Political Reform Act of 1974: statements of acknowledgment.

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 every committee to have a treasurer. The act requires certain committees to file a statement of organization that includes, among other information, the full name, street address, email address, and telephone number of the treasurer. An existing regulation adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission permits committees to designate one assistant treasurer on the statement of organization. If there is a change in any of the information contained in a statement of organization, the committee must file an amendment within 10 days to reflect the change. This bill would require any person identified as a treasurer or assistant treasurer on the statement of organization to acknowledge that, by serving as a treasurer or assistant treasurer, the person must comply with duties imposed by the act and existing regulations adopted by the Commission, and that a violation of these duties could result in criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. The Secretary of State would be prohibited from accepting a statement of organization without a completed acknowledgment. The bill would impose these same requirements on committees and the Secretary of State when an amendment to a statement of organization identifies a new treasurer or assistant treasurer. A violation of the act 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 of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.