BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 65
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 65 (Gatto) - As Amended: March 22, 2011
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to require the
state ballot pamphlet to contain information about the largest
contributors supporting and opposing each ballot measure
appearing on the ballot. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the state ballot pamphlet, immediately below the
analysis of a state ballot measure prepared by the Legislative
Analyst, to include:
a) A list of the five highest contributors of $50,000 or
more to each committee supporting the measure,
b) A list of the five highest contributors of $50,000 or
more to each committee opposing the measure.
c) The total amount of each of the above contributions as
of 110 days before the election.
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
Potential 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 (SOS's) office formats the Voter
Information Guide in 16-page increments, thus there is often
AB 65
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blank space available for additional information, such as that
required by AB 65.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, "With more groups opting to
bypass the legislative process and use initiatives to shape
public policy, it becomes more important to provide the
decision makers, voters, with the most information possible?
Unfortunately �with the initiative process], ?�v]oters are
asked to make decisions at the ballot without the benefit of
the openness provided by the deliberative, legislative
process? This sunshine measure seeks to make the electorate
better informed as they consider ballot propositions, by
allowing them to "follow the money" and see what interests are
driving the electoral process."
2)Prior Legislation . SB 1202 (DeSaulnier) of 2010, which
required a similar listing, but only for the five largest
contributors supporting an initiative, was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, who argued that the bill would "create
confusion for voters and encourage late contributions" and
would create cost pressure at the SOS's Office.
3)Related Legislation . SB 334 (DeSaulnier), pending in Senate
Elections, is substantially similar to SB 1202.
4)The PRA , passed by the voters in 1974, created the Fair
Political Practices Commission and codified significant
restrictions and prohibitions on candidates, officeholders,
and lobbyists. Amendments to the PRA that are not submitted
to the voters must further the purposes of the initiative and
require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature,
unless the amendments, such as those proposed in this bill,
are to add information to the ballot pamphlet, whereby only a
majority vote is required.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081