BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1043
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 18, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                SB 1043 (Torres) - As Introduced:  February 18, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill provides that a person found guilty of fraud within  
          the context of circulating or filing an in-lieu-filing fee  
          petition or a political party qualification petition is subject  
          to the same penalties as a person found guilty of other means of  
          petition fraud.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Nonreimbursable costs to local governments for enforcement,  
          offset to some extent by fine revenues. (Consistent with current  
          law governing petition fraud, violations are generally  
          punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 and/or by imprisonment  
          for 16 months, two or three years. It is expected that any  
          convictions generally would not result in imprisonment.)

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . This bill is sponsored by the Secretary of State  
            (SOS), who states "Petition fraud is a felony and the law  
            sets specific penalties for people convicted of  
            committing fraud involving nomination papers,  
            declarations of candidacy, initiatives, referenda, and  
            recall petitions.  However, in-lieu filing fee petitions  
            and political party qualification petitions are not  
            specifically mentioned in the penalty provisions of the  
            code, meaning people who commit fraud involving these  
            petitions could go unpunished.

            "This lack of clarity has impacted recent Secretary of State  
            investigations.  Though the evidence in two cases indicated a  
            person had committed petition fraud, convictions using these  








                                                                  SB 1043
                                                                  Page  2

            penalty provisions could not be obtained because the law does  
            not specifically address the kind of petition in question."

            This bill closes the loophole in current law described by the  
            Secretary.

           2)Background  . Candidates for state and federal offices, when  
            filing their declarations of candidacy with the SOS, are  
            required to pay a filing fee, which varies based on the  
            specific state or federal office. In lieu of paying the fee,  
            candidates may submit a petition containing signatures of  
            registered voters, with the number of required signature again  
            depending on the specific office.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081