Bill Text

Bill Information


Bill PDF |Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-1590 Political Reform Act of 1974.(2021-2022)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
Date Published: 09/28/2021 09:00 PM
AB1590:v97#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 1590
CHAPTER 317

An act to amend Sections 82047.7 and 84101.5 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

[ Approved by Governor  September 27, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State  September 27, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1590, Committee on Elections. Political Reform Act of 1974.
(1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, imposes various requirements and limitations with respect to the conduct of public officials, campaign expenditures and disclosures, political advertisements, lobbying, the ballot pamphlet, and other aspects of political reform. The act defines numerous terms that govern its interpretation, including “proponent of a state ballot measure,” which it defines by reference to a definition in the Elections Code.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the act by revising its definition of “proponent of a state ballot measure” to refer to the correct section in the Elections Code.
(2) The act requires the Secretary of State to charge each committee that is required to file a statement of organization a fee of $50 per year until the committee is terminated, except as specified. The act requires each committee to pay the fee within specified deadlines. The act imposes, for committees that do not timely pay the fee, a penalty of up to 3 times the amount of the fee. The act requires the Fair Political Practices Commission to enforce these requirements.
This bill would clarify that a committee that fails to timely pay the annual fee is subject to an administrative penalty of $150. This bill would transfer responsibility for enforcing these requirements to the Secretary of State.
(3) 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 of the Legislature 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: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 82047.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:

82047.7.
 “Proponent of a state ballot measure” means “proponent” as defined in Section 9001 of the Elections Code.

SEC. 2.

 Section 84101.5 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 506 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:

84101.5.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 81006, the Secretary of State shall charge each committee that is required to file a statement of organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 84101 an annual fee of fifty dollars ($50) until the committee is terminated pursuant to Section 84214.
(b) (1) A committee subject to the annual fee pursuant to subdivision (a) shall pay the fee no later than 15 days after filing its statement of organization and no later than January 15 of each year thereafter, except as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) A committee that is created, and pays the initial fee pursuant to paragraph (1), in October, November, or December of a calendar year is not subject to the annual fee for the following calendar year.
(c) (1) A committee that fails to timely pay the annual fee required by this section is subject to an administrative penalty of one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(2) The Secretary of State shall enforce the requirements of this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 84101.5 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 9 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

84101.5.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 81006, the Secretary of State shall charge each committee that is required to file a statement of organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 84101 an annual fee of fifty dollars ($50) until the committee is terminated pursuant to Section 84214.
(b) (1) A committee subject to the annual fee pursuant to subdivision (a) shall pay the fee no later than 15 days after filing its statement of organization and no later than April 30 of each year thereafter, except as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) A committee that is created, and pays the initial fee pursuant to paragraph (1), in October, November, or December of a calendar year is not subject to the annual fee for the following calendar year.
(c) (1) A committee that fails to timely pay the annual fee required by this section is subject to an administrative penalty of one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(2) The Secretary of State shall enforce the requirements of this section.

SEC. 4.

 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.