Bill Text: CA SB52 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-29 - Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez. [SB52 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB52-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 52	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 16, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 7, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 1, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Leno and Hill
   (Principal  coauthor:   Senator 
 Correa   coauthors:   Senators 
 Correa   and DeSaulnier  )
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Fong   ) 
   (  Coauthor:   Senator  
Block   Coauthors:   Senators  
Block,   Hancock,   and Wolk  )
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Ammiano   and Wieckowski   ) 

                        DECEMBER 20, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 84505 and 85310 of, to add
Sections84506.1, 84506.2, 84506.3, and 84506.4 to, to repeal Sections
84502, 84503, and 84504 of, and to repeal and add Sections 84501,
84506, 84506.5,  84507,  84508, and 84509 of, the
Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 52, as amended, Leno. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign
disclosures.
   Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the
comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring
the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing
other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign
committees. Existing law additionally imposes disclosure statement
requirements with respect to advertisements supporting or opposing a
candidate or ballot measure paid for by donors making contributions
of specified amounts or by independent expenditures and defines
several terms and phrases for these purposes. Existing law makes a
knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a
misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties.
   This bill would repeal and recast several definitions. The bill
would repeal a committee identification requirement and the
disclosure statement requirements relating to advertisements for or
against any ballot measure paid for by any person whose cumulative
contributions are $50,000 and advertisements paid for by an
independent expenditure. The bill would impose new disclosure
statement requirements for political advertisements that are radio
advertisements, prerecorded telephonic messages, television or video
advertisements, or mass mailing or print advertisements that would
require the identification of identifiable contributors, ballot
measures, and other funding details, as specified. The bill would
also require a committee, in prescribed circumstances, to establish
and maintain a disclosure Internet Web site for the purpose of making
a contribution disclosure statement. By introducing new disclosure
requirements, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, the bill
would create a new crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local
program.
   Existing law requires a person who makes a payment or promise of
payment totaling $50,000 or more for a communication that identifies,
but does not advocate the election or defeat of, a candidate for
elective state office, and that is disseminated within 45 days of an
election, to file a disclosure report with the Secretary of State.
   This bill would reduce the payment threshold to $10,000 and change
the communication dissemination period to the period beginning 120
days before the primary or special election and ending on the date of
the general or runoff election.
   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 and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
   This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known as the California Disclose Act.

  SEC. 2.  Section 84501 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 3.  Section 84501 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   84501.  For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) (1) "Advertisement" means a general or public advertisement
that is any of the following:
   (A) Authorized and paid for by a person or committee for the
purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate for elective office or
a ballot measure or ballot measures.
   (B) An electioneering communication.
   (C) An issue advocacy advertisement.
   (2) "Advertisement" does not include a communication from an
organization other than a political party to its members, a campaign
button smaller than 10 inches in diameter, a bumper sticker smaller
than 60 square inches, or other advertisement as determined by
regulations of the Commission.
   (b) "Cumulative contributions" means the cumulative amount of
contributions received by a committee beginning 18 months prior to
the date the committee made its first expenditure for a political
advertisement or for the purpose of qualifying, supporting, or
opposing a candidate for elective office or a ballot measure.
   (c) "Disclosure Internet Web site" means a committee's Internet
Web site for a specific campaign that discloses the top identifiable
contributors to that committee for that campaign, as described in
Section 84506.3.
   (d) "Disclosure threshold" means ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in
the case of a campaign regarding a statewide ballot measure or a
state candidate or in the case of a statewide issue advocacy
advertisement, or two thousand dollars ($2,000) in the case of a
campaign regarding a local ballot measure or a local candidate or in
the case of a local issue advocacy advertisement.
   (e) "Electioneering communication" means a communication described
in subdivision (a) of Section 85310.
   (f) "Identifiable contributor" means a person that is the original
source of contributions received by a committee that cumulatively
meet or exceed the disclosure threshold, notwithstanding the fact
that the contributions were transferred, in whole or in part, through
one or more other committees or persons.
   (g) "Issue advocacy advertisement" means an advertisement that
clearly refers to and reflects a view on the subject matter,
description, or name of a pending legislative action, administrative
action, or one or more 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 a pending legislative action and is disseminated,
broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 60 days of the end of the
legislative session.
   (3) Refers to one or more ballot measures and is disseminated,
broadcast, or otherwise communicated within 120 days of the election
concerning that measure or measures.
   (h) "Political advertisement" means an advertisement, unless it is
paid for by a candidate-controlled committee and is an advertisement
relating to the candidate's own election and not for any other
campaign.
  SEC. 4.  Section 84502 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 5.  Section 84503 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 6.  Section 84504 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 7.  Section 84505 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84505.  In addition to the requirements of Sections 84506,
84506.1, 84506.2, 84506.3, 84506.4, and 84506.5, the committee
placing the advertisement or persons acting in concert with that
committee shall be prohibited from creating or using a
noncandidate-controlled committee or a nonsponsored committee to
avoid, or that results in the avoidance of, the disclosure of any
individual, industry, business entity, controlled committee, or
sponsored committee as a major funding source.
  SEC. 8.  Section 84506 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 9.  Section 84506 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   84506.  (a) A political advertisement that is a radio
advertisement or prerecorded telephonic message shall include a
disclosure at the end of the advertisement read in a clearly spoken
manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of
the advertisement that reads as follows: "Top funders of this ad are
 state names in descending order of identifiable contributors who
have made the three largest cumulative contributions]. Paid for by
name of the committee that paid for the advertisement]."
   (b) If there are fewer than three identifiable contributors, the
disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be adjusted accordingly
to disclose the qualifying identifiable contributors, if any.
   (c) If there is only one identifiable contributor or the
advertisement lasts 15 seconds or less, the disclosure required by
subdivision (a) shall be adjusted to read as follows: "Top funder of
this ad is state name of identifiable contributor who made the
largest cumulative contributions]. Paid for by name of the committee
that paid for the advertisement]."
   (d) If there are no identifiable contributors or the committee
that paid for the advertisement is the only identifiable contributor,
it may replace the disclosure required by subdivision (a) with the
following: "Paid for by name of the committee that paid for the
advertisement]."
   (e) If the advertisement names each of the identifiable
contributors required to be named pursuant to subdivisions (a) to
(c), inclusive, and identifies the speaker as speaking on behalf of
them, it may replace the disclosure required by subdivision (a) with
the following: "Paid for by name of the committee that paid for the
advertisement]."
   (f) The disclosures specified in subdivision (a) shall not be
required if the committee paying for the political advertisement does
not have cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure
threshold.
  SEC. 10.  Section 84506.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   84506.1.  (a) A political advertisement that is a television or
video advertisement shall include a disclosure area with a solid
black background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or
video display screen at the beginning of the advertisement for a
minimum of five seconds in the case of an advertisement that lasts 30
seconds or less or a minimum of 10 seconds in the case of an
advertisement that lasts longer than 30 seconds. The disclosure area
shall include all of the following:
   (1) The text "Top Funders of This Ad." The text shall be located
at the top of the disclosure area and centered horizontally, shall be
yellow in color in Arial equivalent  font  
type  , and the  font   type  size
shall be at least 4 percent of the height of the television or video
display screen.
   (2) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (1), the
names of the identifiable contributors who have made the three
largest cumulative contributions. The identifiable contributors shall
each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending
order, beginning with the identifiable contributor who made the
largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each
of the identifiable contributors shall be centered horizontally. The
text shall be white in color in Arial Narrow equivalent  font
  type  and the  font   type
 size shall be at least 4 percent of the height of the
television or video display screen.
   (3) The text "Funding Details At insert Internet Web site address
of the disclosure Internet Web site]." The text shall be yellow in
color in Arial Narrow equivalent  font   type
 and the  font   type  size shall be
equivalent to 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video
display screen. The text shall be left-aligned and located in a
position that is 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video
display screen away from the bottom left of the television or video
display screen.
   (4) The text "Paid for by name of the committee that paid for the
advertisement]." The text shall be yellow in color in Arial Narrow
equivalent  font   type  and the 
font   type  size shall be equivalent to 2.5
percent of the height of the television or video display screen. The
text shall be right-aligned and located in a position that is
vertically 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video
display screen away from the bottom right of the television or video
display screen.
   (5) If there are fewer than three identifiable contributors, the
disclosure required by this subdivision shall be adjusted accordingly
to disclose only those that qualify as identifiable contributors, if
any. If the committee does not have any identifiable contributors,
the disclosure shall be adjusted to include the name of the committee
in place of the names of identifiable contributors.
   (b) The disclosures described in subdivision (a) shall not be
required if the committee paying for the political advertisement does
not have cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure
threshold.
  SEC. 11.  Section 84506.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   84506.2.  (a) Except for slate mailers, a political advertisement
that is a mass mailing or a print advertisement and that is 12 square
inches or more in size shall include a disclosure area on the
largest page of the mass mailing or print advertisement that
satisfies all of the following:
   (1) The disclosure area shall have a solid white background so as
to be easily legible, and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the
bottom of the page that is set apart from any other printed matter.
All text in the disclosure area shall be black in color.
   (2) The text "Top Funders of This Ad" shall be located at the top
of the disclosure area and centered horizontally in the disclosure
area. The text shall be in an Arial equivalent  font
  type  with a  font  type
 size of at least 12-point for advertisements smaller than 93
square inches and at least 14-point for advertisements that are equal
to, or larger than, 93 square inches.
   (3) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (2) shall be
the names of the identifiable contributors who have made the three
largest cumulative contributions. The identifiable contributors shall
each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending
order, beginning with the identifiable contributor who made the
largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each
of the identifiable contributors shall be centered horizontally in
the disclosure area. The text shall identify each identifiable
contributor in an Arial Narrow equivalent  font 
 type  with a  font   type  size
of at least 10-point for advertisements smaller than 93 square inches
and at least 12-point for advertisements that are equal to, or
larger than, 93 square inches.
   (A) If the advertisement is 4 inches tall or less, it need only
show the names of the identifiable contributors who have made the two
largest cumulative contributions.
   (B) If the advertisement is 3 inches tall or less, it need only
show the name of the identifiable contributor who made the largest
cumulative contribution, and the text required by paragraph (2) may
say "Top Funder of This Ad."
   (4) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (3), the
text "Funding Details At insert Internet Web site address of the
disclosure Internet Web site]." The text shall be in an Arial Narrow
equivalent  font   type  with at least
10-point  font   type  size for
advertisements smaller than 93 square inches and at least 12-point
 font   type  size for advertisements that
are equal to, or larger than, 93 square inches. This text shall not
be required if the advertisement is 5 inches tall or less.
   (5) The text "Paid for by name of the committee that paid for the
advertisement]." The text shall be located at the bottom of the
disclosure area and shall be in an Arial Narrow equivalent 
font   type  with at least 8-point  font
  type  size for pages smaller than 8.5 inches and
at least 10-point  font   type  size for
pages that are equal to, or larger than, 8.5 inches by 11 inches.
   (6) If there are fewer than three identifiable contributors, the
disclosure shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose the qualifying
identifiable contributors, if any. If the committee does not have any
identifiable contributors, the disclosure shall be adjusted to
include the name of the committee in place of the names of
identifiable contributors.
   (b) The disclosures described in subdivision (a) shall not be
required if the committee paying for the political advertisement does
not have cumulative contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure
threshold.
  SEC. 12.  Section 84506.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   84506.3.  A committee that has paid for political advertisements
and that has received cumulative contributions that meet or exceed
the disclosure threshold shall establish and maintain a disclosure
Internet Web site. If the committee has an Internet Web site, that
Internet Web site may also serve as the disclosure Internet Web site.
The homepage of the disclosure Internet Web site and any landing
pages that visitors are directed to on the disclosure Internet Web
site and any other Internet Web sites maintained by the committee
shall include a disclosure area that satisfies all of the following:
   (a) The disclosure area shall be at least 250 pixels wide and
visible upon landing on the Internet Web site's homepage. The
disclosure area shall have a white background and a border that is
dark in color.
   (b) The disclosure area shall include the text "Top Funders of
This Committee" located at the top of the disclosure area and
centered horizontally in the disclosure area. The text shall be black
in color in an Arial equivalent  font   type
 and shall be at least 10-point  font  
type  size.
   (c) Immediately below the text described in subdivision (b), the
disclosure area shall include a list of the identifiable contributors
who have made the 10 largest cumulative contributions to the
committee. Each identifiable contributor shall be disclosed on a
separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the
identifiable contributor who made the largest cumulative
contributions on the first line. The text shall be black in color in
an Arial Narrow equivalent  font   type 
and shall be at least 9-point  font   type 
size.
   (d) (1) The disclosure area shall include a hyperlink to another
page on the disclosure Internet Web site that lists all of the
committee's identifiable contributors. The hyperlink shall be labeled
"More funding info" and shall be a standard hyperlink centered at
the bottom of the disclosure area that is displayed as blue
underlined text in Arial equivalent  font   type
 in at least 9-point  font   type 
size.
   (2) The hyperlinked page on the disclosure Internet Web site shall
have a title that reads "Large Funders of this Committee." The
linked page shall disclose each identifiable contributor of the
committee on a separate horizontal line, in descending order,
beginning with the identifiable contributor that had the largest
cumulative contribution on the first line. Each line shall show the
name of the identifiable contributor and the amount of its cumulative
contributions, current within three business days. These disclosures
shall be clear and shall be the only content on the page other than
the disclosure Internet Web site's standard navigation features.
   (e) If there are fewer than 10 identifiable contributors, the
disclosure area shall be adjusted accordingly to disclose the
qualifying identifiable contributors, if any. If the committee does
not have any identifiable contributors, the disclosure area shall be
adjusted to include the name of the committee in place of the names
of identifiable contributors.
   (f) Every page of an Internet Web site maintained by a committee
that has paid for political advertisements and that has cumulative
contributions that meet or exceed the disclosure threshold shall
include the statement "Paid for by name of the committee that paid
for the advertisement]" and any other identifying information
specified by the Commission. The text shall have a solid white
background so as to be easily legible, and shall be in a printed or
drawn box on the bottom of the page that is set apart from any other
printed matter. The text shall be black in color in an Arial Narrow
equivalent  font   type  and shall be at
least 8-point  font   type  size.
  SEC. 13.  Section 84506.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   84506.4.  The Commission  shall   may 
promulgate regulations to require disclosures on all forms of
political advertisements not covered by this article, including, but
not limited to, electronic media advertisements and billboards. If
feasible, the regulations shall require the listing of the name of
the committee and as many of the three identifiable contributors that
made the largest cumulative contributions as possible in a
conspicuous manner. This disclosure area shall occupy no more than 10
percent of the advertisement. If the advertisement medium allows,
the disclosure area shall contain a hyperlink to the disclosure
Internet Web site.
  SEC. 14.  Section 84506.5 of the Government Code is repealed.
   SEC. 14.5.   SEC. 15.   Section 84506.5
is added to the Government Code, to read:
   84506.5.  The Commission shall promulgate regulations to require
disclosure of the name of the committee, if feasible, on all
advertisements that are paid for by a candidate-controlled committee
and that are advertisements relating to the candidate's own election
and not for any other campaign.
   SEC. 15.   SEC. 16.   Section 84507 of
the Government Code is repealed. 
  SEC. 16.    Section 84507 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
   84507.  For purposes of a disclosure required by this article, the
following shall also apply in the event that an identifiable
contributor is a person who is an individual:
   (a) If the committee receiving the cumulative contributions is
supporting or opposing a candidate, the disclosure shall include the
occupation and employer of the identifiable contributor in addition
to the contributor's name. If the identifiable contributor is not
employed, no occupation or employer shall be listed.
   (b) If the committee receiving the cumulative contributions is
supporting or opposing a ballot measure, and the passage or defeat of
the ballot measure directly benefits the employer of the
identifiable contributor, the disclosure shall include the occupation
and employer of the identifiable contributor in addition to the
contributor's name.
   (c) If the employer of an identifiable contributor is also an
identifiable contributor of that committee, the cumulative
contributions of its employees shall be deemed to be cumulative
contributions by the employer for purposes of determining which
identifiable contributors shall be disclosed on an advertisement
pursuant to this article. This subdivision does not apply to an
employee whose cumulative contributions amount to more than 75
percent of the cumulative contributions of the employer. 
  SEC. 17.  Section 84508 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 18.  Section 84508 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   84508.  (a) The disclosure of the name of an identifiable
contributor required by this article need not include such legal
terms as "incorporated," "committee," "political action committee,"
or "corporation," or their abbreviations, unless the term is part of
the contributor's name in common usage or parlance. This section does
not prevent a contributor from being disclosed by a name used in
common usage or parlance, including, but not limited to, an
abbreviation or acronym.
   (b) If this article requires the disclosure of the name of an
identifiable contributor that is a sponsored committee, only the name
of the committee's sponsoring organization shall be disclosed.
   (c) For a disclosure made pursuant to Sections 84506 to 84506.3,
inclusive, the committee name listed need not include its economic or
other special interests, nor the names of any major donors.
  SEC. 19.  Section 84509 of the Government Code is repealed.
  SEC. 20.  Section 84509 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   84509.  If the order of the identifiable contributors required to
be displayed in an advertisement pursuant to this article changes,
the disclosure in the advertisement shall be updated as follows:
   (a) A television, radio, or other electronic media political
advertisement shall be updated to reflect the new ordering of
identifiable contributors within seven business days, or five
business days if the change in the order of identifiable contributors
occurs within 30 days of an election.
   (b) A print media advertisement, including nonelectronic
billboards, shall be updated to reflect the new ordering of
identifiable contributors prior to placing a new or modified order
for additional printing of the advertisement.
  SEC. 21.  Section 85310 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   85310.  (a) A person who makes a payment or a promise of payment
totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more for a communication
that clearly identifies a candidate for elective office, but does not
expressly advocate the election or defeat of the candidate, and that
is disseminated, broadcast, or otherwise published during the period
beginning 120 days before the primary or special election and ending
on the date of the general or runoff election, shall file online or
electronically with the Secretary of State a report disclosing the
name of the person, address, occupation, and employer, and amount of
the payment. The report shall be filed within 48 hours of making the
payment or the promise to make the payment.
   (b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), if a person has
received a payment or a promise of a payment from other persons
totaling five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more for the purpose of
making a communication described in subdivision (a), the person
receiving the payments shall disclose on the report the name,
address, occupation and employer, and date and amount received from
the person.
   (2) A person who receives or is promised a payment that is
otherwise reportable under paragraph (1) is not required to report
the payment if the person is in the business of providing goods or
services and receives or is promised the payment for the purpose of
providing those goods or services.
   (c) A payment received by a person who makes a communication
described in subdivision (a) is subject to the limits specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 85303 if the communication is made at the
behest of the clearly identified candidate.
  SEC. 22.  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. 23.  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.