BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1322
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   AB 1322 (Huffman) - As Amended:  April 13, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:7-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to require, when  
          an advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate and paid for  
          by an independent expenditure (IE) is required to contain a  
          statement that the IE was not authorized by a candidate or  
          committee controlled by a candidate, that the statement identify  
          the name of the IE committee that purchased the advertisement.   
          In the case of an IE that is a printed advertisement, the  
          statement would be required to be in boldface type, be  
          prominently displayed, and be in a specified format.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable costs to the Fair Political Practices  
          Commission (FPPC) and potential minor nonreimbursable costs to  
          local prosecutors for enforcement, offset to some extent by  
          revenues from fines or civil penalties.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  According to the author, "This bill expands upon  
            existing disclosure requirements to better inform voters  
            through the disclosure statements on campaign communications  
            about who is funding the campaign advertisement. It is needed  
            in light of the growing use of independent expenditures and  
            the common, though erroneous, belief that independent  
            expenditures are approved by the candidate. It is particularly  
            troublesome when independent expenditures promote a candidate  
            by ascribing to that candidate views actually at variance with  
            his/her beliefs; or create the false impression that negative  
            ads were approved by a particular candidate. Full disclosure  
            allows voters to make informed decisions before casting their  








                                                                  AB 1322
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            ballots."

           2)Prior Legislation  :  AB 404 (Ruskin)/Chapter 495 of 2007,  
            requires an advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate  
            that is paid for by an IE to include a statement that the  
            expenditure was not authorized by a candidate or a committee  
            controlled by a candidate.
           
          3)The PRA  , passed by the voters in 1974, created the FPPC and  
            codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on  
            candidates, officeholders and lobbyists.  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.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081