BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Lou Correa, Chair
BILL NO: SB 334 HEARING DATE:
5/3/11
AUTHOR: DeSAULNIER ANALYSIS BY:
Darren Chesin
AMENDED: 4/26/11
FISCAL: YES
SUBJECT
Statewide ballot pamphlet: measures: contributor disclosure
DESCRIPTION
Existing law specifies what information must be included in
the statewide ballot pamphlet, including, but not limited
to:
A complete copy of each measure.
A copy of the arguments and rebuttals for and against
each state measure.
A copy of the analysis of each state measure by the
Legislative Analyst.
Tables of contents, indexes, art work, graphics, and
other materials that the Secretary of State (SOS)
determines will make the ballot pamphlet easier to
understand or more useful for the average voter.
This bill additionally requires the state ballot pamphlet
to contain information about the largest contributors in
support of, and in opposition to, each ballot measure that
will appear on the ballot. Specifically, this bill:
Requires the state ballot pamphlet to include,
immediately below the analysis of a state ballot
measure prepared by the Legislative Analyst, a list of
the five highest contributors of $50,000 or more to
each primarily formed committee supporting the measure
and the total amount of each of their contributions.
Requires the list to be followed by a statement that
the list reflects only the highest contributors of
$50,000 or more as of 110 days before Election Day (or
a later date in the case of certain special elections).
Provides that if a contributor is a committee
controlled by a candidate, the name of the candidate
shall be listed.
Provides that if a contributor is a sponsored
committee, the name of the sponsor shall be listed.
Requires the following statement to also appear in
the state ballot pamphlet: "To learn who contributed to
committees supporting or opposing each state measure,
access the Secretary of State's Internet Web site at
�Internet Web site address]."
Contains technical and conforming changes.
BACKGROUND
All Measures? All Contributions ? This bill would require
disclosure in the statewide ballot pamphlet of the top five
contributors to each primarily formed committee supporting
and opposing each state ballot measure. These measures
include both initiative measures placed on the ballot
through voter petitions as well as measures placed on the
ballot by the Legislature. The 110 day cut-off period
accommodates the schedule by which the statewide ballot
pamphlet must be finalized prior to printing. Since the
expenses associated with qualifying a statewide initiative
usually exceed $1 million, the ballot pamphlet would
disclose, among others, those entities responsible for
funding the qualification effort.
What is a Primarily Formed Committee ? A primarily formed
committee means a committee which is formed or exists
primarily to support or oppose any of the following:
A single candidate.
A single measure.
A group of specific candidates being voted upon in the
same city, county, or multicounty election.
Two or more measures being voted upon in the same city,
county, multicounty, or state election.
What are Controlled and Sponsored Committees ? A candidate
or state measure proponent controls a committee if he or
she, his or her agent, or any other committee he or she
controls has a significant influence on the actions or
decisions of the committee. Any entity, except a candidate
or other individual, may be the sponsor of a committee. An
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entity sponsors a committee if any of the following apply:
The committee receives 80 percent or more of its
contributions from the entity or its members, officers,
employees, or shareholders.
The entity collects contributions for the committee by
use of payroll deductions of dues from its members,
officers, or employees.
The entity, alone or in combination with other
organizations, provides all or nearly all of the
administrative services for the committee.
The entity, alone or in combination with other
organizations, sets the policies for soliciting
contributions or making expenditures of committee funds.
COMMENTS
1. According to the author , SB 334 requires the Secretary
of State (SOS) to add a list of the five highest
contributors (as of 110 days prior to Election Day)
supporting each ballot measure in the ballot pamphlet.
In recent years, observers noted that interests have
increasingly turned to California's initiative system to
amend the California Constitution or state statutes to
benefit themselves. Because SB 334 requires information
to be gathered and disclosed as of 110 days before
Election Day, the bill will help voters determine the
interests behind the qualification efforts of ballot
measures.
2. Prior Legislation . This bill is similar to AB 65
(Gatto) which was recently approved by the Assembly.
This bill is also identical to SB 1202 (DeSaulnier) of
2010 which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In
his veto message the Governor stated, in part:
"I have consistently advocated for transparency in
campaign contributions and signed legislation that
furthers that goal. This bill would instead create
confusion for voters and encourage late contributions.
Large donors could avoid being included on the list by
limiting contributions until the deadline had passed.
This would undermine the intent of this bill and could
instead mislead voters as to the identity of the major
contributors."
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This bill is also similar in the intent to AB 680
(Mazzoni) of 1995, which was eventually gutted and used
for a different purpose and SB 734 (Roberti) of 1991
which failed passage in the Assembly Elections,
Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments Committee.
3. Will Information Be Timely and Accurate ? Because the
SOS can begin sending the state ballot pamphlet out to
voters on the 40th day before an election, and due to
the large amount of lead-time necessary to produce the
state ballot pamphlet and to have that pamphlet on
public display prior to final production, this bill
would include information about contributors to
primarily formed committees supporting state ballot
measures only as of 110 days prior to the election.
While the 110-day cutoff period accommodates the schedule
by which the state ballot pamphlet must be finalized
prior to printing, it also means that most, if not all
spending intended to influence voters after a measure
has qualified for the ballot will not be disclosed in
the state ballot pamphlet. As a result, the information
contained in the ballot pamphlet could be outdated, or
could give voters a misleading picture of the true
supporters of a state ballot measure.
On the other hand, because the expenses associated with
qualifying a statewide initiative for the ballot usually
exceed $1 million, this bill could result in voters
being given greater information in the state ballot
pamphlet about those entities responsible for funding
the effort to qualify a measure for the ballot.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support: Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
California State PTA
Secretary of State
Oppose: California Taxpayers Association
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
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