BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 182 HEARING
DATE: 6/21/11
AUTHOR: DAVIS ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 3/22/11
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Political Reform Act: Statements of Economic Interest
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires that candidates for, and current
holders of, specified elected or appointed state and local
offices and designated employees of state and local
agencies file Statements of Economic Interests (SEIs)
disclosing their financial interests, including
investments, real property interests, and income.
Existing law provides for a pilot project which permits Los
Angeles, Merced, Orange, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, and
Ventura counties and the City of Long Beach to permit the
electronic filing of an SEI in accordance with regulations
adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).
The pilot project began on January 1, 2009 and will end on
January 1, 2012.
This bill permits participants in the aforementioned pilot
project to continue to receive electronic filings of SEIs
during the 2012 calendar year while the Legislature reviews
the results of the pilot project.
This bill also contains various findings and declarations
and makes specified technical changes.
BACKGROUND
Statements of Economic Interests . As part of the Political
Reform Act's (PRA) comprehensive scheme to prevent
conflicts of interest by state and local public officials,
existing law identifies certain elected and other
high-level state and local officials who must file SEIs.
Similarly, candidates for those positions must also file
SEIs. Other state and local public officials and employees
are required to file SEIs if the position they hold is
designated in an agency's conflict of interest code. A
position is designated in an agency's conflict of interest
code when the position entails the making or participation
in the making of governmental decisions that may
foreseeably have a material financial effect on the
decision maker's financial interests. While the exact
number of people that are required to file SEIs is unknown,
the FPPC has estimated that the number exceeds 200,000
officials and employees statewide.
The information that must be disclosed on an SEI, and the
location at which an SEI is filed, varies depending on the
position held by the individual who is required to file an
SEI. Although there are some exceptions, individuals who
are required to file an SEI typically must file that
document with the agency of which they are an elected
official or by which they are employed. In some cases,
original SEIs or copies thereof are filed with the FPPC.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , California voters passed an
initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974 that created the FPPC
which requires candidates, current office holders and
designated employees of state and local agencies to file
SEIs disclosing their financial interests. Assembly
Bill 2607 (Davis) provided Los Angeles, Orange, Merced
and Stanislaus Counties with the ability to participate
in a pilot program to provide constituents with the
option of filing their Form 700 SEI using a secure
electronic template. The program provides a safe,
cost-effective and workload-reducing option for the
filer to utilize to fulfill their annual filing
obligation. Assembly Bill 1921 (2010) added Santa Clara
and Ventura Counties, as well as the City of Long Beach,
to the existing pilot project. This bill would extend
the sunset date for the pilot program from January 1,
2012 to December 31, 2012 while the Legislature reviews
the results of the pilot project.
AB 182 (DAVIS) Page
2
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Floor: 74-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: California Association of Clerks and Election
Officials
Support: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
City of Long Beach
Fair Political Practices Commission
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties Caucus
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Oppose: None received
AB 182 (DAVIS) Page
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