BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1146
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1146 (Norby)
As Amended April 25, 2011
2/3 vote
ELECTIONS 6-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Logue, Bonilla, | | |
| |Hall, Gatto, Valadao | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Increases the threshold at which contributions and
expenditures are required to be disclosed on campaign reports.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases, from $100 to $200, the threshold at which
political candidates or committees are required to itemize the
following items on campaign statements:
a) Independent expenditures;
b) Campaign contributions;
c) Campaign expenditures; and,
d) In-kind contributions.
2)Increases the limit, from $100 to $200, on anonymous
contributions permitted to a candidate, committee, or any
other person.
3)Makes findings and declarations regarding anonymous
contributions.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative
Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1146 seeks to amend the
Political Reform Act of 1974 to raise the minimum campaign
contribution and expenditure reporting threshold from $100 to
$200 conforming it to federal election law. The current state
AB 1146
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threshold of $100 was established more than 30 years ago. By
2010 estimates, $100 indexed to reflect inflation is
approximately $440. AB 1146 is a common-sense measure which
eliminates confusion and will garner greater participation by
small donors in future elections."
California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974,
which created the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and
codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. That initiative is
commonly known as the Political Reform Act (PRA). The PRA,
among other things, requires detailed disclosure of
contributions and expenditures in connection with campaigns
supporting or opposing state and local candidates and ballot
measures. The original limit for disclosure of contributions
and expenditures in the PRA was $50; however, subsequent
legislation increased the threshold to the current $100 limit.
Amendments to the PRA that are not submitted to the voters, such
as those contained in this bill, must further the purposes of
the initiative and require a two-thirds vote of both houses of
the Legislature.
Federal election law requires campaign reports for political
committees of federal election campaigns to disclose detailed
information for contributions and expenditures of $200 or more.
This federal limit is higher than the state's current $100
reporting threshold. The author argues that this bill will
conform state law to federal law. However, it is not uncommon
for state law to differ from federal law, especially in
elections policy.
Disclosure in campaign finance activity is consistent with the
widely held belief that government transparency is essential for
public accountability. Knowing who gave how much to a political
campaign is viewed as a means of deterring potentially
corrupting practices. With the passage of the PRA, California
voters embraced the notion that receipts and expenditures in
election campaigns should be fully and truthfully disclosed in
order that the voters may be fully informed and improper
activities may be inhibited. This bill proposes to increase the
reporting threshold on specific campaign finance activity, which
will limit the amount of information available to the public.
Because contributions of $100 or more need to be reported with
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specific detailed information about the contributor, some
individual donors have been hesitant to donate higher amounts of
money for fear of their information being made public and
possible retaliation due to their public support or opposition
to a candidate or measure. This bill will allow individual
donors to contribute higher amounts of money to political
campaigns without having to disclose personal information.
In support of this bill, the California Political Treasurers
Association notes that, "raising the reporting threshold for
contribution�s] and expenditures from $100 to over $200 would
not only simplify the reporting process for all concerned, it
would also afford many grass-roots operations the peace of mind
that their Treasurers are not overwhelmed with small contributor
processing."
In opposition to this bill, the Secretary of State (SOS), argues
that if this bill were enacted it will be "more difficult to
determine who is contributing to political campaigns and how
those contributions may affect a particular political or
governmental issue." The SOS continues that this bill
represents "a step backwards" from the standard that California
voters approved with the passage of the PRA.
For a full discussion of this bill, please see the policy
committee analysis.
Analysis Prepared By : Maria Garcia / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0000448