BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2771
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 2771 (Leno)
As Amended June 26, 2006
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 11, 2006) |SENATE: |31-5 |(August 17, |
| | | | | |2006) |
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(August 21, | | | |
| | |2006) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Suspends the requirement that certain specified
entities must file campaign reports online or electronically
until January 1, 2010, or until the first filing due six months
after the Secretary of State (SOS) has developed a free online
filing process, whichever is earlier. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes various findings and declarations about the cost to
committees for complying with the requirement that they file
online or electronically and about the failure of the SOS to
timely provide a means of free online or electronic filing.
2)Provides that any general purpose committee, small contributor
committee, or slate mailer organization that is otherwise
required by existing law to file online or electronically that
has not cumulatively received contributions or made
expenditures totaling $50,000 within three years of the
applicable beginning date for calculating cumulative totals
and totaling not more than $20,000 in any single year since
the formation of the committee need not file online or
electronically until January 1, 2010, or until the first
filing date more than six months after the Fair Political
Practices Commission (FPPC) has certified that the free online
AB 2771
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filing processes developed by the SOS are sufficiently simple
to access and use that a person without technical training or
support can reasonably be expected to file without that
training or support, whichever is earlier.
3)Permits the SOS, when developing a means or method whereby
filers required to file campaign reports online or
electronically can do so free of charge, to include some
enhanced functions as long as the method does not include any
additional services beyond those needed to file the campaign
reports.
The Senate amendments limit the exemption from the requirement
to file campaign reports online or electronically to committees
or organizations that have not exceeded $20,000 in expenditures
or contributions in any single year since the formation of the
committee or organization.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, minor fiscal impact to the SOS.
COMMENTS : According to the author, local slate mailer
organizations that are required to file campaign reports online
have been put in an unfair position because the SOS has not yet
completed a free online filing method, as required by law, and
the two private vendors who provide online filing services for
slate mailer organizations are unwilling to take the local slate
mailer organizations as clients because those organizations do
not provide a sufficient amount of business. As a result, these
local slate mailer organizations are facing fines of $100 per
day for failure to file online, as required by law. A local
slate mailer organization could be subject to fines and civil
penalties if a citizen took advantage of the provisions of the
Political Reform Act (PRA) that allow any citizen to file a
civil suit to enforce the PRA.
AB 696 (Longville), Chapter 917, Statutes of 2001, requires the
SOS to provide, by December 31, 2002, a means or method whereby
AB 2771
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individuals subject to online and electronic filing disclosure
requirements of the PRA may submit required filings free of
charge. At the time AB 696 was moving through the Legislature,
the SOS indicated that it would cost $600,000 to develop a
method whereby individuals subject to electronic filing
disclosure requirements of the PRA could submit those filings
free of charge. As such, AB 696 appropriated $600,000 to the
SOS for that purpose.
However, more than three years after the deadline, the SOS has
not yet completed the free online filing method for all
individuals who are required to file online or electronically.
While all quarterly lobbying disclosure forms can be filed
online or electronically for free, there are a number of
campaign disclosure forms that cannot be filed online or
electronically for free. None of the required campaign filings
for slate mailer organizations can be filed online through the
SOS's web site for free.
The failure of the SOS to develop a free online filing method in
a timely manner has slowed attempts to provide for more timely
and thorough campaign disclosure. SB 1849 (Karnette) of 2004,
would have lowered certain monetary thresholds which trigger
electronic filing requirements. The lower thresholds in SB 1849
would have expanded access to campaign disclosure reports by
requiring a larger number of candidates and committees to file
campaign reports electronically. However, Governor
Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1849, noting in his veto message that
it would be premature to lower the filing thresholds until the
SOS finished the free online filing system.
This bill would temporarily suspend the electronic filing
requirement for certain general purpose committees and slate
mailer organizations until 2010 or until the first filing due
six months after SOS has finished the free filing system,
whichever comes first. The suspension of that requirement would
apply only for those committees and slate mailer organizations
that did not reach the cumulative thresholds for filing
electronically within the first three years of the beginning
date for calculating cumulative totals, and which did not make
expenditures or receive contributions of $20,000 or more in any
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single year since the formation of the committee or
organization.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
Online campaign reporting is one of the most
significant advancements in the area of political
reform since the original passage of the Political
Reform Act in 1974. The inadequacy of the free online
filing system is not sufficient grounds to suspend
electronic disclosure requirements. Such action would
make it significantly more difficult for interested
parties to review campaign expenditures and receipts
and would constitute a step backward in terms of the
goal of full public disclosure.
While I am sympathetic to the smaller electronic
filers who may be burdened by the delay in
implementation of the free online filing system, I
believe that online disclosure is far too important to
postpone. The public should not be deprived of
Internet access to critical campaign finance
information. Furthermore, the Secretary of State has
reported significant progress toward the development
of the free filing system and it is my understanding
that it will be completed in the near future.
Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0017911