Political Reform Act of 1974: political contributions.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates campaign finance by imposing certain restrictions on candidates for elective offices, chiefly in the form of contribution limits and disclosure requirements. This bill would prohibit corporations and labor unions, including public employee labor unions, from making contributions to candidates for elective office or entities, as specified, that would use contributions to fund a candidate or controlled committee. The bill also would prohibit government contractors or committees controlled by a government contractor from making contributions to an elected officer, or other specified entity, if the contributions would be used to fund a candidate or controlled committee where the elected officer is in a position to award a government contract to such contractor. This bill also would prohibit a corporation, labor union, including a public employee labor union, government contractor, or government employer from deducting from an employee's compensation money to be used for political purposes. The existing Political Reform Act of 1974 makes a violation of the act subject to administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. By subjecting persons who violate these provisions to criminal penalties, the 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 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.