Elections: disclosures.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and related matters, including by prohibiting, limiting, or requiring disclosure of certain political activities and by regulating certain political advertisements. This bill would require a person who is paid by a committee to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure on an internet website, web application, or digital application, as specified, to include a disclaimer, if not already required as specified, stating that they were paid by the committee in connection with the post. The bill would also require a committee to notify the person posting the content of the disclaimer requirement. Under this bill, if a person fails to post the disclaimer, they would not be subject to administrative penalties, but the Commission would be authorized to seek injunctive relief to compel disclosure. This bill would also exempt the disclaimer requirement for content posted by a compensated employee of a committee on the employee's own social media page or account if the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time, unless the person's principal duties as an employee are to post content on the person's own social media page or account. 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.