Bill Text: CA AB1217 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: electioneering and issue lobbying communications: disclosures.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-08-19 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1217 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1217-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Senate  July 08, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 29, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 22, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 03, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1217

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin
(Principal coauthor: Senator Allen)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry, Berman, Chiu, Gabriel, Cristina Garcia, Grayson, Mayes, and Ting)
(Coauthors: Senators Dodd, Hertzberg, Hill, Portantino, and Wieckowski Wieckowski, and Wiener)

February 21, 2019

An act to amend Sections 84501, 84502, 84503, 84504, 84504.1, 84504.2, 84504.3, 84504.4, 84504.5, 84504.6, 84506.5, and 84510 add Article 6 (commencing with Section 84551) to Chapter 4 of Title 9 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974. 1974, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1217, as amended, Mullin. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures. electioneering and issue lobbying communications: disclosures.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and activities. Among other things, the act requires specified disclosures in advertisements regarding the source of the advertisement. The act defines “advertisement” for these purposes to mean a general or public communication that is authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. The act also requires certain advertisements paid for by certain committees to disclose the names of the top contributors, which is defined for these purposes to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more.
This bill would require a person who qualifies as a “major political communicator,” as defined, to make specified disclosures in connection with “electioneering communications” and “issue lobbying communications.” The bill would define “electioneering communication” to mean any general or public communication that refers to one or more clearly identified candidates for elective office, but does not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of the candidate or candidates, and that is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated during a specified period before an election. It would define “issue lobbying communication” to mean any general or public communication that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of one or more clearly identified pending legislative actions, administrative actions, or ballot measures, and that meets other specified criteria. The bill would require a major political communicator to also disclose the names of its “top funders,” as defined, in specified cases, and to maintain records to permit verification of the top funders.

This bill would expand the definition of “advertisement” to include any general or public communication that is an “electioneering communication” or an “issue advocacy advertisement,” as defined. The bill would require a “major advertiser,” which is defined as a person who has made payments for advertisements totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year, to comply with specified disclosures regarding the source of the advertisement. The bill would change the term “top contributors” to “top funders.” The bill would define “top funders” of a major advertiser, and would require an advertisement paid for by a major advertiser that is not a committee to disclose the names of the top funders to the major advertiser.

The act requires specified disclosures in advertisements disseminated on online platforms. A committee disseminating an advertisement on an online platform must notify the online platform that the advertisement requires disclosures, but the act does not specify how this notice must be provided.

This bill would clarify these provisions by further defining the term “online platform disclosed advertisement.” It would also require an advertiser to notify the online platform that the advertisement requires disclosures using a notification method chosen by the online platform.

The act imposes, in addition to other penalties, a fine of up to triple the amount of the cost of an advertisement on a person who commits certain violations of the disclosure requirements for advertisements.

This bill would specify that violations of the disclosure requirements for electioneering communications or issue advocacy advertisements are not subject to these fines.

Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.This act shall be known and may be cited as the Issue Ad DISCLOSE Act. Issue Ad DISCLOSE Act

SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Issue Ad DISCLOSE Act.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) An ever-increasing amount of funds is spent on electioneering communications that refer to clearly identified candidates for elective office, bypassing requirements for disclosure on independent expenditure advertisements and depriving the electorate of information about the sources of election-related spending.
(b) An ever-increasing amount of funds is spent on issue lobbying communications that lobby elected officials by referring to legislative actions and administrative actions and that appeal directly to the elected officials to take legislative action or that appeal to other recipients of the communications to take action by contacting employees or elected officials of state and local governments.
(c) The entities that pay for electioneering communications and issue lobbying communications often hide the identify of their funders behind dubious and misleading names, or do not disclose the identity of their funders on the communications at all.
(d) Disclosing who or what interests are paying for electioneering communications and issue lobbying communications will help recipients be able to better evaluate the arguments that the communications are making about the candidates, legislative actions, administrative actions, or ballot measures they refer to and are implicitly or explicitly asking the recipients to take action on.
SEC. 2.Section 84501 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84501.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a)(1)“Advertisement” means any general or public communication that is any of the following:

(A)Authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures.

(B)An electioneering communication.

(C)An issue advocacy advertisement.

(2)“Advertisement” does not include any of the following:

(A)A communication from an organization, other than a political party, to its members.

(B)An electronic media communication addressed to recipients, such as email messages or text messages, from an organization to persons who have opted in or asked to receive messages from the organization. This subparagraph does not apply to a customer who has opted in to receive communications from a provider of goods or services, unless the customer has provided express approval to receive political messages from that provider of goods or services.

(C)Any communication that was solicited by the recipient, including, but not limited to, acknowledgments for contributions or information that the recipient communicated to the organization.

(D)A campaign button smaller than 10 inches in diameter; a bumper sticker smaller than 60 square inches; or a small tangible promotional item, such as a pen, pin, or key chain, upon which the disclosure required cannot be conveniently printed or displayed.

(E)Wearing apparel.

(F)Sky writing.

(G)Any other type of communication, as determined by regulations of the Commission, for which inclusion of the disclosures required by Sections 84502 to 84509, inclusive, is impracticable or would severely interfere with the committee’s ability to convey the intended message due to the nature of the technology used to make the communication.

(b)“Cumulative contributions” means the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.

(c)“Electioneering communication” means an advertisement that refers to one or more clearly identified candidates for elective office, but does not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of the candidate or candidates, and that is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated during the period beginning 60 days before a general or special election or 30 days before a primary election concerning the candidate or candidates.

(d)“Issue advocacy advertisement” means an advertisement that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of one or more clearly identified pending legislative actions, administrative actions, or ballot measures and does any of the following:

(1)Can only be reasonably interpreted as an appeal for the recipient of the advertisement to take action by contacting an employee or elected official of the state government or any local government or encouraging others to contact those persons.

(2)Refers to one or more clearly identified pending legislative actions and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the end of the legislative session.

(3)Refers to one or more clearly identified ballot measures and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the election concerning that measure or measures.

(e)“Major advertiser” means a person who has made payments for advertisements totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more in a calendar year.

(f)(1)“Top funders” of a committee means the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more.

(A)If a committee primarily formed to support or oppose a state candidate or ballot measure contributes funds to another committee primarily formed to support or oppose the same state candidate or ballot measure and the funds used for the contribution were earmarked to support or oppose that candidate or ballot measure, the committee receiving the earmarked contribution shall disclose the contributors who earmarked their funds as the top funder or funders on the advertisement if the definition of top funder provided for in this paragraph is otherwise met. If the committee receiving the earmarked contribution contributes any portion of the contribution to another committee primarily formed to support or oppose the specifically identified ballot measure or candidate, that committee shall disclose the true source of the contribution to the new committee receiving the earmarked funds. The new committee shall disclose the funder on the new committee’s advertisements if the definition of top funder provided for in this paragraph is otherwise met.

(i)The primarily formed committee making the earmarked contribution shall provide the primarily formed committee receiving the earmarked contribution with the name and address of the contributor or contributors who earmarked their funds and the amount of the earmarked contribution from each contributor at the time the contribution is made. If the committee making the contribution received earmarked contributions that exceed the amount contributed or received contributions that were not earmarked, the committee making the contribution shall use a reasonable accounting method to determine which top funders to identify pursuant to this subparagraph, but in no case shall the same contribution be disclosed more than one time to avoid disclosure of additional contributors who earmarked their funds.

(ii)The committee receiving the earmarked contribution may rely on the information provided pursuant to clause (i) for purposes of complying with the disclosure required by Section 84503 and shall be considered in compliance with Section 84503 if the information provided pursuant to clause (i) is disclosed as otherwise required.

(iii)For purposes of this subparagraph, funds are considered “earmarked” if any of the circumstances described in subdivision (b) of Section 85704 apply.

(B)If an advertisement paid for by a committee supports or opposes a candidate, the determination of top funders pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) shall not include any nonprofit organization exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code or any person who has prohibited in writing the use of the person’s contributions to support or oppose candidates if the committee does not use such contributions to support or oppose candidates.

(2)(A)“Top funders” of a major advertiser that is not a committee but that has made payments for electioneering communications or issue advocacy advertisements totaling fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more in a calendar year, and that did not make the payments using only available nondonor or small donor funds, means the lobbying donors from whom the advertiser has received its three highest cumulative lobbying-available donations of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more beginning 12 months before the date of the payment and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.

(B)For purposes of this paragraph, the following terms have the following meanings:

(i)“Lobbying-available donation” means a payment, a forgiveness of a loan, a payment of a loan by a third party, or an enforceable promise to make a payment, except to the extent that full and adequate consideration is received or if it is clear from the surrounding circumstances that the payment is not made for lobbying purposes. “Lobbying-available donation” does not include either of the following:

(I)Donations from a donor who designates or restricts the donation for purposes other than for lobbying, electioneering communications, or issue advocacy advertisements.

(II)Donations from a donor who prohibits the multipurpose organization’s use of its donation for lobbying, electioneering communications, or issue advocacy advertisements.

(ii)“Lobbying donor” means the person who made the lobbying-available donation, unless the donation was earmarked for lobbying for a clearly identified pending legislative action or administrative action, in which case the “lobbying donor” is the person who earmarked the lobbying-available donation.

(iii)“Nondonor funds” means investment income, including capital gains, or income earned from providing goods, services, or facilities, whether related or unrelated to the multipurpose organization’s program, sale of assets, or other receipts that are not donations.

(iv)“Small donor funds” means donations from persons who made cumulative donations of less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) beginning 12 months before the date of the payment and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.

(3)A tie between two or more funders qualifying as top funders shall be resolved by determining the funder who made the most recent contribution or payment to the committee, in which case the most recent funder shall be listed before any other funder of the same amount.

SEC. 3.Section 84502 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84502.

(a)(1)Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the words “Ad paid for by” followed by the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101.

(2)Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 that is a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate shall include the words “Ad paid for by” followed by the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101 if the advertisement is any of the following:

(A)Paid for by an independent expenditure.

(B)An advertisement supporting or opposing a ballot measure.

(C)A radio or television advertisement.

(b)Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013 shall include the words “Ad paid for by” followed by the name that the filer is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211.

(c)Any advertisement paid for by a major advertiser that is not a committee shall include the words “Ad paid for by” followed by the name of the major advertiser.

(d)Notwithstanding subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), if an advertisement is a printed letter, internet website, or email message, the text described in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) may include the words “Paid for by” instead of “Ad paid for by.”

SEC. 4.Section 84503 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84503.

(a)Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the words “committee major funding from” followed by the names of the top funders to the committee paying for the advertisement. If fewer than three funders qualify as top contributors, only those contributors that qualify shall be disclosed pursuant to this section. If there are no contributors that qualify as top funders, this disclosure is not required.

(b)Any advertisement paid for by a major advertiser that is not a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 and that has top funders shall include the words “major funding from” followed by the names of the top funders to the major advertiser. If fewer than three funders qualify as top funders, only those funders that qualify shall be disclosed pursuant to this section.

(c)The disclosure of a top funder pursuant to this section need not include terms such as “incorporated,” “committee,” “political action committee,” or “corporation,” or abbreviations of these terms, unless the term is part of the contributor’s name in common usage or parlance.

(d)If this article requires the disclosure of the name of a top funder that is a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 and is a sponsored committee pursuant to Section 82048.7 with a single sponsor, only the name of the single sponsoring organization shall be disclosed.

(e)This section does not apply to a committee as defined by subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013.

SEC. 5.Section 84504 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84504.

(a)An advertisement paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, that is disseminated over the radio or by telephonic means shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 at the beginning or end of the advertisement, read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement, and shall last no less than three seconds.

(b)Notwithstanding the definition of “top funders” in subdivision (f) of Section 84501, radio and prerecorded telephonic advertisements shall disclose only the top two funders unless the advertisement lasts 15 seconds or less or the disclosure statement would last more than eight seconds, in which case only the single top funder shall be disclosed.

SEC. 6.Section 84504.1 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84504.1.

(a)An advertisement paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, that is disseminated as a video, including advertisements on television and videos disseminated over the internet, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502 and 84503 at the beginning or end of the advertisement.

(b)The disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be written and displayed for at least five seconds of a broadcast of 30 seconds or less or for at least 10 seconds of a broadcast that lasts longer than 30 seconds.

(1)The written disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall appear on a solid black background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or video display screen, or bottom one-fourth of the screen if the committee does not have or is otherwise not required to list top funders, and shall be in a contrasting color in Arial equivalent type, and the type size for the smallest letters in the written disclosure shall be 4 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. The top funders, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top funder who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. All disclosure text shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area. If there are any top funders, the written disclosures shall be underlined in a manner clearly visible to the average viewer, except for the names of the top funders, if any.

(2)The name of the top funder shall not have its type condensed or have the spacing between characters reduced to be narrower than a normal non-condensed Arial equivalent type, unless doing so is necessary to keep the name of the top funder from exceeding the width of the screen.

(c)An advertisement that is an independent expenditure supporting or opposing a candidate shall include the appropriate statement from Section 84506.5 in the solid black background described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) below all other text required to appear in that area in a contrasting color and in Arial equivalent type no less than 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. If including this statement causes the disclosures to exceed one-third of the television or video display screen, then it may instead be printed immediately above the background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average viewer.

SEC. 7.Section 84504.2 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 5 of Chapter 777 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:
84504.2.

(a)A print advertisement paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5, displayed as follows:

(1)The disclosure area shall have a solid white background and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of at least one page that is set apart from any other printed matter. All text in the disclosure area shall be in contrasting color and centered horizontally in the disclosure area.

(2)The text shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point for printed advertisements designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, mailers, flyers, and door hangers.

(3)The top of the disclosure area shall include the disclosure required by Sections 84502 and 84503. The text of the disclosure shall be underlined if there are any top funders.

(4)The top funders, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top funder who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the top funders shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area and shall not be underlined. The names of the top funders shall not be printed in a type that is condensed to be narrower than a normal non-condensed Arial equivalent type.

(5)A committee subject to Section 84506.5 shall include the disclosure required by Section 84506.5, which shall be underlined and on a separate line below any of the top funders.

(6)A committee subject to Section 84223 shall next include the text “Funding Details At [insert Commission internet website],” which shall be underlined and printed on a line separate from any other text.

(b)Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (a), the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 on a printed advertisement that is larger than those designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, yard signs or billboards, shall be in Arial equivalent type with a total height of at least 5 percent of the height of the advertisement, and printed on a solid background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average viewer. The text may be adjusted so it does not appear on separate horizontal lines, with the top funders separated by a comma.

(c)Notwithstanding the definition of “top funders” in subdivision (f) of Section 84501, newspaper, magazine, or other public print advertisements that are 20 square inches or less shall be required to disclose only the single top funder.

SEC. 8.Section 84504.2 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 5.5 of Chapter 777 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:
84504.2.

(a)A print advertisement paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5, displayed as follows:

(1)The disclosure area shall have a solid white background and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of at least one page that is set apart from any other printed matter. All text in the disclosure area shall be in contrasting color and centered horizontally in the disclosure area.

(2)The text shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point for printed advertisements designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, mailers, flyers, and door hangers.

(3)The top of the disclosure area shall include the disclosure required by Sections 84502 and 84503. The text of the disclosure shall be underlined if there are any top funders.

(4)The top funders, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top funder who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the top funders shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area and shall not be underlined. The names of the top funders shall not be printed in a type that is condensed to be narrower than a normal non-condensed Arial equivalent type.

(5)A committee subject to Section 84506.5 shall include the disclosure required by Section 84506.5, which shall be underlined and on a separate line below any of the top funders.

(6)A committee subject to Section 84223 shall next include the text “Funding Details At [insert link to Secretary of State internet website page with top 10 contributor lists],” which shall be underlined and printed on a line separate from any other text.

(b)Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (a), the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 on a printed advertisement that is larger than those designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, yard signs or billboards, shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a total height of at least 5 percent of the height of the advertisement, and printed on a solid background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average viewer. The text may be adjusted so it does not appear on separate horizontal lines, with the top funders separated by a comma.

(c)Notwithstanding the definition of “top funders” in subdivision (f) of Section 84501, newspaper, magazine, or other public print advertisements that are 20 square inches or less shall be required to disclose only the single top funder.

SEC. 9.Section 84504.3 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 6 of Chapter 777 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:
84504.3.

(a)An electronic media advertisement, other than an email message or internet website, paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall comply with both of the following:

(1)Include the text “Who funded this ad?” in a contrasting color and a font size that is easily readable by the average viewer.

(2)Such text shall be a hyperlink to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the text required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is not required if including the language would be impracticable. In such circumstances the advertisement need only include a hyperlink to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5.

(c)Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), an email message or internet website paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5, printed clearly and legibly in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font at the top or bottom of the email message and every publicly accessible page of the internet website.

(d)An internet website that is hyperlinked as provided for in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall remain online and available to the public until 30 days after the date of the election in which the candidate or ballot measure supported or opposed by the advertisement was voted upon.

(e)An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that is audio only and therefore cannot include either of the disclaimers in subdivision (a) shall comply with the disclaimer requirements for radio advertisements in Section 84504.

(f)An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, shall only be required to include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font on the committee’s profile, landing page, or similar location and shall not be required to include the disclaimer required by subdivision (a) on each individual post, comment, or other similar communication.

(g)The disclaimer required by this section does not apply to advertisements made via social media for which the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time unless the social media account where the content is posted was created only for the purpose of advertisements governed by this title.

SEC. 10.Section 84504.3 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 6.5 of Chapter 777 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:
84504.3.

(a)An electronic media advertisement that is a graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the advertisement allows to link to an internet website, paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall comply with both of the following:

(1)Include the text “Who funded this ad?,” “Paid for by,” or “Ad Paid for by” in a contrasting color and a font size that is easily readable by the average viewer for the duration of the advertisement.

(2)The text shall be included or displayed as a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the text required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is not required if including the language would take up more than one-third of the graphic or image. In those circumstances, the advertisement need only include a hyperlink to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5.

(c)Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), an email message, or internet website, paid for by a major advertiser or a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 printed clearly and legibly in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font at the top or bottom of the email message, or at the top or bottom of every publicly accessible page of the internet website, as applicable.

(d)An internet website that is linked as provided for in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall remain online and available to the public until 30 days after the date of the election in which the candidate or ballot measure supported or opposed by the advertisement was voted upon.

(e)An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that is audio only and therefore cannot include either of the disclosures in subdivision (a) shall comply with the disclosure requirements for radio advertisements in Section 84504.

(f)An electronic media advertisement that is disseminated as a video shall comply with the disclosure requirements of Sections 84504.1, 84504.4, and 84504.5, depending on the type of major advertiser or committee that paid for it. If the video is longer than 30 seconds, the disclosures required by Sections 84504.1, 84504.4, and 84504.5 shall be made at the beginning of the advertisement.

(g)(1)An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, shall only be required to include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 in a contrasting color that is easily readable by the average viewer and in no less than 10-point font on the cover or header photo of the committee’s profile, landing page, or similar location and shall not be required to include the disclosure required by subdivision (a) on each individual post, comment, or other similar communication. The disclosures specified in this subdivision shall be fully visible on the cover or header photo when the profile, landing page, or similar location is viewed from any electronic device that is commonly used to view this form of electronic media.

(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if making the disclosures specified in paragraph (1) fully visible on a commonly used electronic device would be impracticable, the cover or header photo of the profile, landing page, or similar location need only include a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab to an internet website containing the disclosures specified in paragraph (1).

(h)The disclosures required by this section do not apply to advertisements made via social media for which the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time unless the social media account where the content is posted was created only for the purpose of advertisements governed by this title.

SEC. 11.Section 84504.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84504.4.

(a)A radio or television advertisement that is paid for by a political party or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, and that does not support or oppose a ballot measure, is not paid for by an independent expenditure, and is not an electioneering communication or issue advocacy advertisement, shall include the disclosure required by Section 84502 subject to the following requirements:

(1)In a radio advertisement, the words shall be included at the beginning or end of the advertisement and read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement.

(2)In a television advertisement, the words shall appear in writing for at least four seconds with letters in a type size that is greater than or equal to 4 percent of the height of the screen.

(b)An advertisement that is made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, that is paid for by a political party or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, and that does not support or oppose a ballot measure and is not paid for by an independent expenditure, shall include the disclosure required by Section 84502 in accordance with subdivision (g) of Section 84504.3.

SEC. 12.Section 84504.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84504.5.

An advertisement that is an independent expenditure or an electioneering communication, and is paid for by a political party or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502 and 84506.5. An advertisement that supports or opposes a ballot measure or is an issue advocacy advertisement, and is paid for by a political party or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office of the controlling candidate, shall include the disclosure required by Section 84502. A disclosure that is included in an advertisement pursuant to this section is subject to the following requirements:

(a)A radio or telephone advertisement shall include the required disclosures at the beginning or end of the advertisement and be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement, and shall last no less than three seconds.

(b)A video advertisement, including television and videos disseminated over the internet, shall include the required disclosures in writing at the beginning or end of the advertisement in a text that is of sufficient size to be readily legible to an average viewer and in a color that has a reasonable degree of contrast with the background of the advertisement for at least four seconds. The required disclosure must also be spoken during the advertisement if the written disclosure appears for less than five seconds of a broadcast of 30 seconds or less or for at least 10 seconds of a broadcast that lasts longer than 30 seconds.

(c)(1)A print advertisement shall include the required disclosures in no less than 10-point font and in a color that has a reasonable degree of contrast with the background of the advertisement.

(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the required disclosures on a print advertisement that is larger than those designed to be individually distributed, such as a yard sign or billboard, shall in total constitute no less than 5 percent of the total height of the advertisement and shall appear in a color that has a reasonable degree of contrast with the background of the advertisement.

(d)An electronic media advertisement shall include the disclosures required by Section 84504.3.

SEC. 13.Section 84504.6 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84504.6.

(a)For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1)“Online platform” means a public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application, including a social network, ad network, or search engine, that sells advertisements directly to advertisers. A public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application is not an online platform for purposes of this article to the extent that it displays advertisements that are sold directly to advertisers through another online platform.

(2)(A)“Online platform disclosed advertisement” means either of the following:

(i)A paid electronic media advertisement on an online platform made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, for which the major advertiser or committee pays the online platform, unless all advertisements on the platform are video advertisements that can comply with Section 84504.1. Individual posts, comments, or other similar communications are not considered online platform disclosed advertisements if they are posted without payment to the online platform.

(ii)A paid electronic media advertisement on an online platform that is not any of the following:

(I)A graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the advertisement allows to hyperlink to an internet website containing required disclosures, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 84504.3.

(II)Video, audio, or email.

(B)Electronic media advertisements that are not online platform disclosed advertisements as defined in subparagraph (A) shall follow disclosure requirements for electronic media advertisements under Section 84504.3.

(b)A major advertiser or a committee that disseminates an online platform disclosed advertisement shall do all of the following:

(1)Upon requesting the dissemination, expressly notify the online platform through which the advertisement would be disseminated, using the online platform’s chosen notification method, that the advertisement is an advertisement as defined in Section 84501.

(2)(A)Provide the online platform with the disclosure name of the advertiser.

(B)For purposes of this section, “disclosure name” means the text required by Section 84503, followed by a colon, followed by, surrounded in quotation marks, the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101, the name that the filer is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211, or the name of the major advertiser. If no disclosure text is required by Section 84503, “disclosure name” means the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101, the name that the filer is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211, or the name of the major advertiser.

(C)If the disclosure name changes due to a change in the top funders or the name of the advertiser, the advertiser shall provide the online platform with an updated disclosure name within five business days.

(3)Provide the online platform with the name of the candidate to which the advertisement refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election, as applicable, or number or letter of the ballot measure and the jurisdiction to which the advertisement refers.

(4)Provide the online platform with the name of the advertiser that paid for the advertisement and its identification number, if it is assigned an identification number.

(c)An online platform that disseminates a major advertiser or committee’s online platform disclosed advertisement shall do one of the following:

(1)Display “Paid for by” or “Ad Paid for by” followed by the disclosure name provided by the advertiser, easily readable to the average viewer, located adjacent to any text stating that the advertisement is an advertisement or is promoted or sponsored. The online platform may display only one hundred or more characters of the disclosure name if it is followed by a “…” that is clearly clickable and that links to a page as described in paragraph (3).

(2)The online platform may instead display a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab with the text “Who funded this ad?,” “Paid for by,” or “Ad Paid for by” that is clearly clickable in the same or similar font and in at least the same font size as the online platform’s text, and easily readable to the average viewer, stating that the advertisement is an advertisement or is promoted or sponsored, that links to a page as described in paragraph (3).

(3)Hyperlinks, icons, buttons, or tabs used for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be linked to the profile or landing page of the advertiser that paid for the advertisement; to another page to which the average viewer would normally navigate to view additional information about an advertiser containing the disclosure name in a manner that is easily seen and readable by the average viewer; or to an internet website containing the disclosure required by subdivision (c) of Section 84504.3.

(d)An online platform that disseminates a major advertiser or committee’s online platform disclosed advertisements shall meet all of the following requirements:

(1)Maintain, and make available for online public inspection in a machine readable format, a record of any advertisement disseminated on the online platform by a major advertiser or committee that purchased five hundred dollars ($500) or more in advertisements on the online platform during the preceding 12 months. Each record shall contain all of the following:

(A)A digital copy of the advertisement.

(B)The approximate number of views generated from the advertisement and the date and time that the advertisement was first displayed and last displayed.

(C)Information regarding the range charged or the total amount spent on the advertisement.

(D)The name of the candidate to which the advertisement refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election, as applicable, or number or letter of the ballot measure and the jurisdiction to which the advertisement refers.

(E)The name of the advertiser that paid for the advertisement and its identification number, if it is assigned an identification number.

(2)The information required under this subdivision shall be made available as soon as practicable and shall be retained by the online platform for no less than four years.

(3)(A)Display a prominent button, icon, tab, or hyperlink with the text “View Ads” or similar text in one of the following locations: (i) near the top of a profile, landing page, or similar location of an advertiser that paid for an advertisement in a position that the average viewer will readily see it upon viewing that page; (ii) on a page that displays the advertiser’s profile information or biographical information; (iii) or on a page on which the average viewer would normally navigate to view additional information about an advertiser.

(B)The button, icon, tab, or hyperlink shall link to a page clearly showing all of the advertisement records required by paragraph (1).

(e)An online platform that creates a mechanism for an advertiser requesting dissemination of an online platform disclosed advertisement to expressly notify the online platform whether the advertisement is an advertisement as defined in Section 84501 and to provide all information necessary for the online platform to comply with the requirements of this section may rely in good faith on the information provided by the advertiser to the online platform to satisfy the online platform’s obligations under subdivisions (c) and (d).

SEC. 14.Section 84506.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84506.5.

An advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate that is paid for by an independent expenditure or an electioneering communication that is not paid for by a candidate shall include a statement that it was not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. If the advertisement was authorized or paid for by a candidate for another office, the expenditure shall instead include a statement that “This advertisement was not authorized or paid for by a candidate for this office or a committee controlled by a candidate for this office.”

SEC. 15.Section 84510 of the Government Code is amended to read:
84510.

(a)(1)In addition to the remedies provided for in Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 91000), a person who violates Section 84503 or 84506.5 is liable in a civil or administrative action brought by the Commission or any person for a fine up to three times the cost of the advertisement, including placement costs.

(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person who intentionally violates a provision of Sections 84504 to 84504.3, inclusive, or Section 84504.5 or 84504.6, for the purpose of avoiding disclosure is liable in a civil or administrative action brought by the Commission or any person for a fine up to three times the cost of the advertisement, including placement costs.

(b)The remedies provided in subdivision (a) shall also apply to any person who purposely causes any other person to violate any of the sections described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) or who aids and abets any other person in a violation.

(c)This section does not apply to violations of this article relating to electioneering communications or issue advocacy advertisements, as defined in Section 84501.

(d)If a judgment is entered against the defendant or defendants in an action brought under this section, the plaintiff shall receive 50 percent of the amount recovered. The remaining 50 percent shall be deposited in the General Fund of the state. In an action brought by a local civil prosecutor, 50 percent shall be deposited in the account of the agency bringing the action and 50 percent shall be paid to the General Fund of the state.

SEC. 3.

 Article 6 (commencing with Section 84551) is added to Chapter 4 of Title 9 of the Government Code, to read:
Article  6. Disclosure in Political Communications

84551.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Electioneering communication” means any general or public communication that refers to one or more clearly identified candidates for elective office, but does not expressly advocate for the election or defeat of the candidate or candidates, and that is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated during the period beginning 60 days before a general or special election or 30 days before a primary election concerning the candidate or candidates.
(b) “Issue lobbying communication” means any general or public communication that clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter, description, or name of one or more clearly identified pending legislative actions, administrative actions, or ballot measures, and does any of the following:
(1) Can only be reasonably interpreted as an appeal for an elected official of the state government or any local government to take legislative action.
(2) Can only be reasonably interpreted as an appeal for the recipient of the communication to take action by contacting an employee or elected official of the state government or any local government or encouraging others to contact those persons.
(3) Refers to one or more clearly identified pending legislative actions and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the end of the legislative session.
(4) Refers to one or more clearly identified ballot measures and is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the election concerning that measure or measures.
(c) “Lobbying-available donation” means a payment, a forgiveness of a loan, a payment of a loan by a third party, or an enforceable promise to make a payment, except to the extent that full and adequate consideration is received or if it is clear from the surrounding circumstances that the payment is not made for lobbying purposes. “Lobbying-available donation” does not include either of the following:
(1) Donations from a donor who designates or restricts the donation for purposes other than for lobbying or political communications.
(2) Donations from a donor who prohibits the multipurpose organization’s use of its donation for lobbying or political communications.
(d) “Lobbying donor” means the person who made the lobbying-available donation, unless the donation was earmarked for lobbying for a clearly identified pending legislative action, administrative action, or candidate, in which case the “lobbying donor” is the person who earmarked the lobbying-available donation.
(e) “Major political communicator” means a person who has made payments for political communications totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more in a calendar year.
(f) “Major political communicator name” means:
(1) For a committee, as defined by subdivision (a) of Section 82013, the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent statement of organization.
(2) For a committee, as defined by subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013, the name that the filer is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211.
(3) For a major political communicator that is not a committee, the name of the major political communicator.
(g) “Nondonor funds” means investment income, including capital gains, or income earned from providing goods, services, or facilities, whether related or unrelated to the multipurpose organization’s program, sale of assets, or other receipts that are not donations.
(h) (1) “Political communication” means any general or public communication that is an electioneering communication or an issue lobbying communication.
(2) “Political communication” does not include any of the following:
(A) A communication from an organization, other than a political party, to its members.
(B) An electronic media communication addressed to recipients, such as email messages or text messages, from an organization to persons who have opted in or asked to receive messages from the organization. This subparagraph does not apply to a customer who has opted in to receive communications from a provider of goods or services, unless the customer has provided express approval to receive political messages from that provider of goods or services.
(C) Any communication that was solicited by the recipient, including, but not limited to, acknowledgments for contributions or information that the recipient communicated to the organization, or responses to an electronic message sent by the recipient to the same mobile number or email address.
(D) A campaign button smaller than 10 inches in diameter; a bumper sticker smaller than 60 square inches; or a small tangible promotional item, such as a pen, pin, or key chain, upon which the disclosure required cannot be conveniently printed or displayed.
(E) Wearing apparel.
(F) Sky writing.
(G) Any other type of communication, as determined by regulations of the Commission, for which inclusion of the disclosures required by Sections 84552 to 84559, inclusive, is impracticable or would severely interfere with the major political communicator’s ability to convey the intended message due to the nature of the technology used to make the communication.
(i) “Small donor funds” means donations from lobbying donors who made cumulative donations of less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) beginning 12 months before the date of the payment and ending seven days before the time the communication is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
(j) (1) “Top funders” of a major political communicator that is a committee means the persons from whom the committee paying for a political communication has received its three highest cumulative contributions of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more beginning 12 months before the date of the payment and ending seven days before the time the communication is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
(2) “Top funders” of a major political communicator that is not a committee, but that has made payments for political communications totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more in a calendar year, and that did not make the payments using only available nondonor or small donor funds, means the lobbying donors from whom the major political communicator has received its three highest cumulative lobbying-available donations of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more beginning 12 months before the date of the payment and ending seven days before the time the communication is sent to the printer or broadcaster. A major political communicator that makes political communications using only available nondonor or small donor funds has no top funders.
(3) A tie between two or more funders qualifying as top funders shall be resolved by determining the funder who made the most recent contribution or lobbying-available donation to the major political communicator, in which case the most recent funder shall be listed before any other funder of the same amount.

84552.
 (a) Any political communication paid for by a major political communicator shall include the words “Ad paid for by” followed by the major political communicator name.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a political communication is a printed letter, internet website, or email message, the text described in subdivision (a) may include the words “Paid for by” instead of “Ad paid for by.”

84553.
 (a) Any political communication paid for by a major political communicator that has top funders shall include the words “major funding from” followed by the names of the top funders of the major political communicator. If fewer than three funders qualify as top funders, only those funders that qualify shall be disclosed pursuant to this section.
(b) The disclosure of a top funder pursuant to this section need not include terms such as “incorporated,” “committee,” “political action committee,” or “corporation,” or abbreviations of these terms, unless the term is part of the funder’s name in common usage or parlance.
(c) If this article requires the disclosure of the name of a top funder that is a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 and is a sponsored committee pursuant to Section 82048.7 with a single sponsor, only the name of the single sponsoring organization shall be disclosed.
(d) This section does not apply to political party committees and candidate controlled committees.

84554.
 (a) A political communication paid for by a major political communicator that is disseminated over the radio or by telephonic means shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5 at the beginning or end of the political communication, read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the communication, and shall last no less than three seconds.
(b) Notwithstanding the definition of “top funders” in subdivision (j) of Section 84551, radio and prerecorded telephonic political communications shall disclose only the top two funders unless the political communication lasts 15 seconds or less or the disclosure statement would last more than eight seconds, in which case only the single top funder shall be disclosed.

84554.1.
 (a) A political communication paid for by a major political communicator that is disseminated as a video, including political communications on television and videos disseminated over the internet, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5 at the beginning or end of the political communication.
(b) The disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be written and displayed for at least five seconds of a broadcast of 30 seconds or less or for at least 10 seconds of a broadcast that lasts longer than 30 seconds.
(1) The written disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall appear on a solid black background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or video display screen, or bottom one-fourth of the screen if the major political communicator does not have or is otherwise not required to list top funders, and shall be in a contrasting color in Arial equivalent type, and the type size for the smallest letters in the written disclosure shall be 4 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. The top funders, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top funder who made the largest cumulative lobbying-available donations on the first line. All disclosure text shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area. If there are any top funders, the written disclosures shall be underlined in a manner clearly visible to the average viewer, except for the names of the top funders, if any.
(2) The name of the top funder shall not have its type condensed or have the spacing between characters reduced to be narrower than a normal noncondensed Arial equivalent type, unless doing so is necessary to keep the name of the top funder from exceeding the width of the screen.
(c) A political communication paid for by a major political communicator that is subject to Section 84556.5 shall include the appropriate statement from Section 84556.5 in the solid black background described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) below all other text required to appear in that area in a contrasting color and in Arial equivalent type no less than 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. If including this statement causes the disclosures to exceed one-third of the television or video display screen, then it may instead be printed immediately above the background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average viewer.

84554.2.
 (a) A political communication that is printed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, a mailer, flyer, or door hanger, that is paid for by a major political communicator, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5, displayed as follows:
(1) The disclosure area shall have a solid white background and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of at least one page that is set apart from any other printed matter. All text in the disclosure area shall be in contrasting color and centered horizontally in the disclosure area.
(2) The text shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point.
(3) The top of the disclosure area shall include the disclosure required by Sections 84552 and 84553. The text of the disclosure shall be underlined if there are any top funders.
(4) The top funders, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top funder who made the largest lobbying-available donations on the first line. The name of each of the top funders shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area and shall not be underlined. The names of the top funders shall not be printed in a type that is condensed to be narrower than a normal non-condensed Arial equivalent type.
(5) The disclosure required by Section 84556.5, if any, shall be underlined and on a separate line below any of the top funders.
(6) Notwithstanding the definition of “top funders” in subdivision (j) of Section 84551, newspaper, magazine, or other public print communications that are 20 square inches or less shall be required to disclose only the single top funder.
(b) A political communication that is printed larger than those designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, a yard sign or billboard, including electronic billboards, paid for by a major political communicator, shall include the disclosures pursuant to Section 84552, 84553, and 84556.5 in a printed or drawn box with a solid white background on the bottom of the communication that is set apart from any other printed matter. Each line of the written disclosures shall be in a contrasting color in Arial equivalent type no less than 5 percent of the height of the communication, and shall not be condensed to be narrower than a normal non-condensed Arial equivalent type.

84554.3.
 (a) This section applies to an electronic media political communication paid for by a major political communicator.
(b) An electronic media political communication paid for by a major political communicator that is a graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the political communication allows to link to an internet website, shall comply with both of the following:
(1) Include the text “Who funded this ad?,” “Paid for by,” or “Ad Paid for by” in a contrasting color and a font size that is easily readable by the average viewer for the duration of the political communication.
(2) The text shall be included or displayed as a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5, in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font.
(c) The text required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) is not required if including the language in an 8-point font would take up more than one-third of the graphic or image. In those circumstances, the political communication need only include a hyperlink to an internet website containing the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5.
(d) An email message or internet website paid for by a major political communicator shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5, printed clearly and legibly in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font at the top or bottom of the email message, or at the top or bottom of every publicly accessible page of the internet website, as applicable.
(e) An internet website that is linked as provided for in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall remain online and available to the public until 30 days after the date in which the candidate, ballot measure, or legislative action referred to by the communication had its final vote or, in the case of an administrative action, after the final date the administrative action was finalized.
(f) A political communication made via a form of electronic media that is audio only and therefore cannot include either of the disclosures in subdivision (b) shall comply with the disclosure requirements for radio political communications in Section 84554.
(g) An electronic media political communication that is disseminated as a video shall comply with the disclosure requirements of 84554.1. If the video is longer than 30 seconds, the disclosures required by Sections 84554.1 shall be made at the beginning of the political communication.
(h) (1) A political communication made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, shall only be required to include the disclosures required by Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5, in a contrasting color that is easily readable by the average viewer and in no less than 10-point font on the cover or header photo of the major political communicator’s profile, landing page, or similar location and shall not be required to include the disclosure required by subdivision (b) on each individual post, comment, or other similar communication. The disclosures specified in this subdivision shall be fully visible on the cover or header photo when the profile, landing page, or similar location is viewed from any electronic device that is commonly used to view this form of electronic media. media, including, but not limited to, a computer screen, laptop, tablet, or smart phone.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if making the disclosures specified in paragraph (1) fully visible on a commonly used electronic device would be impracticable, the cover or header photo of the profile, landing page, or similar location need only include a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab to an internet website containing the disclosures specified in paragraph (1).
(3) The disclosures required by this section do not apply to political communications made via social media for which the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time unless the social media account where the content is posted was created only for the purpose of political communications governed by this title.

84554.6.
 (a) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) ”Online platform” means a public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application, including a social network, ad network, or search engine, that sells advertisements directly to advertisers. A public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application is not an online platform for purposes of this article to the extent that it displays advertisements that are sold directly to advertisers through another online platform.
(2) (A) “Online platform disclosed political communication” means either of the following:
(i) A paid electronic media political communication on an online platform made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, for which the committee pays the online platform, unless all paid electronic media political communications on the platform are video political communications that can comply with Section 84554.1. Individual posts, comments, or other similar communications are not considered online platform disclosed political communications if they are posted without payment to the online platform.
(ii) A paid electronic media political communication on an online platform that is not any of the following:
(I) A graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the political communication allows to hyperlink to an internet website containing required disclosures, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 84554.3.
(II) Video, audio, or email.
(B) Electronic media political communications that are not online platform disclosed political communications as defined in subparagraph (A) shall follow disclosure requirements for electronic media political communications under Section 84554.3.
(b) A major political communicator that disseminates an online platform disclosed political communication shall do all of the following:
(1) Upon requesting the dissemination, expressly notify the online platform through which the political communication would be disseminated, using the online platform’s chosen notification method, that the political communication is a political communication as defined in Section 84551.
(2) (A) Provide the online platform with the disclosure name of the major political communicator and if it is a committee that has an identification number, its identification number.
(B) For purposes of this section, “disclosure name” means the text required by Section 84553, followed by a colon, followed by, surrounded in quotation marks, the major political communicator name.
(C) If the disclosure name changes due to a change in the top funders or the major political communicator name, the major political communicator shall provide the online platform with an updated disclosure name within five business days.
(3) Provide the online platform with the name of the candidate to which the political communication refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election, as applicable, or the designation of the legislative or administrative action to which the communication refers.
(4) Provide the online platform with the major political communicator name that paid for the communication.
(c) An online platform that disseminates a major political communicator’s online platform disclosed political communication shall do one of the following:
(1) Display “Paid for by” or “Ad Paid for by” followed by the disclosure name provided by the major political communicator, easily readable to the average viewer, located adjacent to any text stating that the advertisement is an advertisement or is promoted or sponsored. The online platform may display only one hundred or more characters of the disclosure name if it is followed by a “…” that is clearly clickable and that links to a page as described in paragraph (3).
(2) The online platform may instead display a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab with the text “Who funded this ad?,” “Paid for by,” or “Ad Paid for by” that is clearly clickable in the same or similar font and in at least the same font size as the online platform’s text, and easily readable to the average viewer, stating that the advertisement is an advertisement or is promoted or sponsored, that links to a page as described in paragraph (3).
(3) Hyperlinks, icons, buttons, or tabs used for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be linked to the profile or landing page of major political communicator that paid for the communication; to another page to which the average viewer would normally navigate to view additional information about an advertiser containing the disclosure name in a manner that is easily seen and readable by the average viewer; or to an internet website containing the disclosure required by subdivision (d) of Section 84554.3.
(d) An online platform that disseminates online platform disclosed political communications shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Maintain, and make available for online public inspection in a machine readable format, a record of any paid communications disseminated on the online platform by a major political communicator that purchased five hundred dollars ($500) or more in paid communications on the online platform during the preceding 12 months. Each record shall contain all of the following:
(A) A digital copy of the political communication.
(B) The approximate number of views generated from the political communication and the date and time that the political communication was first displayed and last displayed.
(C) Information regarding the range charged or the total amount spent on the political communication.
(D) The name of the candidate to which the political communication refers and the office to which the candidate is seeking election, as applicable, or the designation of the legislative or administrative action to which the communication refers.
(E) The major political communicator name, if the person paying for the communication is a major political communicator.
(F) The identification number of the major political communicator, if the major political communicator is a committee that is assigned an identification number.
(2) The information required under this subdivision shall be made available as soon as practicable and shall be retained by the online platform for no less than four years.
(3) (A) Display a prominent button, icon, tab, or hyperlink with the text “View Ads” or similar text in one of the following locations:
(i) Near the top of a profile, landing page, or similar location of a major political communicator that paid for a communication in a position that the average viewer will readily see it upon viewing that page.
(ii) On a page that displays a major political communicator’s profile information or biographical information.
(iii) On a page on which the average viewer would normally navigate to view additional information about a major political communicator.
(B) The button, icon, tab, or hyperlink shall link to a page clearly showing all of the communication records required by paragraph (1).
(e) An online platform that creates a mechanism for a communicator requesting dissemination of an online platform disclosed political communication to expressly notify the online platform whether the paid communication is a political communication, as defined in Section 84551, and to provide all information necessary for the online platform to comply with the requirements of this section may rely in good faith on the information provided by the major political communicator to the online platform to satisfy the online platform’s obligations under subdivisions (c) and (d).
(f) The online platform may use the term “advertiser” instead of “major political communicator” on all of its communications.

84555.
 (a) In addition to the requirements of Sections 84552, 84553, and 84556.5, the major political communicator placing the political communication, or persons acting in concert with the major political communicator, shall be prohibited from creating or using another entity to avoid, or that results in the avoidance of, the disclosure of any individual, industry, business entity, controlled committee, or sponsored committee as a top funder.
(b) Written disclosures required by Sections 84553 and 84556.5 shall not appear in all capital letters, except that capital letters shall be permitted for the beginning of a sentence, the beginning of a proper name or location, or as otherwise required by conventions of the English language.

84556.5.
 An electioneering communication shall include a statement that it was not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. If the electioneering communication was authorized or paid for by a candidate for another office, the expenditure shall instead include a statement that “This advertisement was not authorized or paid for by a candidate for this office or a committee controlled by a candidate for this office.”

84559.
 If the order of top funders required to be disclosed pursuant to this article changes or a new funder qualifies as a top funder, the disclosure in the political communication shall be updated as follows:
(a) A television, radio, telephone, electronic billboard, or other electronic media political communication shall be updated to reflect the new top funders within five business days. A major political communicator shall be deemed to have complied with this subdivision if the amended political communication is delivered, containing a request that the communication immediately be replaced, to all affected broadcast stations or other locations where the communication is placed no later than the fifth business day.
(b) A print media political communication, including nonelectronic billboards, shall be updated to reflect the new top funders before placing a new or modified order for additional printing of the political communication.

84560.
 A major political communicator shall maintain records of the following:
(a) All payments made for political communications.
(b) The lobbying-available donations used to calculate the major political communicator’s top funders or records sufficient to demonstrate that only available nondonor or small donor funds were used as payment for the political communications.

84561.
 A person shall not make a lobbying-available donation on behalf of another, or while acting as the intermediary or agent of another, without disclosing to the recipient of the lobbying-available donation both the person's own full name and street address, occupation, and the name of the person's employer, if any, or the person's principal place of business if the person is self-employed, and the full name and street address, occupation, and the name of employer, if any, or principal place of business if self-employed, of the other person. The recipient of the lobbying-available donation shall use this earmarking information when calculating the cumulative contributions of its lobbying donors and shall include this information when any of the funds are given as lobbying-available donations to another person.

84562.
 (a) A person shall not make any lobbying-available donation to a person that is earmarked for issue lobbying communications or lobbying regarding a clearly identified pending legislative action, administrative action, or ballot measure, or for electioneering communications regarding a clearly identified candidate, unless the lobbying-available donation is fully disclosed pursuant to Section 84561.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), a lobbying-available donation is earmarked if it is made under any of the following circumstances:
(1) The person receiving the lobbying-available donation solicited the donation for the purpose of issue lobbying communications or lobbying regarding a specifically identified pending legislative action, administrative action, or ballot measure, or for electioneering communications regarding a specifically identified candidate, requested the donor to expressly consent to such use, and the donor consents to such use.
(2) The lobbying-available donation was made subject to a condition or agreement with the donor that all or a portion of the donation would be used for the purpose of issue lobbying communications or lobbying regarding a specifically identified pending legislative action, administrative action, or ballot measure, or for electioneering communications regarding a specifically identified candidate.
(3) After the lobbying-available donation was made, the donor and the person receiving the donation reached a subsequent agreement that all or a portion of the donation would be used for the purpose of issue lobbying communications or lobbying regarding a specifically identified pending legislative action, administrative action, or ballot measure, or for electioneering communications regarding a specifically identified candidate.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), dues, assessments, fees, and similar payments made to a membership organization or its sponsored committee in an amount less than five hundred dollars ($500) per calendar year from a single source for the purpose of making lobbying-available donations or expenditures shall not be considered earmarked.
(d) The person making the earmarked lobbying-available donation shall provide the person receiving the donation with the name and address of the donor or donors who earmarked their funds and the amount of the earmarked donation from each donor at the time it makes the donation. If the person making the lobbying-available donation received earmarked lobbying-available donations that exceed the amount donated, or received lobbying-available donations that were not earmarked, the person making the lobbying-available donation shall use a reasonable accounting method to determine which donors to identify pursuant to this subdivision, but in no case shall the same lobbying-available donation be disclosed more than one time to avoid disclosure of additional donors who earmarked their funds.
(e) A violation of this section shall not be based solely on the timing of lobbying-available donations made or received.

SEC. 16.SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 17.SEC. 5.

 The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.

SEC. 6.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to protect the integrity of California’s legislative, administrative, and electoral processes by ensuring that recipients of electioneering and issue lobbying communications know who is paying for the communication, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

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