BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 65 HEARING DATE:
6/7/11
AUTHOR: GATTO ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 3/22/11
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Statewide ballot pamphlet: ballot measures: contributors
DESCRIPTION
Existing law specifies what information must be included in
the statewide ballot pamphlet, including, but not limited
to:
A complete copy of each measure.
A copy of the arguments and rebuttals for and against
each state measure.
A copy of the analysis of each state measure by the
Legislative Analyst.
Tables of contents, indexes, art work, graphics, and
other materials that the Secretary of State (SOS)
determines will make the ballot pamphlet easier to
understand or more useful for the average voter.
This bill requires the state ballot pamphlet to contain
information about the largest contributors supporting and
opposing each state measure that will appear on the ballot.
Specifically, this bill requires the state ballot
pamphlet, immediately below the analysis of a state ballot
measure prepared by the Legislative Analyst, to include:
A list of the five highest contributors of $50,000 or
more to each primarily formed committee supporting the
measure;
A list of the five highest contributors of $50,000 or
more to each primarily formed committee opposing the
measure; and,
The total amount of each of the above contributions
as of 110 days before the election.
This bill also requires the lists to be followed by a
statement that they only reflect the highest contributors
of $50,000 or more as of 110 days before Election Day. If
a contributor is a committee controlled by a candidate, the
name of the candidate must be listed and a contributor is a
sponsored committee, the name of the sponsor must be
listed.
BACKGROUND
All Measures? All Contributions ? This bill would require
disclosure in the statewide ballot pamphlet of the top five
contributors to each primarily formed committee supporting
each state ballot measure. These measures include both
initiative measures placed on the ballot through voter
petitions as well as measures placed on the ballot by the
Legislature. The 110 day cut-off period accommodates the
schedule by which the statewide ballot pamphlet must be
finalized prior to printing. Since the expenses associated
with qualifying a statewide initiative usually exceed $1
million, the ballot pamphlet would disclose, among others,
those entities responsible for funding the qualification
effort.
What is a Primarily Formed Committee ? A primarily formed
committee means a committee which is formed or exists
primarily to support or oppose any of the following:
A single candidate.
A single measure.
A group of specific candidates being voted upon in the
same city, county, or multicounty election.
Two or more measures being voted upon in the same city,
county, multicounty, or state election.
What are Controlled and Sponsored Committees ? A candidate
or state measure proponent controls a committee if he or
she, his or her agent, or any other committee he or she
controls has a significant influence on the actions or
decisions of the committee. Any entity, except a candidate
or other individual, may be the sponsor of a committee. An
entity sponsors a committee if any of the following apply:
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The committee receives 80 percent or more of its
contributions from the entity or its members, officers,
employees, or shareholders.
The entity collects contributions for the committee by
use of payroll deductions of dues from its members,
officers, or employees.
The entity, alone or in combination with other
organizations, provides all or nearly all of the
administrative services for the committee.
The entity, alone or in combination with other
organizations, sets the policies for soliciting
contributions or making expenditures of committee funds.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , AB 65 seeks to help create
this better informed citizenry by giving voters more
information when considering initiatives on the ballot.
The measure would require the Secretary of State to
include in the statewide ballot pamphlet a list of the 5
highest contributors of $50,000 or more to each
primarily formed committee supporting and opposing each
state measure, as well as the total amount of their
contributions, as of 110 days before Election Day.
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.
When a measure goes through the legislative process, there
is disclosure at nearly every place in the process, be
it lobbyists who state what group or groups they are
testifying on behalf of, or letters on the record from
groups who are trying to influence the legislative
process. It becomes clear to legislators where the real
support for measures facing them is coming from. This
knowledge leads to better informed decisions on votes.
Unfortunately, the level of openness and transparency does
not exist with initiatives. Voters are asked to make
decisions at the ballot without the benefit of the
openness provided by the deliberative, legislative
process. This lack of transparency allows interests to
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spend sometimes millions of dollars to influence voters,
often without the voters realizing who the groups are
that seeks to convince them to vote for, or against, a
certain initiative measure.
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. Voters
deserve to know whether a ballot initiative is being
funded by out-of-state interests or anyone else who
donates millions to affect the laws we live by. This
ballot measure will result in a better-informed
citizenry.
2. Related Legislation . SB 334 (DeSaulnier) which is
substantially similar to this bill is
pending in the Assembly Committee on Elections and
Redistricting.
3. Prior Legislation . This bill is similar to SB 1202
(DeSaulnier) of 2010 which was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. In his veto message the Governor
stated, in part:
"I have consistently advocated for transparency in
campaign contributions and signed legislation that
furthers that goal. This bill would instead create
confusion for voters and encourage late contributions.
Large donors could avoid being included on the list by
limiting contributions until the deadline had passed.
This would undermine the intent of this bill and could
instead mislead voters as to the identity of the major
contributors."
This bill is also similar in the intent to AB 680
(Mazzoni) of 1995, which was eventually gutted and used
for a different purpose and SB 734 (Roberti) of 1991
which failed passage in the Assembly Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee.
4. Will Information Be Timely and Accurate ? Because the
SOS can begin sending the state ballot pamphlet out to
voters on the 40th day before an election, and due to
the large amount of lead-time necessary to produce the
state ballot pamphlet and to have that pamphlet on
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public display prior to final production, this bill
would include information about contributors to
primarily formed committees supporting state ballot
measures only as of 110 days prior to the election.
While the 110-day cutoff period accommodates the schedule
by which the state ballot pamphlet must be finalized
prior to printing, it also means that most, if not all
spending intended to influence voters after a measure
has qualified for the ballot will not be disclosed in
the state ballot pamphlet. As a result, the information
contained in the ballot pamphlet could be outdated, or
could give voters a misleading picture of the true
supporters of a state ballot measure.
On the other hand, because the expenses associated with
qualifying a statewide initiative for the ballot usually
exceed $1 million, this bill could result in voters
being given greater information in the state ballot
pamphlet about those entities responsible for funding
the effort to qualify a measure for the ballot.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 5-1
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 11-5
Assembly Floor: 51-24
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
California Common Cause
Fair Political Practices Commission
Oppose: None received
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