BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1442|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1442
Author: Lara (D), Corbett (D), De Le�n (D), Hill (D), Monning
(D), Roth (D), Steinberg (D), and Torres (D)
Amended: 5/12/14
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Torres, Anderson, Hancock, Jackson, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign statements
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires elected state officers, candidates
for elective state office, and committees primarily formed to
support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure to file
quarterly statements instead of the current semiannual
requirement; revises definitions relating to contributions and
expenditures; and makes related changes to the Political Reform
Act (PRA).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Requires, pursuant to the PRA, candidates, political
committees, and slate mail organizations to file specified
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periodic and activity-based campaign finance reports,
including semiannual statements, pre-election statements,
supplemental pre-election statements, and late
contribution/expenditure reports that include specified
campaign finance information.
2.Defines "late contributions" and "late independent
expenditures" to include certain contributions and independent
expenditures that are made within 90 days before the date of
the election.
This bill:
1.Requires elected state officers, candidates for elective state
office, and committees primarily formed to support or oppose a
candidate for elective state office or one or more statewide
ballot measures, to file quarterly statements each year
instead of semiannual statements. Specifically, an elected
state officer, a candidate for elective state office, or a
recipient committee that is primarily formed to support or
oppose a candidate for elective state office or one or more
statewide ballot measures will file quarterly campaign
statements each year, as follows:
A. No later than April 7 for the period commencing January
1 and ending March 31.
B. No later than July 31 for the period commencing April 1
and ending June 30.
C. No later than October 7 for the period commencing July 1
and ending September 30.
D. No later than January 31 for the period commencing
October 1 and ending December 31.
1.Requires independent expenditure committees and "major donor"
committees that are primarily formed to support or oppose a
candidate for elective state office or one or more statewide
ballot measures to file quarterly campaign statements pursuant
to the aforementioned schedule unless the committee has not
made contributions or independent expenditures during the
reporting period.
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2.Recasts or repeals other specified reporting requirements,
including supplemental pre-election statements, supplemental
independent expenditure reports, and odd-numbered year reports
in order to conform to the proposed quarterly reporting
schedule.
3.Revises the definitions of "late contributions" and "late
independent expenditures" to specify that those terms also
include contributions and independent expenditures that are
made on the date of the election.
4.Requires the Secretary of State (SOS), in consultation with
the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), to develop a
statewide Internet-based system for the electronic filing and
public display of all records filed by or for specified
entities. Requires the Internet-based system to provide both
search capabilities that are data-driven and user-friendly for
members of the public and regular availability of all filings
in a raw, machine-readable data format that may be downloaded
by members of the public.
5.Specifies that after the SOS implements the Internet-based
system, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that will provide for monthly filings of campaign
statements, instead of the quarterly filing.
Background
Filing schedules . Under existing law, candidates and committees
generally are required to file regular campaign disclosure
reports semi-annually. Candidates generally are required to
file two pre-election campaign statements for any election where
they will appear on the ballot, and certain non-candidate
committees similarly must file pre-election reports. When
candidates and committees are required to file these
pre-election reports, they generally must also file late
contribution reports, and late independent expenditure reports,
disclosing within 24 hours any contributions made or received
and independent expenditures made of $1,000 or more in the last
90 days before the election (election cycle). Candidates and
committees can also be required to file additional special
campaign reports at other times of year, based on the particular
campaign finance activity of the candidate or committee.
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Periodic and Activity-Based reports . Under the PRA, there are
two general types of reporting requirements. The first type of
report is referred to as a periodic report. Periodic reports
must be filed according to a specified time schedule for all
similarly-situated candidates and committees, regardless of the
amount of campaign activity during the period of time covered by
the report. These reports generally include all campaign
activity (contributions, loans, expenditures, etc.) that
occurred over a specified period of time. Semi-annual reports
and pre-election reports are two examples of periodic reports
that are required under the PRA.
The second type of report that the PRA requires is an
activity-based report. An activity-based report is triggered
when a candidate or committee has campaign activity that meets
or exceeds a specific dollar threshold. Election cycle 24-hour
reports for contributions of $1,000 or more and non-election
cycle 10-business day reports of contributions of $5,000 or more
are examples of activity-based reports.
Major donor committees . The PRA defines "committee" to include
recipient committees, independent expenditure committees, and
"any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly
makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year
to or at the behest of candidates or committees." These last
groups of committees are commonly referred to as "major donor"
committees since they use their own funds to make political
contributions rather than raising money from other sources.
Related Legislation
SB 1102 (Padilla, 2013) lowers the reporting threshold for
24-hour election cycle reports from $1,000 to $100; lowers the
reporting threshold for non-election cycle reports from $5,000
to $100; and, reduces the deadline for the non-election cycle
reports from 10 business days of receipt of the contribution to
five days.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
First year costs of $156,000 and annual ongoing of $146,000 to
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the Secretary of State (General Fund).
Annual costs of $147,000 to the FPPC (General Fund).
The SOS will require two personnel years for Program Technician
III positions at a cost of $156,000 in the first year and
$146,000 ongoing resulting from increased workload associated
with the more frequent filing of the reports, as well as
compliance and fine enforcement.
The FPPC indicates the need for personnel year for an Attorney
I position and one personnel year for a Political Reform
Consultant to handle new regulations, increased requests for
advice, and for the revisions of forms and campaign manuals.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/20/14)
California Forward
Common Cause
RM:e 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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