BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1391
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 13, 2005

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

                    AB 1391 (Leno) - As Amended:  March 29, 2005 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:6-0  
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires that any general purpose committee determine,  
          for registration and reporting requirements, whether it is a  
          state, county, or city general purpose committee based on where  
          the committee makes a majority of its contributions and  
          independent expenditures.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible fiscal impact to the Fair Political Practices  
          Commission (FPPC).

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . General purpose committees are defined as those formed  
          to support more than one candidate or ballot measure. According  
          to the author, AB 1391, which is sponsored by the FPPC, closes a  
          loophole in state reporting requirements by clarifying the  
          definition of state, county, and city general purpose  
          committees. 

          The author states, "Currently a general purpose committee may  
          register as a state committee if it is involved in a state  
          election.  As a state committee, it must follow state disclosure  
          requirements and deadlines.  However, if the state committee  
          decides to heavily participate in a city or county election, it  
          does not need to follow city or county disclosure regulations.   
          There have been incidents of general purpose committees skirting  
          local regulations by registering as a state committee.  As a  
          result, there is less opportunity for campaign finance  
          transparency on the local level.








                                                                  AB 1391
                                                                  Page  2


          "By setting out definitive contribution thresholds, AB 1391  
          clarifies the distinction between committees and prevents a  
          state committee from funneling a majority of funds to a local  
          committee without local disclosure."

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