Political Reform Act of 1974: retirement system boards.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and requires candidates for elective office, candidates for elective state office, and committees formed or existing primarily to support or oppose those candidates to file specified reports disclosing contributions and independent expenditures made in connection with the campaigns of those candidates. Existing law further establishes the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to administer the Public Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement Board to administer the State Teachers' Retirement System. Existing law specifies the composition of those boards and requires that designated positions on the boards be filled by election. With limited exception, as specified, candidates for election to those boards are not required to comply with the various reporting requirements imposed by the Political Reform Act of 1974. This bill would revise the definitions of "elective office" and "elective state office" for purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 to include membership on the boards described above and would repeal the provision that exempts from the act candidates for election to those boards, thereby subjecting those candidates, and committees formed or existing primarily to support or oppose those candidates, to the reporting requirements of the act. The bill would further make conforming changes to provisions of the act relating to the reporting of late contributions, the reporting of late independent expenditures, the filing of committee organization statements, and the filing of campaign statements and preelection statements. In addition, the bill would give the Fair Political Practices Commission the authority to adopt regulations to tailor the act's reporting and disclosure requirements for those candidates and committees consistent with the purposes and provisions of the act. 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 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.