BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 400
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 400 (Fong)
As Amended August 11, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-24|(April 29, |SENATE: |23-12|(August 13, |
| | |2013) | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: E. & R.
SUMMARY : Requires an initiative, referendum, or recall petition
that is circulated by a paid circulator to include a statement
identifying the five largest contributors in support of the
measure, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall
petition that is circulated by a paid circulator, as defined,
who is paid by a committee to include, in 12-point type at the
top of the petition, a disclosure statement identifying the
names of the persons from whom the committee received the five
largest cumulative contributions of $10,000 or more, as
defined.
2)Provides that if more than five donors meet the disclosure
threshold at identical contribution levels, the five highest
donations shall be disclosed according to chronological
sequence.
3)Requires the disclosure statement to be updated within seven
days of any change in the five largest cumulative
contributors.
4)Requires a committee that employs one or more paid circulators
to circulate a state initiative, referendum, or recall
petition to submit the disclosure statement required by this
bill, and any updates, to the Secretary of State (SOS), and
requires the SOS to post those statements on his or her
Internet Web site.
5)Requires the petition to include the name of the committee
immediately following the disclosure statement. Requires the
committee to identify itself using a name or phrase that
clearly identifies the economic or other special interest of
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its major donors of $50,000 or more. Provides that if the
major donors to the committee share a common employer, the
identity of that employer shall be disclosed.
6)Provides that local elections officials shall not be required
to verify the accuracy of the disclosures required by this
bill, or to reapprove the petition when the petition is
updated to reflect a change in the five largest cumulative
contributors.
7)Provides that signatures collected on a petition shall not be
invalid solely because the information required by this bill
was absent or inaccurate.
The Senate amendments :
1)Provide that a person who is one of the five largest
contributors to a proposed measure is required to be listed on
the petition for that measure, pursuant to this bill, only if
the person's cumulative contributions to the committee that is
seeking to qualify the measure total $10,000 or more.
2)Provide that a requirement for the disclosure statement
required by this bill to be submitted to the SOS and posted on
the SOS's Internet Web site applies only to state initiatives,
referenda, and recalls, and not to local measures.
3)Make a technical change.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Surveys consistently have
shown that voters want improved public disclosure of the sources
that are funding signature gathering for proposed ballot
measures. In fact, the Public Policy Institute of California
has found greater than 70 percent support for increasing public
disclosure of funding sources for initiative campaigns each of
the eight times that they asked that question. AB 400 will
improve transparency about the financial backers of proposed
ballot measures by requiring initiative, referendum, and recall
petitions to include a listing of the five top donors to the
committee that is funding the petition drive."
In 2000, then-Assembly Speaker Robert M. Hertzberg created a
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commission on the California initiative process. The goal of
the commission was to examine the initiative process and
recommend changes to make the process more responsive to voter
concerns. The commission issued its final report in January
2002. Among the recommendations proposed by the commission was
a requirement that all petitions to qualify a statewide
initiative for the ballot be accompanied by a written campaign
financial disclosure, which may be printed on, attached, or
bound to the petition.
The Senate amendments to this bill established a threshold of
$10,000 in contributions before a contributor is required to be
listed on a petition, pursuant to this bill, and provided that
proponents of local measures are not required to submit their
disclosure statements to be posted on the SOS's Internet Web
site. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is consistent with
Assembly actions.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0004556