BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1007|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1007
Author: Hancock (D), et al
Amended: 6/24/10
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS, REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM : 5-0, 4/6/10
AYES: Hancock, Denham, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 33-0, 4/22/10 (Consent)
AYES: Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett,
Correa, Denham, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez,
Hancock, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla,
Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Cogdill, Cox, Harman, Runner,
Wiggins, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 8/16/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act: CalPERS and CalSTRS
boards
SOURCE : State Controller John Chiang
DIGEST : This bill requires candidates for election to
the Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the
State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) boards to file
CONTINUED
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campaign reports in generally the same manner and frequency
as other candidates for state office and extend existing
campaign contribution limits to them as well. Committees
formed or existing primarily to support or oppose those
candidates would also be similarly affected. This bill
also gives the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
the authority to adopt regulations to tailor these
reporting requirements for those candidates and committees
consistent with the purposes and provisions of the
Political Reform Act (PRA).
Assembly Amendments make a technical change to the bill in
order that this bill does not chapter out AB 1181 (Huber),
Chapter 18, Statutes of 2010, and add Assembly Member Gatto
as a co-author.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, pursuant to PRA, requires
candidates for elective state and local office and
committees formed or existing primarily to support or
oppose those candidates to file periodic reports disclosing
contributions and expenditures made in connection with
those campaigns. These reports are required to be filed on
a semi-annual basis and more frequently as the date of an
election nears. Contributions of $5,000 or more must be
reported within 10 business days on an ongoing basis and
contributions of $1,000 or more must be reported within 24
hours during the period immediately prior to an election
but following the last regular reporting date. Candidates
and committees must also file initial statements of
organization. Upon termination of a candidate or other
type of committee an additional report must be filed
disclosing, among other things, the disposition of any
surplus funds. State candidates and committees who raise
or expend funds in excess of specified thresholds must also
file their reports online.
Existing law places specified limits on the amount of
individual contributions that candidates for state office
and certain committees may accept.
Existing law specifies the composition of the Board of
Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System
which administers CalPERS and the Teachers' Retirement
Board which administers CalSTRS.
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Existing law requires that designated seats on the CalPERS
and CalSTRS boards be filled by election. Candidates for
election to the CalPERS board are currently required to
file campaign reports only during the period preceding the
campaign and once more afterwards. Candidates for election
to the CalSTRS board do not currently have any campaign
reporting obligations.
Candidate and Campaign Committee Finances . According to
campaign reports, candidates for election to the CalPERS
board and committees formed to support them raised a total
of $480,710 in 2009 and $318,977 in 2007. Candidates for
election to the CalSTRS board and affiliated committees are
not required to file campaign reports but according to
CalSTRS staff, none of the current elected board members
have ever received any campaign contributions.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/22/10)
State Controller John Chiang (source)
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
California State Employees Association
California Taxpayers' Association
California Teachers Association
CalPERS Board of Administration
CALPIRG
Fair Political Practices Commission
Service Employees International Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the State Controller,
the decline of the PERS and STRS portfolios and recent
scrutiny of placement agents have raised serious questions
about the vulnerability of PERS and STRS board members to
undue influence over the investment of public funds. Press
reports highlight the fact that campaign report filings for
one former PERS board member were last made in 2006 and
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there is no public record of the disposition of those
funds. State law requires candidates for the PERS board to
file campaign reports during a campaign and once shortly
afterwards. After that last filing, no public report is
required unless the candidate reactivates the account for
another campaign. If a candidate does not run again, the
final disposition of funds remaining after a campaign is
not publicly accounted for. With STRS, there is no
campaign report requirement at all. The reason state
pension board members are not subjected to the strict
reporting requirements for all other California candidates
is because at the time the campaign filing law was last
amended, it was believed that PERS and STRS campaigns were
so materially insignificant that no oversight was needed.
Given the cost of current campaigns and greater fiscal
responsibilities of board members, that is no longer the
case. This bill will improve public scrutiny and
confidence in the investment of hundreds of billions of
dollars in public funds.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John
A. Perez
NOES: Norby
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Blakeslee, Charles Calderon,
Davis, Knight, Vacancy
DLW:nl 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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