Bill Text: CA SB681 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: amendments.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 499, Statutes of 2023. [SB681 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB681-Chaptered.html
Senate Bill
No. 681
CHAPTER 499
An act to amend Section 81012 of, and to add Section 81012.5 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
[
Approved by
Governor
October 08, 2023.
Filed with
Secretary of State
October 08, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 681, Allen.
Political Reform Act of 1974: amendments.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 may be amended by statute if, among other things, the bill in its final form has been delivered to the Fair Political Practices Commission for distribution to the news media and to persons who have requested to receive copies of such bills at least 12 days before passage in each house.
This bill instead would require bills amending the act be in final form at least 8 days before passage in each house. However, the bill would require bills amending the act to be in final form at least 12 days before passage in each house if the previous form of the bill did not amend the act.
Existing law requires the Legislative Counsel to make specified information pertaining to legislative measures publicly available in electronic form on a computer network, including the text, bill
history, and bill status of each bill introduced in each current legislative session.
This bill would require the Legislative Counsel to make available to the public the option to sign up to receive email alerts any time a bill to amend the Political Reform Act of 1974 is introduced, amended, or otherwise subject to an action triggering a specified notification. The bill would require these email alerts to be sent as soon as feasible, but no later than 9 a.m. the calendar day after the legislative action that is the subject of the alert.
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: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) The Political Reform Act of 1974 has an important mechanism that allows amendments that further its purposes to be passed by statute, passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring and signed by the Governor, as long as the bill, in its final form, has been delivered to the Fair Political Practices Commission for distribution at least 12 calendar days before passage in each house.
(b) Due to how close fiscal committee deadlines are to the end of the legislative session,
the requirement that bills amending the act be in print for 12 days often makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to make important amendments before the legislative session ends.
(c) With the speed and ease of electronic communications that were not available when the act was passed in 1974, requiring bills to amend the act to be in their final form for 8 days instead of 12, except for bills that did not amend the act in their previous form, will strike a better balance between providing the news media
and the public with enough notice of amendments before final votes and allowing sufficient time to make needed amendments after fiscal committee deadlines.
(d) To ensure that the news media and the public are promptly alerted before new changes to the act are made, the public must have the option to receive quick alerts by email when such changes go to print.
SEC. 2.
Section 81012 of the Government Code is amended to read:81012.
This title may be amended or repealed by the procedures set forth in this section. If any portion of subdivision (a) is declared invalid, then subdivision (b) shall be the exclusive means of amending or repealing this title.(a) This title may be amended to further its purposes by statute, passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring and signed by the Governor, if at least 8 days before passage in each house, or at least 12 days before passage in each house if the previous form of the bill did not amend this title, the bill in its final form has been delivered to the commission for distribution to the news media and to every person who has requested
the commission to send copies of such bills to that person.
(b) This title may be amended or repealed by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors.
SEC. 3.
Section 81012.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:81012.5.
(a) The Legislative Counsel shall, through the information system described in Section 10248, make available to the public the option to sign up to receive an email alert any time any of the following actions occur:(1) A new bill that would amend this title is introduced.
(2) An existing bill that would amend this title is amended, referred to the floor or committee, voted on, or is otherwise subject to an action triggering a notification by the information system described in Section 10248.
(3) An existing bill that would not amend this title is
amended to include provisions that would amend this title.
(b) The email alerts described in subdivision (a) shall be sent in the shortest feasible time, but no later than
9 a.m. the calendar day after the legislative action that is subject to the alert.
(c) All email alerts sent through the information system described in Section 10248 regarding bills that would amend this title shall include the text “Political Reform Act Bill” in the email subject line.
