Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign communication disclosure.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates certain communications, including mass mailings, slate mailers, and advertisements, by requiring those items to include specified information and disclosures. This bill would require a candidate for elective state office, a slate mailer organization, or a committee that authorizes an expenditure for a campaign communication, as defined, to file an electronic copy of the campaign communication with the Secretary of State, as specified. This bill would make this requirement operative on July 1, 2017, or on a date determined by the Secretary of State, whichever occurs earlier. The bill would require the Secretary of State to maintain an archive of the filed campaign communications and to make the campaign communications available for public inspection on his or her Internet Web site, as specified. This bill would permit the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations to implement these provisions. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this 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.