also addressing the
problems and advancing the state interests described in that act.

SEC. 2.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
that would implement a California Disclose Act consistent with
the provisions of Senate Bill 52 of the 2013-14 Regular Session
of the Legislature.

SEC. 3.  

Section 84503.1 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

84503.1.  

(a) For purposes of this section, “identifiable
contributor” means a person that is the original source of funds
for contributions received by a committee that cumulatively total
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more, notwithstanding the fact
that the contributions were transferred, in whole or in part, through
one or more other committees or persons.

(b) A committee that is a candidate controlled committee as
defined in Section 82016 or a political party committee as defined
in Section 85205 is not subject to the disclosure statement
requirements of this section.

(c)  An advertisement regarding a ballot measure that is a radio
advertisement or prerecorded telephonic message shall include a
disclosure statement at the beginning or end of the advertisement
read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone
substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement that reads as
follows: “This ad has major funding from [state names in
descending order of identifiable contributors who have made the
two largest cumulative contributions to the committee that paid
for the advertisement]. Paid for by [name of the committee that
paid for the advertisement].”

(d)  An advertisement regarding a ballot measure that is a
television or video advertisement shall include a disclosure area
with a solid black background on the entire bottom one-third of
the television or video display screen at the beginning or end of
the advertisement for a minimum of five seconds in the case of an
advertisement that lasts 30 seconds or less or a minimum of 10
seconds in the case of an advertisement that lasts longer than 30
seconds. The disclosure area shall include the following text: “Paid
for by [name of the committee that paid for the advertisement].
This ad has major funding from [state names in descending order
of identifiable contributors who have made the three largest
cumulative contributions to the committee that paid for the
advertisement].” The text shall be in a contrasting color in Arial
Narrow equivalent font, and the type size shall be at least 4 percent
of the height of the television or video display screen and shall be
centered horizontally.

(e) The requirements of this section are in addition to any other
requirements imposed by this article.

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begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

begin delete SEC. 5. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
Code.