BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 700


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          Date of Hearing:  January 21, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          700 (Gomez) - As Amended January 14, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to enhance  
          disclosure requirements for campaign advertisements supporting  
          or opposing state or local ballot measures or candidates.  








                                                                     AB 700


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          Specifically, this bill:


          1)Requires campaign advertisements supporting or opposing a  
            candidate or ballot measure via radio, telephone (robocall),  
            video (including television), print, or electronic media, to  
            identify the committee paying for the advertisement and the  
            committee's top three contributors (top single funder only for  
            radio and telephone) of $50,000 or more. The specific means of  
            disclosure are detailed in the bill for each respective  
            medium.


          2)Stipulates that the (1) does not apply to an advertisement  
            paid for by a political party committee or a candidate  
            controlled committee established for elective office of the  
            controlling candidate.


          3)Repeals existing, conflicting disclosure requirements for  
            campaign advertisements.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          The Fair Political Practices Commission will incur annual  
          General Fund costs of around $350,000 for three positions to  
          promulgate regulations, update educational materials, process  
          increased requests for advice, provide additional enforcement,  
          and for potential litigation over the bill's provisions or the  
          resulting regulations. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. According to the author, AB 700 will dramatically  
            improve disclosure on who has paid for ballot measure ads and  








                                                                     AB 700


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            ads about candidates.  Knowing the source of funds for ads  
            will prevent voters from being deceived about who is truly  
            paying for it, help voters better evaluate the credibility and  
            content of ads, and promote greater confidence in the  
            electoral process. 

          2)Prior Legislation. SB 52 (Leno) of 2014, which enhanced  
            disclosure requirements for advertisements supporting or  
            opposing ballot measures, was referred to the Assembly  
            Inactive File.





            AB 1148 (Brownely) and AB 1648 (Brownley) of 2012 both placed  
            new disclosure requirements on advertisement supporting or  
            opposing ballot measures or candidates. AB 1148 failed passage  
            in the Assembly and AB 1648 was approved by the Assembly, but  
            was not heard by the Senate. 


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR / (916) 319 -  
          2081