Bill Text: CA AB800 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-04-03 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 9, Statutes of 2014. [AB800 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB800-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 800	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gordon

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 82007, 82013, 82016, 84101, 84303, 85201,
89519, 90002, 90003, 90004, and 90005 of, and to add Sections 90008
and 90009 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform
Act of 1974.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 800, as introduced, Gordon. Political Reform Act of 1974
   (1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 defines various terms for
purposes of the reporting and disclosure requirements under the act.
   The act defines the term "candidate" as including, in addition to
other individuals, an officeholder who is the subject of a recall
election. This definition also provides that an individual who
becomes a candidate retains his or her status as a candidate until
the time that this status is terminated.
   This bill would revise this definition to provide that the term
"candidate" includes any officeholder, regardless of whether he or
she is the subject of a recall election, and would provide that a
candidate retains that status until the time that he or she leaves
office and the status is terminated.
   The act defines a "committee" as any person or combination of
persons who receives contributions or makes independent expenditures
totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year.
   This bill would increase the monetary threshold of contributions
or independent expenditures that qualify a person or combination of
persons as a committee to $2,000. The bill also would make conforming
changes.
   The act defines a "controlled committee" as a committee that is
controlled directly or indirectly by a candidate or state measure
proponent or that acts jointly with a candidate, controlled
committee, or state measure proponent in connection with the making
of expenditures. The act provides that a candidate or state measure
proponent controls a committee if he or she, his or her agent, or any
other committee he or she controls has a significant influence on
the actions or decisions of the committee.
   This bill would establish a presumption that a committee is
significantly influenced by a candidate for purposes of these
provisions if any of several specified factors is satisfied.
   (2) The act prohibits an agent or independent contractor from
making an expenditure of $500 or more, other than overhead or normal
operating expenses, on behalf of or for the benefit of any candidate
or committee unless it is reported by the candidate or committee as
if the expenditure were made directly by the candidate or committee.
The act requires an agent or independent contractor to make known to
the candidate or committee all information subject to this reporting
requirement.
   This bill, in addition, would require a subagent or subcontractor
who provides goods or services to or for the benefit of a candidate
or committee to make known to the agent or independent contractor all
of the information subject to the reporting requirement described
above, and would require that disclosure of this information by a
subagent or subcontractor to the agent or independent contractor or
by the agent or independent contractor to the candidate or committee
occur no later than three working days prior to the time the campaign
statement reporting the expenditure is required to be filed, except
that an expenditure that is required to be reported as a late
contribution or late independent expenditure must be reported to the
candidate or committee within 24 hours of the time that it is made.
   (3) The act defines as "surplus campaign funds" campaign funds
that are under the control of a former candidate or former elected
officer as of the date of leaving elective office or the end of the
postelection reporting period following the defeat of the candidate
for elective office, whichever occurs last. The act restricts the
purposes for which surplus campaign funds may be expended.
   This bill would increase the time at which campaign funds become
surplus campaign funds by 90 days following either the officer
leaving elective office or the end of the postelection reporting
period following the defeat of a candidate, whichever occurs last.
   (4) The act requires the Franchise Tax Board to conduct audits and
field investigations of various financial statements required to be
submitted by lobbying firms, lobbyist employers, candidates, and
specified committees.
   The act prohibits the commencement of an audit or investigation of
a candidate, controlled committee, or committee primarily supporting
or opposing a candidate or a measure in connection with a report or
statement required by specified provisions of the act until after the
last date for filing the first report or statement following the
general, runoff, or special election for the office for which the
candidate ran, or following the election at which the measure was
adopted or defeated, except as provided. The act prescribes the scope
of campaign statements and reports to be included in audits and
investigations of candidates, controlled committees, or committees
primarily supporting or opposing a candidate or a measure.
   This bill would delete these provisions that delay the
commencement of an audit or investigation and prescribe the scope of
audits and investigations.
    In addition to the general auditing requirements imposed on the
Franchise Tax Board as described above, the act authorizes the
Franchise Tax Board and the Fair Political Practices Commission to
make investigations and audits with respect to any reports or
statements required by specified provisions of the act regarding
campaign disclosure, limitations on contributions, and lobbyists.
   This bill would expand this authority to allow the Franchise Tax
Board and the Fair Political Practices Commission to make
investigations and audits with respect to any reports or statements
required under the act.
   The act requires the Franchise Tax Board periodically to prepare
reports regarding its audit and investigations under the act and send
them to the Commission, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney
General. The act requires the board to complete its report of any
audit conducted on a random basis pursuant to a specified statute
within one year after the person or entity subject to the audit is
selected by the Commission to be audited.
   This bill would delete this deadline for completing reports
regarding audits conducted on a random basis.
   The act prohibits a member, employee, or agent of the Franchise
Tax Board from divulging or making known in any manner any
particulars of any record, documents, or information which he or she
receives by virtue of conducting audits and investigations, except as
provided.
   This bill, in addition, would make this prohibition applicable to
a member, employee, or agent of the Fair Political Practices
Commission.
   This bill would authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission,
and the Franchise Tax Board at the direction of the Commission, to
audit any record required to be maintained under the act in order to
ensure compliance with the act prior to an election, even if the
record is a report or statement that has not yet been filed. The bill
would authorize the Commission to seek injunctive relief in a
superior court to compel disclosure consistent with the act, and
would require a court to grant expedited review of an action filed
pursuant to this provision, as specified.
   (5) 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.
   (6) 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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The people of this state have a compelling interest in
ensuring that the political contributions and expenditures of
nonprofit entities, multipurpose organizations, and other committees
are subject to prompt public disclosure prior to elections in order
to provide as much information to the public as possible in a timely
manner.
   (b) If the Fair Political Practices Commission determines that an
audit or investigation is in the best interests of the public in
order to detect violations of the Political Reform Act of 1974,
judicial review of an action in this regard should receive expedited
review.
   (c) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
the Fair Political Practices Commission be given the authority to
carry out the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 in a
manner that ensures information regarding political contributions and
expenditures is provided to the public in an expedited manner prior
to elections.
  SEC. 2.  Section 82007 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   82007.  "Candidate" means an individual who is listed on the
ballot  ,  or who has qualified to have write-in votes on
his or her behalf counted by election officials, for nomination for
or election to  any   an  elective office,
or who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure or gives his
or her consent for any other person to receive a contribution or make
an expenditure with a view to bringing about his or her nomination
or election to  any   an  elective office,
whether or not the specific elective office for which he or she will
seek nomination or election is known at the time the contribution is
received or the expenditure is made and whether or not he or she has
announced his or her candidacy or filed a declaration of candidacy at
 such   that  time. "Candidate" also
includes  any   an  officeholder 
who is the subject of a recall election . An individual who
becomes a candidate shall retain his or her status as a candidate
until  such   the  time  as that
  he or she leaves office and his or her  status
 as a candidate  is terminated pursuant to Section 84214.
"Candidate" does not include  any   a 
person within the meaning of Section 301(b) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971.
  SEC. 3.  Section 82013 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   82013.  "Committee" means  any  a 
person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any
of the following:
   (a) Receives contributions totaling  one thousand dollars
($1,000)   two thousand dollars ($2,000)  or more
in a calendar year.
   (b) Makes independent expenditures totaling  one thousand
dollars ($1,000)   two thousand dollars ($2,000) 
or more in a calendar year  ; or   . 
   (c) Makes contributions totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or
more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or
committees.
   A person or combination of persons that becomes a committee shall
retain its status as a committee until such time as that status is
terminated pursuant to Section 84214.
  SEC. 4.  Section 82016 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   82016.  (a) "Controlled committee" means a committee that is
controlled directly or indirectly by a candidate or state measure
proponent or that acts jointly with a candidate, controlled
committee, or state measure proponent in connection with the making
of expenditures. A candidate or state measure proponent controls a
committee if he or she, his or her agent, or any other committee he
or she controls has a significant influence on the actions or
decisions of the committee.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a political party committee,
as defined in Section 85205, is not a controlled committee. 
   (c) For purposes of subdivision (a), a committee is presumed to be
significantly influenced by a candidate, his or her agent, or
another committee he or she controls if any of the following is
satisfied:  
   (1) The candidate, or his or her agent, is a voting member of the
committee's governing body.  
   (2) The candidate, or his or her agent, is involved in the
decisionmaking of the committee, or the development or implementation
of the committee's campaign strategy.  
   (3) The candidate, or his or her agent, is involved in directing,
planning, or implementing the committee's fundraising activities in a
greater capacity than making endorsements or appearing at
fundraisers.  
   (4) The candidate, or his or her agent, is substantially involved
in directing the day-to-day operations of the committee. 
  SEC. 5.  Section 84101 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84101.  (a) A committee that is a committee by virtue of
subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of
organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement
of organization with the Secretary of State and shall  also
 file a copy of the statement of organization with the local
filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file
the originals of its campaign reports pursuant to Section 84215. The
original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed
within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The
Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files
a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the
number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed
pursuant to this section to the county elections official of each
county that he or she deems appropriate. A county elections official
who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary
of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement
to the clerk of each city in the county that he or she deems
appropriate.
   (b) In addition to filing the statement of organization as
required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee
under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election
in connection with which the committee is required to file
preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last
campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant
to Section 84200.7, 84200.8, or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by
facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal
delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the
information required to be reported in the statement of organization.
The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the
filing officer with whom the committee is required to file the
originals of its campaign reports pursuant to Section 84215.
   (c) If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a
committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the
time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent
expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or
oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall
file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed
overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of
qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in
the statement of organization. The information required by this
section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the
committee is required to file the original of its campaign reports
pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations
required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the
independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in
addition to filings that may be required by Sections 84203.5 and
84204.
   (d) For purposes of this section, in calculating whether 
one thousand dollars ($1,000)   two thousand dollars
($2,000)  in contributions has been received, payments for a
filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample
ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from
the candidate's personal funds.
  SEC. 6.  Section 84303 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   84303.   No   (a)     An
expenditure of five hundred dollars ($500) or more shall 
not  be made, other than  for  overhead or normal
operating expenses, by an agent or independent contractor, including,
but not limited to, an advertising agency, on behalf of or for the
benefit of  any   a  candidate or committee
unless it is reported by the candidate or committee as if the
expenditure were made directly by the candidate or committee.
 The 
    (b)     A subagent or subcontractor who
provides goods or services to or for the benefit of a candidate or
committee shall make known to the agent or independe   nt
contractor all of the information required to be reported by this
section, and the  agent or independent contractor shall 
then  make known to the candidate or committee all  of the
 information required to be reported by this section  no
later than three working days prior to the time the campaign
statement reporting the expenditure is required to be filed, except
that an expenditure that is required to be reported by Section 84203
or 84204 shall be reported to the candidate or committee within 24
hours of the time that it is made  .
  SEC. 7.  Section 85201 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   85201.  (a) Upon the filing of the statement of intention pursuant
to Section 85200, the individual shall establish one campaign
contribution account at an office of a financial institution located
in the state.
   (b) As required by subdivision (f) of Section 84102, a candidate
who raises contributions of  one thousand dollars ($1,000)
  two thousand dollars ($2,000)  or more in a
calendar year shall set forth the name and address of the financial
institution where the candidate has established a campaign
contribution account and the account number on the committee
statement of organization filed pursuant to Sections 84101 and 84103.

   (c) All contributions or loans made to the candidate, to a person
on behalf of the candidate, or to the candidate's controlled
committee shall be deposited in the account.
   (d) Any personal funds  which   that 
will be utilized to promote the election of the candidate shall be
deposited in the account prior to expenditure.
   (e) All campaign expenditures shall be made from the account.
   (f) Subdivisions (d) and (e) do not apply to a candidate's payment
for a filing fee and statement of qualifications from his or her
personal funds.
   (g) This section does not apply to a candidate who will not
receive contributions and who makes expenditures from personal funds
of less than  one thousand dollars ($1,000)  
two thousand dollars ($2,000)  in a calendar year to support his
or her candidacy. For purposes of this section, a candidate's
payment for a filing fee and statement of qualifications shall not be
included in calculating the total expenditures made.
   (h) An individual who raises contributions from others for his or
her campaign, but who raises or spends less than  one
thousand dollars ($1,000)   two thousand dollars
($2,000)  in a calendar year, and does not qualify as a
committee under Section 82013, shall establish a campaign
contribution account pursuant to subdivision (a), but is not required
to file a committee statement of organization pursuant to Section
84101 or other statement of bank account information.
  SEC. 8.  Section 89519 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   89519.  (a) Upon  the 90th day after  leaving 
any elected   an elective  office, or  at
  the 90th day following  the end of the
postelection reporting period following the defeat of a candidate for
elective office, whichever occurs last, campaign funds 
raised after January 1, 1989,  under the control of the
former candidate or elected officer shall be considered surplus
campaign funds and shall be disclosed pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 84100).
   (b) Surplus campaign funds shall be used only for the following
purposes:
   (1) The payment of outstanding campaign debts or elected officer's
expenses.
   (2) The repayment of contributions.
   (3) Donations to  any   a  bona fide
charitable, educational, civic, religious, or similar tax-exempt,
nonprofit organization, where no substantial part of the proceeds
will have a material financial effect on the former candidate or
elected officer, any member of his or her immediate family, or his or
her campaign treasurer.
   (4) Contributions to a political party committee, provided the
campaign funds are not used to support or oppose candidates for
elective office. However, the campaign funds may be used by a
political party committee to conduct partisan voter registration,
partisan get-out-the-vote activities, and slate mailers as that term
is defined in Section 82048.3.
   (5) Contributions to support or oppose  any  
a  candidate for federal office,  any   a
 candidate for elective office in a state other than California,
or  any   a  ballot measure.
   (6) The payment for professional services reasonably required by
the committee to assist in the performance of its administrative
functions, including payment for attorney's fees for litigation
 which   that  arises directly out of a
candidate's or elected officer's activities, duties, or status as a
candidate or elected officer, including, but not limited to, an
action to enjoin defamation, defense of an action brought  of
  for a violation of state or local campaign,
disclosure, or election laws, and an action from an election contest
or recount.
   (c) For purposes of this section, the payment for, or the
reimbursement to the state of, the costs of installing and monitoring
an electronic security system in the home or office, or both, of a
candidate or elected officer who has received threats to his or her
physical safety shall be deemed an outstanding campaign debt or
elected officer's expense, provided that the threats arise from his
or her activities, duties, or status as a candidate or elected
officer and that the threats have been reported to and verified by an
appropriate law enforcement agency. Verification shall be determined
solely by the law enforcement agency to which the threat was
reported. The candidate or elected officer shall report  any
  an  expenditure of campaign funds made pursuant
to this section to the  commission   Commission
 . The report to the  commission  
Commission  shall include the date that the candidate or elected
officer informed the law enforcement agency of the threat, the name
and the telephone number of the law enforcement agency, and a brief
description of the threat. No more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) in surplus campaign funds may be used, cumulatively, by a
candidate or elected officer pursuant to this subdivision. Payments
made pursuant to this subdivision shall be made during the two years
immediately following the date upon which the campaign funds become
surplus campaign funds. The candidate or elected officer shall
reimburse the surplus fund account for the fair market value of the
security system no later than two years immediately following the
date upon which the campaign funds became surplus campaign funds. The
campaign funds become surplus campaign funds upon sale of the
property on which the system is installed, or prior to the closing of
the surplus campaign fund account, whichever comes first. The
electronic security system shall be the property of the campaign
committee of the candidate or elected officer.
  SEC. 9.  Section 90002 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   90002.  (a) Audits and investigations of lobbying firms and
lobbyist employers shall be performed on a biennial basis and shall
cover reports filed during a period of two years.
   (b) If a lobbying firm or lobbyist employer keeps a separate
account for all receipts and payments for which reporting is required
by this chapter, the requirement of an audit under subdivision (a)
of Section 90001 shall be satisfied by an audit of that account and
the supporting documentation required to be maintained by Section
86110. 
   (c) No audit or investigation of any candidate, controlled
committee, or committee primarily supporting or opposing a candidate
or a measure in connection with a report or statement required by
Chapter 4 of this title, shall begin until after the last date for
filing the first report or statement following the general, runoff or
special election for the office for which the candidate ran, or
following the election at which the measure was adopted or defeated,
except that audits and investigations of statewide candidates, their
controlled committees, and committees primarily supporting or
opposing those statewide candidates who were defeated in the primary
election and who are not required to file statements for the general
election may begin after the last date for filing the first report or
statement following the primary election. When the campaign
statements or reports of a candidate, controlled committee, or a
committee primarily supporting or opposing a candidate are audited
and investigated pursuant to Section 90001, the audit and
investigation shall cover all campaign statements and reports filed
for the primary and general or special or runoff elections and any
previous campaign statement or report filed pursuant to Section 84200
or 84200.5 since the last election for that office, but shall
exclude any statements or reports which have previously been audited
pursuant to Section 90001 or 90003. When the campaign statements or
reports of a committee primarily supporting or opposing a measure are
audited and investigated, the audit and investigation shall cover
all campaign statements and reports from the beginning date of the
first campaign statement filed by the committee in connection with
the measure. For all other committees, the audit and investigation
shall cover all campaign statements filed during the previous two
calendar years. 
  SEC. 10.  Section 90003 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   90003.  In addition to the audits and investigations required by
Section 90001, the Franchise Tax Board and the  commission
  Commission  may make investigations and audits
with respect to any reports or statements required by 
Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 85100), or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 86100)
  this title  .
  SEC. 11.  Section 90004 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   90004.  (a) The Franchise Tax Board shall periodically prepare
reports, which, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall
be sent to the  commission   Commission  ,
the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. If the reports
relate to candidates for or committees supporting or opposing
candidates for the office of Attorney General, the reports shall be
sent to the  commission   Commission  , the
Secretary of State, and the District Attorneys of  the Counties
of  Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco  Counties
 . If the reports relate to local candidates and their
controlled committees, the reports shall be sent to the 
commission   Commission  , the local filing officer
with whom the candidate or committee is required to file the
originals of campaign reports pursuant to Section 84215, and the
district attorney for the candidate's county of domicile. 
   (b) The Franchise Tax Board shall complete its report of any audit
conducted on a random basis pursuant to Section 90001 within one
year after the person or entity subject to the audit is selected by
the commission to be audited.  
   (c) 
    (b)  The reports of the Franchise Tax Board shall be
public documents and shall contain in detail the Franchise Tax Board'
s findings with respect to the accuracy and completeness of each
report and statement reviewed and its findings with respect to any
report or statement that should have been but was not filed. The
Secretary of State and the local filing officer shall place the audit
reports in the appropriate campaign statement or lobbying files.
  SEC. 12.  Section 90005 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   90005.   No   A  member, employee  ,
 or agent of the Franchise Tax Board  or the Commission
 shall  not  divulge or make known in any manner
 any   the  particulars of any record,
documents, or information  which   that  he
 or she  receives by virtue of this chapter, except in
furtherance of the work of the Franchise Tax Board  or the
Commission  or in connection with  any   a
 court proceeding or  any   the 
lawful investigation of any agency.
  SEC. 13.  Section 90008 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   90008.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the people of
California have timely access to information concerning the campaign
contributions and expenditures of all committees, corporations, and
individuals, and that this information be provided before the
election, when it is relevant, in accordance with the requirements of
this title. It is the further intent of the Legislature that the
Commission ensure that these disclosures are being made, and that
this title be liberally construed and any judicial process be
expedited to achieve this purpose.
   (b) The Commission, and the Franchise Tax Board at the direction
of the Commission, may audit any record required to be maintained
under this title to ensure compliance with this title prior to an
election, even if the record is a report or statement that has not
yet been filed.
  SEC. 14.  Section 90009 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   90009.  (a) To further the purposes identified in Section 90008,
the Commission may seek injunctive relief in a superior court to
compel disclosure consistent with this title.
   (b) A court shall grant expedited review to an action filed
pursuant to subdivision (a) as follows:
   (1) The court shall conduct an expedited hearing with an
opportunity for the defendant to respond.
   (2) Briefs of the parties shall be required pursuant to an
expedited schedule.
   (c) A superior or appellate court may, at its discretion, grant a
stay of an order granting relief pursuant to subdivision (a).
  SEC. 15.  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. 16.  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.