BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1274
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 1274 (Huber) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists.
SUMMARY : Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to display on
the Internet a list of all persons who file reports disclosing
the same lobbying interest during the same calendar quarter.
Requires the SOS to update this information quarterly.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and
makes it responsible for the impartial, effective
administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act
(PRA).
2)Requires that the SOS maintain on the Internet an updated list
of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers.
3)Requires lobbyist employers and persons making certain
payments to influence legislative or administrative action to
file periodic statements disclosing, among other things, their
lobbying interests.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Currently, state law requires lobbyist employers to
quarterly submit a report on all their lobbying interests
(e.g. each piece of legislation they are lobbying for or
against). This information is then posted on the Internet,
making it easy for the public to review all of the
activities of a particular employer.
However, those reports are only helpful if a person wants
to review lobby activity conducted by a specific lobbyist
or lobbyist employer. If, in the spirit of disclosure and
protecting the public interest, a member of the public
AB 1274
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wants to identify which, and how many, lobbyists are active
on a specific issue, they have to review the quarterly
reports of every lobbyist employer. For the 2007-2008
Session this would have meant reviewing reports from 3,253
lobbyist employers. For most people, the opportunity cost
of conducting such a labor intensive analysis would be
prohibitive.
AB 1274 simply seeks to advance the public disclosure goals
of the Political Reform Act by simply easing the process
for California residents to conduct an online review all of
how public policy is influenced by the Sacramento lobby
corps. The effect of this bill would make it just as easy
for Californians to determine how the entire lobby corps
influences public policy as it is to review all of the
issues being advocated on by a single lobbyist employer.
2)Is the Secretary of State the Appropriate Entity to Create
This Report? While the SOS is currently required to maintain
on the Internet an updated list of lobbyists, lobbying firms,
and lobbyist employers, it is not clear whether it is
appropriate for the SOS to create this report. The mission of
the FPPC is to provide impartial interpretation and
enforcement of political campaign, lobbying, and conflict of
interest laws in California. As the lead agency in enforcing
and monitoring lobbying restrictions and activities, the
committee may wish to consider whether the FPPC is a more
appropriate entity to create and update this report.
3)Clarifying the Type of Information Included in the Report :
According to the author, this bill is intended to require the
SOS to display on the Internet a report identifying each bill
or other lobbying interest reported on lobbying disclosure
reports, followed by a list of all entities that reported
lobbying on each of those interests. However, the language
that is presently in the bill is ambiguous. The author and
the committee may wish to amend this bill to clarify that the
report shall list each of the lobbying interests that were
reported in the calendar quarter, and shall list all the
entities that lobbied on a particular interest.
4)What is the Timeline for Displaying Lobbying Interest
Information? The bill does not provide a specific date by
which the SOS must produce the report required by this bill.
The author and the committee may wish to consider amending the
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bill to require the report to be completed within 90 days of
the end of each calendar quarter.
5)Political Reform Act of 1974 : California voters passed an
initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974 that created the FPPC and
codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders and lobbyists. That initiative is
commonly known as the PRA. Amendments to the PRA that are not
submitted to the voters, such as those contained in this bill,
must further the purposes of the initiative and require a
two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Qiana Charles / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094