BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1202
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  SB 1202 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended:  June 29, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:6-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the state ballot pamphlet to contain  
          information about the largest contributors in support of each  
          ballot measure appearing on the ballot.  Specifically, this  
          bill:

          1)Requires the state ballot pamphlet to include, immediately  
            below the analysis of a state ballot measure prepared by the  
            Legislative Analyst, a list of the five highest contributors  
            of $50,000 or more to each primarily formed committee  
            supporting the measure, and the total amount of each of their  
            contributions.  

          2)Requires the list to be followed by a statement that the list  
            reflects only the highest contributors of $50,000 or more as  
            of 110 days before election day. (This timeframe accommodates  
            the Secretary of State's schedule for finalizing the pamphlet  
            prior to printing.)

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor GF costs for additional printing in the state ballot  
          pamphlet. For every additional page required due to the bill's  
          requirement, the cost would be $66,000. However, the Secretary  
          of State's office formats the Voter Information Guide in 16-page  
          increments, thus there is often blank space available for  
          additional information as required by SB 1202.  

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . According to the author, "In recent years, interests  
          have increasingly turned to California's initiative system to  








                                                                  SB 1202
                                                                  Page  2

          amend the California Constitution or state statutes to benefit  
          themselves.  While California law does require that any  
          advertisement for or against any ballot measure shall include a  
          disclosure statement identifying any person whose cumulative  
          contributions are $50,000 or more, SB 1202 will extend  
          contributor disclosure to the Voter Information Guide received  
          by each voter before election day."

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081