Political Reform Act of 1974: automated campaign telephone calls.

Under existing law, a person may not make automated telephone calls without satisfying the requirements of state law and the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which require, among other things, that the automated caller obtain the prior consent of the persons to whom the calls are directed or that the call be operated after an unrecorded, natural voice announcement has been made to the person called by the person calling, as specified. Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibit a candidate, committee, or slate mailer organization from expending campaign funds, directly or indirectly, to pay for telephone calls that are similar in nature and aggregate 500 or more in number, made by an individual, or individuals, or by electronic means and that advocate support of, or opposition to, a candidate, ballot measure, or both, unless during the course of each call the name of the organization that authorized or paid for the call is disclosed to the recipient of the call, except as specified. This bill would make it unlawful for any person to make an automated campaign telephone call, as defined, to any person who has elected to have his or her name and telephone number placed on the California Political Robocall Do Not Call List, which the bill would require the Secretary of State to establish, manage, and maintain. This bill would prohibit these calls even if the caller obtains the prior consent of the persons to whom the calls are directed or the call is operated after an unrecorded, natural voice announcement has been made to the person called by the person calling. The bill would provide that the list shall contain the names and telephone numbers of registered voters who have elected to be on the list. The bill would require the Secretary of State to place on voter registration cards and online voter registration Internet Web sites a space providing an option for a registered voter to elect to place his or her name and telephone number on the list. This bill would require the Secretary of State to make a copy of the list, and any parts thereof, available to certain persons who are seeking to make automated campaign telephone calls upon payment of a fee by those persons. The bill would require the Secretary of State to determine the amount of the fee to be charged. The bill would prohibit the fee from exceeding the Secretary of State's cost of managing and maintaining the list. This bill would require county elections officials, in the implementation of this bill, to cooperate with the Secretary of State, vendors, and any voter registration agency. By changing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 make a violation of the act subject to administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. This bill would provide that a violation of the above provisions pertaining to automated campaign telephone calls shall not subject a person to criminal liability. This bill would provide that the above-described provisions shall not become operative until 90 days after the date the Secretary of State certifies that the state has a statewide voter registration database that complies with certain requirements of federal law. This bill would provide that its provision are severable. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. 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.