BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1509 HEARING DATE: 6/19/12
AUTHOR: HAYASHI ANALYSIS BY: D. CHESIN
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Political Reform Act: statement of economic interests
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires specified candidates, officeholders,
state and local officials, and designated employees of
state and local agencies to file periodic statements of
economic interests (SEIs or Form 700s) which publicly
disclose their financial interests, including investments,
real property interests, and income (including gifts).
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
December 31, 2012.
This bill provides that each city clerk or county clerk who
maintains an Internet
Web site shall post on that Internet Web site a
notification that includes all of the following:
A list of the specified elected officers who file SEIs
with that city clerk or county.
A statement that copies of the SEIs filed by those
elected officers may be obtained by visiting the offices
of the FPPC or the relevant city clerk or county clerk,
including the physical addresses for those offices.
A link to the FPPC's Internet Web site and a statement
that SEIs for some state and local government agency
elected officers may be available in an electronic
format on the FPPC's Internet Web site.
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 , it can be difficult for
interested parties to review or obtain a copy of a local
elected official's Form 700. In an effort to increase
public awareness and access to Form 700s, AB 1509 will
require certain notifications to be posted on the
websites of city or county clerks.
2. Just Names, No SEIs . This measure requires that
Internet Web sites maintained by a city clerk, or county
clerk, identify which elected officers are required to
AB 1509 (HAYASHI) Page
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file SEIs in their respective jurisdictions but does not
require the actual SEI to be made available
electronically.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 6-0
Assembly Local Government Committee: 9-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 17-0
Assembly Floor: 75-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Fair Political Practices Commission
League of Women Voters of California
Oppose: None received
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