BILL NUMBER: AB 481	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  496
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 24, 2012
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2012
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 31, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 13, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 6, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 25, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gordon

                        FEBRUARY 15, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 82036, 82036.5, 84102, 84104,84213, and
84506 of, and to amend, renumber, and add Section 82047.6 of, the
Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 481, Gordon. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosure.

   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.
   This bill would require each campaign committee to identify its
principal officer or officers, as defined, and would require each
principal officer to maintain the committee's accounts and records.
In addition, the bill would require a committee's principal officer,
in the event the committee files a statement or report disclosing an
independent expenditure, to sign a verification verifying that the
committee has not received unreported contributions or reimbursements
to make the independent expenditure and has not coordinated with the
candidate or the opponent of the candidate or the proponent or the
opponent of the state measure that is the subject of the expenditure.

   The Political Reform Act of 1974 defines "late contribution" and
"late independent expenditure" as any contribution or independent
expenditure totaling in the aggregate $1,000 or more that is made for
or against any specific candidate, committee, or measure involved in
an election that is made or received before the date of the election
but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required
to be filed prior to the election.
   This bill would instead define "late contribution" and "late
independent expenditure" to mean a contribution or independent
expenditure made within 90 days before the date of the election at
which the candidate or measure is to be voted on.
   The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires that broadcast and mass
mailing advertisements supporting or opposing candidates or ballot
measures include disclosure statements that reflect specified
information.
   This bill would require any advertisement supporting or opposing
candidates or ballot measures to include such disclosure statements.
   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 impose a state-mandated local program by creating
additional crimes.
   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.



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

  SECTION 1.  Section 82036 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   82036.  "Late contribution" means any of the following:
   (a) A contribution, including a loan, that totals in the aggregate
one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more and is made to or received by
a candidate, a controlled committee, or a committee formed or
existing primarily to support or oppose a candidate or measure within
90 days before the date of the election at which the candidate or
measure is to be voted on. For purposes of the Board of
Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the
Teachers' Retirement Board, "the date of the election" is the
deadline to return ballots.
   (b) A contribution, including a loan, that totals in the aggregate
one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more and is made to or received by
a political party committee, as defined in Section 85205, within 90
days before the date of a state election.
  SEC. 2.  Section 82036.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   82036.5.  "Late independent expenditure" means an independent
expenditure that totals in the aggregate one thousand dollars
($1,000) or more and is made for or against a specific candidate or
measure involved in an election within 90 days before the date of the
election. For purposes of the Board of Administration of the Public
Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement Board, "the
date of the election" is the deadline to return ballots.
  SEC. 3.  Section 82047.6 of the Government Code is amended and
renumbered to read:
   82047.7  "Proponent of a state ballot measure" means "proponent"
as defined in Section 9002 of the Elections Code.
  SEC. 4.  Section 82047.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   82047.6.  (a) "Principal officer" means the individual primarily
responsible for approving the political activities of a committee,
including, but not limited to, the following activities:
   (1) Authorizing the content of communications made by the
committee.
   (2) Authorizing expenditures, including contributions, on behalf
of the committee.
   (3) Determining the committee's campaign strategy.
   (b) If two or more individuals share the primary responsibility
for approving the political activities of a committee, each
individual is a principal officer.
  SEC. 5.  Section 84102 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84102.  The statement of organization required by Section 84101
shall include all of the following:
   (a) The name, street address, and telephone number, if any, of the
committee. In the case of a sponsored committee, the name of the
committee shall include the name of its sponsor. Whenever a committee
has more than one sponsor, and the sponsors are members of an
industry or other identifiable group, a term identifying that
industry or group shall be included in the name of the committee.
   (b) In the case of a sponsored committee, the name, street
address, and telephone number of each sponsor.
   (c) The full name, street address, and telephone number, if any,
of the treasurer and any other principal officers. A committee with
more than one principal officer shall identify its principal officers
as follows:
   (1) A committee with three or fewer principal officers shall
identify all principal officers.
   (2) A committee with more than three principal officers shall
identify no fewer than three principal officers.
   If no individual other than the treasurer is a principal officer,
the treasurer shall be identified as both the treasurer and the
principal officer.
   (d) The full name and office sought by any candidate, and the
title and ballot number, if any, of any measure, that the committee
supports or opposes as its primary activity. A committee that does
not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures as
its primary activity shall provide a brief description of its
political activities, including whether it supports or opposes
candidates or measures and whether such candidates or measures have
common characteristics, such as a political party affiliation.
   (e) A statement whether the committee is independent or controlled
and, if it is controlled, the name of each candidate or state
measure proponent by which it is controlled, or the name of any
controlled committee with which it acts jointly. If a committee is
controlled by a candidate for partisan office, the controlled
committee shall indicate the political party, if any, with which the
candidate is affiliated.
   (f) For a committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision
(a) or (b) of Section 82013, the name and address of the financial
institution where the committee has established an account and the
account number.
   (g) Such other information as shall be required by the rules or
regulations of the Commission consistent with the purposes and
provisions of this chapter.
  SEC. 6.  Section 84104 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84104.  It shall be the duty of each candidate, treasurer,
principal officer, and elected officer to maintain detailed accounts,
records, bills, and receipts necessary to prepare campaign
statements, to establish that campaign statements were properly
filed, and to otherwise comply with the provisions of this chapter.
The detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts shall be retained
by the filer for a period specified by the Commission. However, the
Commission shall not require retention of records for a period longer
than the statute of limitations specified in Section 91000.5 or two
years after the adoption of an audit report pursuant to Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 90000), whichever is less.
  SEC. 7.  Section 84213 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84213.  (a) A candidate and state measure proponent shall verify
his or her campaign statement and the campaign statement of each
committee subject to his or her control. The verification shall be in
accordance with the provisions of Section 81004 except that it shall
state that to the best of his or her knowledge the treasurer of each
controlled committee used all reasonable diligence in the
preparation of the committee's statement. This section does not
relieve the treasurer of any committee from the obligation to verify
each campaign statement filed by the committee pursuant to Section
81004.
   (b) If a committee is required to file a campaign statement or
report disclosing an independent expenditure pursuant to this title,
a principal officer of the committee or, in the case of a controlled
committee, the candidate or state measure proponent or opponent who
controls the committee shall sign a verification on a report
prescribed by the Commission. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this title, the report containing the verification required by this
subdivision shall be filed only with the Commission. The verification
shall read as follows:
   I have not received any unreported contributions or reimbursements
to make these independent expenditures. I have not coordinated any
expenditure made during this reporting period with the candidate or
the opponent of the candidate who is the subject of the expenditure,
with the proponent or the opponent of the state measure that is the
subject of the expenditure, or with the agents of the candidate or
the opponent of the candidate or the state measure proponent or
opponent.
  SEC. 8.  Section 84506 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84506.  (a) An advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate or
ballot measure, that is paid for by an independent expenditure,
shall include a disclosure statement that identifies both of the
following:
   (1) The name of the committee making the independent expenditure.
   (2) The names of the persons from whom the committee making the
independent expenditure has received its two highest cumulative
contributions of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more during the
12-month period prior to the expenditure. If the committee can show,
on the basis that contributions are spent in the order they are
received, that contributions received from the two highest
contributors have been used for expenditures unrelated to the
candidate or ballot measure featured in the communication, the
committee shall disclose the contributors making the next largest
cumulative contributions of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more.

   (b) If an acronym is used to identify any committee names required
by this section, the names of any sponsoring organization of the
committee shall be printed on print advertisements or spoken in
broadcast advertisements.
  SEC. 9.  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. 10.  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.