BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: AB 2691 HEARING DATE: 6/19/12
AUTHOR: ASSEMBLY E&R COMM. ANALYSIS BY: D. CHESIN
AMENDED: AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL: NO
SUBJECT
Political Reform Act of 1974: online and electronic filing
DESCRIPTION
Existing law requires all candidates and committees that
are required to file campaign reports in connection with a
state elective office or state measure to file those
reports online or electronically if the cumulative amount
of contributions received, expenditures made, loans made,
or loans received is $25,000 or more.
Existing law requires slate mailer organizations to file
campaign reports online or electronically if the cumulative
reportable payments received or made for the purposes of
producing slate mailers is $25,000 or more.
Existing law requires lobbyists, lobbying firms, lobbyist
employers, and other persons required to file periodic
lobbying disclosure reports to file such reports online or
electronically if the total amount of any category of
reportable payments, expenses, contributions, gifts, or
other items is $2,500 or more in a calendar quarter.
This bill repeals obsolete provisions of the Political
Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) related to the online or
electronic disclosure of campaign and lobbying information.
Specifically, this bill:
Repeals an obsolete provision of the PRA that requires
the Secretary of State (SOS) to implement an online or
electronic disclosure program in connection with the 2000
state primary election and specified lobbying activities.
Repeals an obsolete provision of the PRA that required
all candidates and ballot measure committees that were
required to file campaign disclosure reports in
connection with a statewide elective office or a state
measure appearing on the November, 1998 ballot to provide
a copy of any required report on a computer disk in
either an ASCII or PDF format.
Repeals an obsolete provision of the PRA that
appropriated $1.1 million in 1997 from the General Fund
to the SOS for the purposes of developing an online and
electronic disclosure system.
Makes corresponding changes.
BACKGROUND
Electronic Campaign Disclosure : SB 49 (Karnette), Chapter
866, Statutes of 1997, enacted the Online Disclosure Act,
requiring the SOS to develop a process whereby campaign and
lobbying reports and statements required to be filed
pursuant to the PRA could be filed online or electronically
and viewed by the public online. Among other provisions,
SB 49 established specific electronic reporting
requirements for the November, 1998 and March, 2000
statewide elections, and established specific electronic
reporting requirements for lobbyists, lobbying firms, and
lobbyist employers for part of the 2000 calendar year.
Because those provisions were effective only for specific
time periods, those provisions of the PRA are now obsolete;
the ongoing requirements for campaign and lobbying reports
to be filed electronically are located elsewhere in the
PRA.
Additionally, SB 49 added a provision to the PRA that
appropriated $1.1 million for the development of the online
and electronic disclosure system. Because the online and
electronic disclosure system has already been built and
this money has been spent, this provision of law is also
obsolete.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author , this is one of the Assembly
Elections & Redistricting Committee's annual omnibus
bills, containing various minor and technical changes to
AB 2691 (E&R COMM.)
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the Political Reform Act (PRA). This bill repeals
obsolete provisions of the PRA. Additionally, this bill
makes corresponding changes by deleting cross references
to one of those obsolete sections in another section of
the PRA.
PRIOR ACTION
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee: 7-0
Assembly Floor: 73-0
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Fair Political Practices Commission
Oppose: None received
AB 2691 (E&R COMM.)
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