BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1148
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Date of Hearing: January 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1148 (Brownley) - As Amended: January 18, 2012
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) by making
several changes to the disclosures required in campaign
advertisements and slate mailers. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, in general, that advertisements supporting or
opposing a candidate or ballot measure via radio, television,
or print or mass mailing, identify the top three funders of
the advertisement, based on "cumulative contributions," as
defined, by means detailed in the bill for each respective
medium.
2)Provides that the disclosures in (1) are not required if an
advertisement is authorized by a candidate, or agent of the
candidate, and includes, for radio and television
advertisements, a statement in which the candidate has
approved the message. This exemption would not apply in the
case of independent expenditures, except for those made by
candidate-controlled ballot measure committees.
3)Requires a committee paying for an advertisement requiring
disclosure per (1) to disclose its top funders on the
committee's website in a manner specified.
4)Requires a slate mailer to designate an asterisk next to a
candidate or a ballot measure for which payment has been made
for inclusion on the slate mailer.
5)Repeals existing, conflicting disclosure requirements for
campaign advertisements.
FISCAL EFFECT
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The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) will incur annual
GF costs of around $200,000, for the equivalent of two
positions, associated with the initial writing new regulations
and re-writing campaign materials and increased ongoing costs to
provide advice and for investigation and enforcement. The
commission could also incur significant costs for litigation
related to the constitutionality of some of the bills provision.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The author notes the use of unlimited contributions
to candidates through independent expenditure committees and
to ballot measure committees, many of which are purposely
established to hide who is funding campaign messages. A recent
Field Poll found that Californians believe reforms can be made
to weaken the influence special interests have asserted over
the initiative system. This poll found that 84% of voters
believe public disclosure requirements of initiative sponsors
must more clearly identify who are its major funders.
The author argues, "At a time when public confidence in its
elected officials is unequivocally low, strengthening
disclosure requirements on political advertisements is
necessary to help Californians be better informed and feel
more represented by their government."
This bill is sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign,
which argues that disclosure of political advertising is
needed now more than ever, particularly in light of the
Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, which the campaign
claims "unleashed the floodgates of anonymous spending on
campaigns by ruling there could be no limits on outside
spending by corporations, unions, or individuals. At the same
time, the Court in Citizens United specifically noted the
problems that result when groups run ads 'while hiding behind
dubious and misleading names'."
2)Constitutional Issues . The analysis of this bill by the
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee includes a
thorough discussion of this measure's potential to violate
constitutional free speech guarantees, concluding, in light of
case law, that "this bill could be susceptible to challenge on
the grounds that it violates the First Amendment's rights to
AB 1148
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freedom of speech and freedom of expression by compelling a
person to include speech in an advertisement that he or she
may otherwise choose to omit."
3)Opposition . The California Broadcasters Association argues
that the bill will add time to disclosure requirements, thus
discouraging consultants from using the medium.
4)Political Reform Act : In 1974, California voters passed
Proposition 9, commonly known as the PRA, which created the
FPPC and codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders and lobbyists. 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081