Bill Text: CA AB1170 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: filing requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-28 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A. [AB1170 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1170-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
May 28, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 23, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1170
| Introduced by Assembly Member Valencia |
February 16, 2023 |
An act to amend Sections 81009 and 87500.3 of, and to repeal and add Section 87500 of, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1170, as amended, Valencia.
Political Reform Act of 1974: filing requirements.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 generally requires elected officials, candidates for elective offices, and committees formed primarily to support or oppose a candidate for public office or a ballot measure, along with other persons and entities, to file periodic campaign statements and certain reports concerning campaign finances and related matters. Existing law permits a report or statement that has been on file for at least two years to be retained by a filing officer as a copy on microfilm or other space-saving materials and, after the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system, as an electronic copy.
This bill would permit a filing officer to retain a report or statement filed in a paper format as a copy on microfilm or other space-saving materials or as an electronic copy, as specified,
without a two-year waiting period. The bill would also permit a filing officer to retain a report or statement as an electronic copy before the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system. Once the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system, this bill would permit a filing officer to retain a report or statement filed in a paper format as an electronic copy, as specified, without a two-year waiting period.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates conflicts of interests of public officials and requires that public officials file, with specified filing officers, periodic statements of economic interests disclosing certain information regarding income, investments, and other financial data. The Fair Political Practices Commission is the filing officer for statewide elected officers and candidates and other specified public officials. If the Commission is the filing officer, the public
official generally files with their agency or another person or entity, who then makes a copy and files the original with the Commission.
This bill would revise and recast these filing requirements to make various changes, including requiring public officials and candidates for whom the Commission is the filing officer to file their original statements of economic interests electronically with the Commission. The bill would also make conforming changes to other provisions of law. The bill would require the Commission to redact the signature, personal address, and telephone number of a filer, and the street name and building number of the filer’s business address and any real property interests. filer.
Existing
constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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.
Digest Key
Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 81009 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 1183 of the Statutes of 1985, is amended to read:81009.
(a) Statements of organization, registration statements, and original campaign statements of persons holding elective state office, candidates for any such office, committees supporting any such officeholder or candidate, and committees supporting or opposing statewide measures, shall be retained by filing officers indefinitely.(b) Original campaign statements of mayors, city council members, county supervisors, candidates for any of these offices, and committees supporting any officeholder or candidate shall be retained indefinitely, except that original campaign statements of candidates not elected to these offices and of committees supporting
candidates not elected to these offices shall be retained by filing officers for a period of not less than five years.
(c) Original campaign statements of all other persons shall be retained by filing officers for a period of not less than seven years.
(d) Original statements of economic interests of persons holding statewide elective office shall be retained by filing officers indefinitely.
(e) Original reports and statements not specified above in this section shall be retained by filing officers for a period of not less than seven years.
(f) Copies of reports or statements shall be retained by the officer with whom they are filed for a period of not less than
four years, provided, however, that a filing officer is not required to retain more than one copy of a report or statement.
(g) (1) If an original report or statement or a copy is filed in a paper format, the officer with whom it is filed may comply with this section by retaining one of the following available for public
inspection:
(A) The original report or statement or copy filed in a paper format.
(B) A copy on microfilm or other space-saving materials.
(C) An electronic copy.
(2) Upon request, the officer shall provide copies of such statements pursuant to Section 81008.
SEC. 2.
Section 81009 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 5 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:81009.
(a) Statements of organization, registration statements, and original campaign statements of persons holding elective state office, candidates for any such office, committees supporting any such officeholder or candidate, and committees supporting or opposing statewide measures, shall be retained by filing officers indefinitely.(b) Original campaign statements of mayors, city council members, county supervisors, candidates for any of these offices, and committees supporting any officeholder or candidate shall be retained indefinitely, except that original campaign statements of candidates not elected to these offices and of committees supporting candidates not elected to these
offices shall be retained by filing officers for a period of at least five years.
(c) Original campaign statements of all other persons shall be retained by filing officers for at least seven years.
(d) Original statements of economic interests of persons holding statewide elective office shall be retained by filing officers indefinitely.
(e) Original reports and statements not specified above in this section shall be retained by filing officers for at least seven years.
(f) Copies of reports or statements shall be retained by the officer with whom they are filed for at least four years, provided, however, that a filing officer is not required to retain more than one
copy of a report or statement.
(g) (1) If an original report or statement or a copy is filed in a paper format, the officer with whom it is filed may comply with this section by retaining either of the following available for public inspection:
(A) The original report or statement or copy filed in a paper format.
(B) An electronic copy.
(2) Upon request, the office shall provide copies of such statements pursuant to Section 81008.
(3) Reports and statements filed online or electronically under this title shall be retained and archived pursuant to this section
and Sections 84602 and 84615.
SEC. 3.
Section 87500 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 4.
Section 87500 is added to the Government Code, to read:87500.
(a) (1) A statement of economic interests filed by a public official, for whom the Commission is the filing officer, shall be filed with the Commission using the Commission’s electronic filing system.(2) The Commission shall be the filing officer for statements of economic interests filed by all of the following:
(A) A statewide elected officer or candidate for statewide elective office.
(B) A member of, or candidate for, the Legislature or State Board of Equalization.
(C) A member of the Public Utilities Commission, State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, or California Coastal Commission.
(D) A member of a state licensing or regulatory board, bureau, or commission.
(E) A person appointed to a state board, commission, or similar multimember body of the state if the Commission has been designated as the filing officer in the conflict of interest code of the respective board, commission, or body.
(F) A person holding, or candidate for, the office of district attorney, county counsel, county treasurer, or county board of supervisors.
(G) A city manager or, if there is no city manager, the
chief administrative officer.
(H) A person holding, or candidate for, the office of city council
member, city treasurer, city attorney, or mayor.
(I) A county planning commissioner or city planning commissioner.
(J) A county chief administrative officer.
(K) A judge, court commissioner, or candidate for judge.
(L) A head of a local government agency or member of a local government board or commission, for which the Commission is the code reviewing body, if the Commission has been designated as the filing officer in the conflict of interest code of the respective agency, board, or commission.
(M) A designated employee of the Legislature directed to file directly with the
Commission by the house of the Legislature by which the designated employee is employed.
(N) A designated employee of more than one joint powers insurance agency who elects to file a multiagency statement pursuant to Section 87350.
(b) A statement of economic interests filed by a public official, for whom the Commission is not the filing officer, shall be filed as follows:
(1) Members of the Commission shall file electronically using the Commission’s electronic filing system and the Commission shall send a copy of the filing to the office of the Attorney General, which shall be the filing officer.
(2) Except as provided in subparagraph (L) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) and this paragraph, a head of a local government agency, member of a local government agency board or commission, or member of a board or commission not under the
jurisdiction of a local legislative body shall file one original with the agency, board, or commission, which shall make and retain a copy and forward the original to the code reviewing body, which shall be the filing officer. The code reviewing body may require that the original be filed directly with the code reviewing body and that no copy be retained by the agency, board, or commission.
(3) Except as provided in subparagraph (M) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), a designated employee of the Legislature shall file one original with the house of the Legislature by which the designated employee is employed.
(c) A person not otherwise designated in this section shall file one original with the agency or with the code reviewing body, as provided by the code reviewing
body in the agency’s conflict of interest code.
SEC. 5.
Section 87500.3 of the Government Code is amended to read:87500.3.
(a) The Commission shall operate an online system for filing statements of economic interests required by Article 2 (commencing with Section 87200) and Article 3 (commencing with Section 87300). Consistent with Section 87500.4, the online system shall enable a filer to comply with the requirements of this chapter relating to the filing of statements of economic interests and shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:(1) A means or method whereby a filer may electronically file, free of charge, a statement of economic interests that includes an electronic transmission that is submitted under penalty of perjury in conformity with Section 81004 of this code and
subdivision (b) of Section 1633.11 of the Civil Code.
(2) Security safeguards that include firewalls, data encryption, secure authentication, and all necessary hardware and software and industry best practices to ensure that the security and integrity of the data and information contained in each statement of economic interests are not jeopardized or compromised.
(b) (1) A system developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall issue to a person who electronically files the person’s statement of economic interests, or an amendment to a statement of economic interests, an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the filer’s statement of economic interests or amendment was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement
of economic interests or amendment was received and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received.
(2) A paper copy retained by the filer of a statement of economic interests or amendment that was electronically filed and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows that the filer timely filed the filer’s statement of economic interests or amendment shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer filed the filer’s statement of economic interests or amendment on time.
(c) The Commission shall conduct public hearings to receive input on the implementation of the online system, maintain ongoing coordination among affected state and local agencies as necessary, and develop training and assistance programs for state and local filing officers
and filers regarding use of the online system for filing statements of economic interests.
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Commission may make all the data filed on the system operated pursuant to subdivision (a) available on the Commission’s internet website in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access, and shall provide assistance to those seeking public access to the information.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Commission shall redact private information, including, but not limited to, the signature, personal residential address,
signature and telephone
number of the filer, and the street name and building number of the filer’s business address and any real property interests, personal residential address of the filer anywhere it appears on the statement of economic interests, from the data that is made available on the internet pursuant to this subdivision. The Commission shall develop and implement a policy regarding redaction of private information for the purposes of this paragraph, and shall conduct one or more public hearings to receive input on the development of that policy.
SEC. 6.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 5 of this act, which amends Section 87500.3 of the Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:In order to protect filers’ privacy, the limitations on the public’s right of access imposed by Section 5 of this act are necessary.
