Political Reform Act of 1974: gifts.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires lobbyists, lobbying firms, lobbyist employers, and other persons who directly or indirectly make payments to influence legislative or administrative action of $5,000 or more in value in any calendar quarter to prepare and file with the Secretary of State periodic reports disclosing specified activity expenses incurred during specified reporting periods, including gifts donated to elected state officials and legislative officials. This bill would require the Fair Political Practices Commission to post on its Internet Web site, on or before February 1 of each year, information describing all gifts donated to Members of the Legislature and designated employees of the Legislature in the previous calendar year and reported to the Secretary of State by the donors of those gifts. The bill would require the Commission to post that information in a manner that permits the public to access information regarding all reported gifts donated to a specific recipient by entering that recipient's name into an appropriate search feature. 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 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.