BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1349 (Hertzberg) - Political Reform Act of 1974: Secretary
of State: online filing and disclosure system
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|Version: April 18, 2016 |Policy Vote: E. & C.A. 4 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1349 would require the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission
(FPPC), to develop and certify for public use a new online
filing and disclosure system for statements and reports that
provide public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying
information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format.
Fiscal
Impact:
Secretary of State's Office (SOS) indicates that it
would incur one-time costs of $11.6 million and ongoing
SB 1349 (Hertzberg) Page 1 of
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annual costs of $2.8 million related to information
technology (General Fund).
Costs to FPPC would increase by $131,000 in the first
year, and $124,000 ongoing (General Fund) to allow it to
interface with the new system developed by SOS.
Additionally, FPPC would experience unknown, but probably
minor, costs to update forms, and modify regulations to
reflect the new IT system.
Background: Cal-Access was created in 1999 and is the database and filing
system currently used by SOS to make much of the lobbying and
campaign finance information available online at no cost to
users. On November 30, 2011, Cal-Access went down, and the
system was unavailable for most of the following month.
Subsequently, concerns have been expressed regarding Cal Access'
current state and usefulness.
In 2012, the Legislature later enacted SB 1001 (Yee, Ch. 506 of
2012), which imposed a $50 annual fee on political committees
that are required to file disclosure reports pursuant to the PRA
and increased the fee on lobbying firms and lobbyist employers
from $25 to $50 per year per lobbyist. The revenue generated is
deposited into the Political Disclosure, Accountability,
Transparency, and Access Fund (Fund), and is available to be
used to update or replace Cal-Access. It is estimated that
these fees result in approximately $450,000 of new revenue
yearly for the Fund.
Proposed Law:
This bill would do, among other things, the following:
Require SOS, in consultation with the FPPC, to develop
and certify for public use a new online filing system for
statements and reports that provide public disclosure of
campaign finance and lobbying information in a
user-friendly, easily understandable format.
Provide that the new system shall enable a user to
comply with all of the disclosure requirements within the
PRA.
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Require the new system to include a data-driven means or
method that allows filers to submit required filings free
of charge and does all of the following:
o Enable a filer to comply with current-law
disclosure requirements, including by entering or
uploading requisite data or by indicating that the
filer had no reportable activity during a particular
reporting period.
o Retain previously-submitted data so that a
filer can access that data to amend disclosures or
prepare future disclosures.
o Ensure the security of data entered and stored
in the system.
Require the new system to include the definition of a
nonproprietary standardized record format or formats using
industry standards for the transmission of the data that is
required of those persons and entities required to file
online and that conforms with the disclosure requirements
of the PRA.
Provide that SOS accept test files from software vendors
and others wishing to file reports electronically for the
purpose of determining whether the file format is in
compliance with the standardized record format developed
pursuant to this bill and is compatible with the SOS's new
system for receiving the data. SOS shall publish and make
available to the public a list of the software and service
providers who have submitted acceptable test files. A
filer shall submit acceptably formatted files in order to
meet the requirements of this chapter.
Require the SOS to do all of the following:
o Make the data filed available on the Internet,
as specified.
o Develop a procedure for filers to comply
electronically with the requirement to sign their
submissions under penalty of perjury. The electronic
signature procedure shall allow the filer to file with
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the SOS and shall not require an original signature to
be filed.
o Maintain all filed data online for at least 10
years after the date it is filed, and then archive the
information in a secure format.
o Provide assistance to those seeking public
access to the information.
o Implement sufficient technology to seek to
prevent unauthorized alteration or manipulation of the
data.
o Provide the FPPC with necessary information to
enable it to assist agencies, public officials, and
others in complying with and administering this title.
Provide that, in consultation with the FPPC, the SOS
shall, no later than July 31, 2017, hold at least one
public hearing to receive input on development of the
online filing system and record format.
Require that SOS make the new online filing system
available for use no later than February 1, 2019. SOS may
extend this date to a date no later than December 31, 2019,
as specified.
Provide that the SOS may accept any funds, services,
equipment or grants to further the goals of this bill.
Related
Legislation: SB 3 (Yee & Lieu of 2013), would have required,
among other things, the SOS to develop a feasibility study
report to outline the technology requirements and the costs of a
new statewide electronic campaign filing and disclosure system.
SB 3 was vetoed by Governor Brown. In his veto message, the
Governor stated that other provisions of the bill were "costly
and unnecessary," but also acknowledged that the current
campaign filing and disclosure system needed to be upgraded and
he directed the Government Operations Agency (GOA) to consult
the FPPC and the SOS and make recommendations on the best way to
improve campaign disclosure. One of the options presented in
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the GOA report was to replace Cal-Access.
SB 1442 (Lara of 2013), would have required, among other things,
the SOS, in consultation with the FPPC, to develop a new
statewide Internet-based system for the electronic filing and
public display of all records filed pursuant to the PRA with
search capabilities that are data-driven and user-friendly for
members of the public. SB 1442 was also vetoed by Governor
Brown. In his veto message, the Governor stated that before an
additional information technology project is authorized, the SOS
should complete the two other projects that were underway at the
time.
Staff
Comments: SOS would incur one-time costs of $11.6 million and
ongoing annual costs of $2.8 million to create the online filing
and disclosure system. Increased staff ($2.2 million) and
software customization ($6 million) comprise the majority of the
one-time costs. Ongoing costs related to increased staff would
total $1.3 million annually.
FPPC would incur first-year costs of $131,000, and ongoing costs
of $124,000 annually to assist SOS in documenting its business
requirements and implementation of the system as it relates to
its duties and mission. Additionally, FPPC would experience
unknown, but probably minor costs to update forms, and modify
regulations to reflect the new IT system.
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