Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign statements: electronic filing.

(1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires elected officers, candidates for elective office, and campaign committees to file campaign statements reporting contributions and expenditures for specified reporting periods. Under the act, city elected officers, candidates for city office, their controlled committees, committees formed or existing primarily to support or oppose candidates or local measures to be voted upon in one city, and city general purpose committees are required to file campaign statements with the clerk of the city. This bill would create a pilot program for the 2013 through 2014 reporting periods that authorizes the City of Long Beach to permit any person who files a campaign statement with the city clerk to file online or electronically, consistent with specified requirements. In addition, the bill would require the City of Long Beach, if it chooses to participate in the pilot program, to prepare a report evaluating the program under specified criteria, and would further require the Legislative Analyst's Office to prepare a report evaluating the program. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for a pilot program in the City of Long Beach. (3) 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.