Candidate's statement.

Existing law authorizes each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in any local agency, including any city, county, city and county, or district, to prepare a candidate's statement on an appropriate form provided by the elections official. Existing law permits the statement to be withdrawn, but prohibits the statement from being changed, during the period for filing nomination papers and until 5 p.m. of the next working day after the close of the nomination period. Existing law requires the elections official to send to each voter a county voter information guide that contains the written statements of each candidate. The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and related matters, including voluntary expenditure ceilings for candidates for statewide elective office and for state Senate and Assembly. A candidate for statewide elective office who accepts the voluntary expenditure limits may purchase the space to place a statement in a state voter information guide and may submit the statement in accordance with the timeframes and procedures set forth by the Secretary of State. Under existing law, a candidate for state Senate or Assembly who accepts the voluntary expenditure limits may purchase the space to place a statement in the voter information portion of the county voter information guide and may submit the statement according to the timeframes and procedures in the Elections Code. This bill would instead permit the statement for each candidate for nonpartisan elective office in a local agency, and the statement for each candidate for statewide elective office or for state Senate and Assembly who accepts the voluntary expenditure limits, to be withdrawn or revised during the period for filing nomination papers. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes. 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 of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.