BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1118|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1118
Author: Ashburn (R)
Amended: 5/26/10
Vote: 27
SENATE ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 4/20/10
AYES: Hancock, Denham, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: contributions:
disclosure
SOURCE : Governors Office of Planning and Research
DIGEST : This bill requires the Governor or a Member of
the Legislature who receives a contribution or
contributions totaling $1,000 during a specified state
budget time period or a specified period before or after
the end of the first year or second year of a legislative
session to file online a report disclosing the contribution
or contributions within 24 hours of the time the
contribution is made or received, except that the
contribution would only be required to comply with this
provision if he/she were already required to file online or
electronically pursuant to another provision of existing
law. This bill also requires the Fair Political Practices
Commission to issue a reporting calendar by January 15 of
each year which delineates the new reporting periods.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Existing law, pursuant to the Political Reform
Act, 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. Furthermore,
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 by state candidates within
24 hours during the 90 days prior to an election. State
candidates and committees who raise or expend funds in
excess of specified thresholds must also file their reports
online.
This bill additionally requires the Governor or a member of
the Legislature who receives a contribution or contribution
totaling $1,000 to file an online report disclosing the
contribution within 24 hours of the time it is made or
received during the following periods:
1. Between the date in May that the Director of the
Department of Finance provides to the Legislature a
revised estimate of the General Fund revenues for the
current fiscal year and the ensuing fiscal year, any
proposals to reduce expenditures based on that estimate,
and any proposed adjustments to the Governor's Budget
through the date of the enactment of the Budget Bill for
the fiscal year commencing the following July 1.
2. The 15-day period before the date scheduled for the
Legislature to adjourn in joint recess during the first
calendar year of the legislative session or during the
15-day period before September 1 of the second calendar
year of the legislative session.
3. For a contribution made to the Governor, the 30-day
period following the date the Legislature adjourns each
year of the legislative session.
This bill requires the Fair Political Practices Commission
to issue a reporting calendar no later than January 15 of
each year which delineates the reporting periods required
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by this bill, and provides that a contribution that is
required to be reported within 24 hours of the receiving of
that contribution pursuant to any other provision of law,
is not required to be reported again pursuant to this bill.
Comments
According to a press release issued by the Fair Political
Practices Commission on September 16, 2009, "more than 25
percent of all fundraisers held, and more than 25 percent
of all money solicited, in Sacramento during 2009 occurred
in the final three weeks of the legislative session.
During August 24 through September 11, 86 political
fundraisers were held in the Capital City, soliciting
nearly $340,000 in campaign contributions. The busiest
days of the year were August 25 and 26, when 35 fundraising
events were held, asking for combined maximum contributions
of nearly $130,000 per contributor."
According to "Grading State Disclosure 2008," California
ranked second only to Washington among all states in a
nationwide assessment of state campaign disclosure laws and
practices conducted by the Campaign Disclosure Project, a
collaboration of the California Voter Foundation, the
Center for Governmental Studies, and the UCLA School of Law
and supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Campaign Disclosure Project evaluated, graded, and
ranked each state in four categories: campaign disclosure
laws, electronic filing programs, public access to campaign
finance data, and disclosure Web site usability.
According to the assessment, California obtained the number
one ranking in the law category through "detailed
contributor disclosure, including occupation and employer
data; last-minute contribution and independent expenditure
reporting; and strong enforcement provisions."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/20/10) (per Senate Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee
analysis)
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Governor's Office of Planning and Research (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill provides greater transparency to the public in
regards to fundraising by the Legislature and Governor
during key legislative seasons. The public has shown
increasing frustration with lawmakers over both real and
perceived influence of special interests. The goal of this
bill is to increase public confidence that lawmakers are
appropriately focused on legislative and budget priorities
rather than fundraising during critical negotiations.
Requiring immediate reporting of campaign contributions is
an important first-step in informing the public and
restoring public trust.
DLW:mw 5/27/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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