The Political Reform Act of 1974: omnibus bill.

(1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires each campaign committee, as specified, to file a statement of organization. For a campaign committee that does not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures as its primary activity, the statement of organization must include, among other things, a brief description of the committee's political activities, including whether it supports or opposes candidates or measures and whether such candidates or measures have common characteristics, such as a political party affiliation. This bill would change the requirement that a campaign committee that does not support or oppose one or more candidates or ballot measures as its primary activity include in the description of the committee's political activities the common characteristics of candidates or measures it supports or opposes, such as a political party affiliation, to instead require that the description of the committee's political activities include common characteristics of candidates or measures, such as a political party preference. (2) The act requires a committee that is controlled by a candidate for partisan office to provide a statement indicating the political party with which the candidate is affiliated. This bill would instead require a committee that is controlled by a candidate for partisan office or voter-nominated office to provide a statement indicating the political party for which the candidate has disclosed a preference. (3) The act provides that any report or statement filed pursuant to the act is a public record that must be open for public inspection and copying, as specified. The act requires that campaign statements filed pursuant to the act made available on the Internet by the Secretary of State. The act further requires that the statements be open for public inspection and reproduction on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election at specified locations. This bill would repeal the requirement that campaign statements be open for public inspection and reproduction on the Saturday preceding a statewide primary or statewide general election at the specified locations. (4) The act establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission and authorizes the Commission to appoint officers, counsel, and employees consistent with applicable civil service laws. The act provides that a nonclerical position under the Commission shall not be included in the same class in the civil service classification plan with any position of any other department or agency. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions. (5) 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.