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AB-71 Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists.(2011-2012)

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AB71:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 23, 2011

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2011–2012 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 71

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Huber

December 20, 2010

An act to amend Sections 86109.5 and 86116 of, and to add Section 86119 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 71, as amended, Huber. Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires the Secretary of State to establish and maintain on the Internet an updated Directory of Lobbyists, Lobbying Firms, and Lobbyist Employers. The act further requires lobbyist employers and persons making certain payments to influence legislative or administrative actions to file periodic reports disclosing, among other information, their lobbying interests.
This bill would require that the online directory maintained by the Secretary of State also contain information regarding lobbying interests. The bill would require that the periodic reports filed by lobbyist employers and other persons contain, in addition to their lobbying interests, the bill numbers of any legislation lobbied for or against during the reporting period. The bill would also require the Secretary of State to display on his or her Internet Web site, within 90 days of the end of each calendar quarter, a list of the lobbying interests containing a specific reference to a bill number, accompanied by a list of all lobbyist employers who reported each of those lobbying interests, reported for the prior calendar quarter.
Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties.
This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes.
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 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 86109.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:

86109.5.
 (a) The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain on the Internet an online version of the Directory of Lobbyists, Lobbying Firms, Lobbyist Employers, and Lobbying Interests. The Secretary of State shall update the directory weekly.
(b) The Secretary of State shall also display on the Internet a list of the specific changes made to the Directory of Lobbyists, Lobbying Firms, Lobbyist Employers, and Lobbying Interests, including new registrations and listings, additions, deletions, and other revisions, during the seven days preceding the update required by subdivision (a).
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the lobbying data made available on the Internet shall include the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on all the documents submitted to the Secretary of State pursuant to this chapter.

SEC. 2.

 Section 86116 of the Government Code is amended to read:

86116.
 Every person described in Section 86115 shall file periodic reports containing the following information:
(a) The name, business address, and telephone number of the lobbyist employer or other person filing the report.
(b) The total amount of payments to each lobbying firm.
(c) The total amount of all payments to lobbyists employed by the filer.
(d) A description of the specific lobbying interests of the filer, including the bill number or numbers of the legislation lobbied for or against during the reporting period, if applicable.
(e) A periodic report completed and verified by each lobbyist employed by a lobbyist employer pursuant to Section 86113.
(f) Each activity expense of the filer. A total of all activity expenses of the filer shall be included.
(g) The date, amount, and the name of the recipient of any contribution of one hundred dollars ($100) or more made by the filer to an elected state officer, a state candidate, or a committee controlled by an elected state officer or state candidate, or a committee primarily formed to support the officer or candidate. If this contribution is reported by the filer or by a committee sponsored by the filer in a campaign statement filed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100) that is required to be filed with the Secretary of State, the filer may report only the name of the committee and the identification number of the committee.
(h) (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), the total of all other payments to influence legislative or administrative action, including overhead expenses and all payments to employees who spend 10 percent or more of their compensated time in any one month in activities related to influencing legislative or administrative action.
(2) A filer that makes payments to influence a ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, as defined in subdivision (b) or (c), respectively, of Section 82002, may, in lieu of reporting those payments pursuant to paragraph (1), report only the portion of those payments made to or for the filer’s attorneys for time spent appearing as counsel and preparing to appear as counsel, or to or for the filer’s witnesses for time spent testifying and preparing to testify, in this type of Public Utilities Commission proceeding. This alternative reporting of these payments made during a calendar month is not required to include payments made to an attorney or witness who is an employee of the filer if less than 10 percent of his or her compensated time in that month was spent in appearing, testifying, or preparing to appear or testify before the Public Utilities Commission in a ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding. For the purposes of this paragraph, time spent preparing to appear or preparing to testify does not include time spent preparing written testimony.
(i) Any other information required by the Commission consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter.

SEC. 3.

 Section 86119 is added to the Government Code, to read:

86119.
 Not later than 90 days following the end of each calendar quarter, the Secretary of State shall display on his or her Internet Web site a list of the lobbying interests containing a specific reference to a bill number that were reported pursuant to Section 86116, accompanied by a list of all lobbyist employers who reported each of those lobbying interests for the prior calendar quarter.

SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 5.

 The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.