Bill Text: CA SB45 | 2017-2018 | 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: mass mailing prohibition.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-15 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 827, Statutes of 2017. [SB45 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB45-Introduced.html

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Corrected  December 06, 2016

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 45

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Introduced by Senator Mendoza

December 05, 2016

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An act to add Section 89003 to the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 45, as introduced, Mendoza. Political Reform Act of 1974: mass mailing prohibition.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits sending mass mailings at public expense. The act defines “mass mailing” as over 200 substantially similar pieces of mail not including form letters or other mail that is sent in response to an unsolicited request, letter, or other inquiry. Existing regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission add further definitional criteria for mass mailings and specify certain forms of mass mailing that are not subject to the act’s prohibition against mass mailings.

This bill would prohibit a mass mailing that complies with the Commission’s regulatory criteria from being sent within the 90 days preceding an election by or on behalf of a candidate whose name will appear on the ballot.

A willful violation of the act’s provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. 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: YES  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 89003 is added to the Government Code, to read:

89003.

 (a) A mass mailing shall not be sent within the 90 days preceding an election by or on behalf of a candidate whose name will appear on the ballot at that election.

(b) For purposes of this section, “mass mailing” means a mass mailing, as defined by Section 82041.5, that meets the criteria of subdivision (a) of Section 18901 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations and, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 18901 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations, is not prohibited by Section 89001.

SEC. 2.

 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. 3.

 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.