Amended in Assembly May 21, 2015

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 amend Section 84511 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974 begin insert , and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately end insert .

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 a disclosure statement requirement with respect to advertisements supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure paid for by a committee that makes an expenditure of $5,000 or more.

This bill would require that if the advertisement is a television or video advertisement, the disclosure statement shall be shown continuously.

This bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would implement a California Disclose Act.

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.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

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.

SEC. 2.  

Section 84511 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

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. If the advertisement is a television or video
advertisement, the statement shall be shown continuously.

(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.

SEC. 3.  

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.

SEC. 4.  

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.

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This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

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In order to protect the interests of Californians who are
empowered with the right to vote, it is appropriate that they be
duly informed and that their constitutional right to instruct their
representative be protected. This purpose is best served by an
informed electorate and an informed press. The need for greater
transparency of campaign contributions and advertisement
disclosures is vital to the interests of the State such that this act
must take effect immediately.

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