Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosure.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. This bill would require each campaign committee to identify its principal officer or officers, as defined, and would require each principal officer to maintain the committee's accounts and records. In addition, the bill would require a committee's principal officer, in the event the committee files a statement or report disclosing an independent expenditure, to sign a verification verifying that the committee has not received unreported contributions or reimbursements to make the independent expenditure and has not coordinated with the candidate or the opponent of the candidate or the proponent or the opponent of the state measure that is the subject of the expenditure. The Political Reform Act of 1974 defines "late contribution" and "late independent expenditure" as any contribution or independent expenditure totaling in the aggregate $1,000 or more that is made for or against any specific candidate, committee, or measure involved in an election that is made or received before the date of the election but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed prior to the election. This bill would instead define "late contribution" and "late independent expenditure" to mean a contribution or independent expenditure made within 90 days before the date of the election at which the candidate or measure is to be voted on. The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires that broadcast and mass mailing advertisements supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures include disclosure statements that reflect specified information. This bill would require any advertisement supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures to include such disclosure statements. 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.