BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 844
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 844 (Pavley)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
ELECTIONS 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Fong, Donnelly, Bonta, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Hall Perea, Rodriguez | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to create an
Internet Web site, or use other available technology, to
consolidate information about each state ballot measure in a
manner that is easy for voters to access and understand, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the online version of the state ballot pamphlet to
contain all of the following:
a) For each candidate listed in the pamphlet, a means to
access campaign contribution disclosure reports for the
candidate that are available online; and,
b) For each state ballot measure listed in the pamphlet, a
means to access the consolidated information, described
below.
2)Requires the SOS to create an Internet Web site, or use other
available technology, to consolidate information about each
ballot measure in a manner that is easy for voters to access
and understand. Requires the information to include all of
the following:
SB 844
Page 2
a) A summary of the ballot measure's content.
b) The total amount of reported contributions made in
support of and opposition to a ballot measure calculated
and updated as specified.
c) A current list of the top 10 contributors supporting and
opposing a ballot measure, if compiled by the Fair
Political Practices Commission (FPPC) pursuant to current
law.
d) A list of each committee primarily formed to support or
oppose the ballot measure, as described by current law, and
a means to access the sources of funding reported for each
committee.
3)Requires information about the sources of contributions to be
updated as new information becomes available to the public
pursuant the Political Reform Act (PRA).
4)Requires the SOS, if a committee primarily formed to support
or oppose a ballot measure receives $1 million or more in
contributions for an election, to provide a means to access
online information about the committee's top 10 contributors
reported to the FPPC as required by existing law.
5)Requires the FPPC to automatically provide any list of the top
10 contributors created pursuant to existing law, and any
subsequent updates to that list, to the SOS.
6)Requires the ballot pamphlet, for each state measure to be
voted upon, to contain, immediately below the analysis
prepared by the Legislative Analyst's Office, a printed
statement that refers voters to the SOS's Internet Web site
for a list of committees primarily formed to support or oppose
a ballot measure, and information on how to access the
committee's top 10 contributors.
7)Contains double-jointing language to avoid chaptering problems
with SB 1253 (Steinberg) of the current legislative session.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, ongoing General Fund (GF) costs of $130,000 to the
SOS for one full-time and one part-time position to regularly
SB 844
Page 3
compile reported contributions and top 10 contributors for each
ballot measure, plus one-time GF costs of $50,000 to develop
regulations if required.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Surveys conducted by the
Public Policy Institute of California have consistently found
that more than 80 percent of likely voters support requiring
funding disclosure of donations towards ballot initiatives.
According to MapLight, a nonprofit elections research
organization, in order to find out campaign finance information
for Proposition 30 (2012), it took 460 mouse clicks to compile a
complete list of contributors for and against the ballot
initiative.
"The average voter does not have the time, nor the expertise to
parse through each individual committee to figure out who the
top cumulative contributors are for or against each proposition.
Without easy-to-access and easy-to-use tools that can identify
the top contributors to campaigns for and against ballot
initiatives, voters will have a more difficult time making an
informed decision about state policy? SB 844 would provide
voters with the identities of large financial contributors who
pump millions of dollars into campaigns to pass or defeat state
ballot initiatives. This information is crucial to ensuring that
voters make informed decisions at the ballot box."
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed SB 27 (Correa), Chapter 16, Statutes of 2014, which,
among other things, requires a committee primarily formed to
support or oppose a state ballot measure or state candidate,
that raises $1 million or more for an election, to maintain an
accurate list of the committee's top 10 contributors, as
specified by the FPPC. In addition, SB 27 requires the current
list of the top 10 contributors to be disclosed on the FPPC's
Internet Web site and requires the FPPC to update the top 10
contributor lists. SB 27 requires the FPPC to provide the top
10 contributor lists to the SOS, upon request of the SOS, for
the purpose of posting the contributor lists on the SOS's
Internet Web site. This bill incorporates similar provisions
contained in SB 27.
California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974
that created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and
prohibitions on candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. That
SB 844
Page 4
initiative is commonly known as the PRA. Amendments to the PRA
that are not submitted to the voters, such as those contained in
this bill, must further the purposes of the proposition and
require a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094
FN:
0004803