Political Reform Act of 1974.

(1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, as defined, and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees, as defined. The act requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop online and electronic filing processes for specified entities. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would revise the terms "late contribution" and "late independent expenditure," as defined in the act, to "election-cycle contribution" and "election-cycle independent expenditure," respectively, and would make conforming changes. The bill would also increase the fines and penalties imposed for campaign statements and reports that are filed late. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary of State develop a single, statewide electronic filing system that consolidates the filing of all campaign committee statements and reports and all lobbyist, lobbying firm, and lobbyist employer reports. This bill would also require the Secretary of State to develop a feasibility study report for the electronic filing system by December 31, 2014, as specified. (2) The act requires each committee to have a designated treasurer who is identified in the statement of organization. A committee may not make an expenditure without the authorization of the treasurer. This bill would require a treasurer to complete an online training course, designed and administered by the Commission, that addresses the statutes and regulations governing the financing of campaigns and the duties and responsibilities of a treasurer within 20 business days after being designated as the treasurer. (3) 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. (4) 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.