Behested payments: public appeal for payment.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on when the bill will take effect or confirm that it explicitly states following the goals of the Political Reform Act of 1974.

Behested Payments: Public Appeal for Payment

The bill changes reporting requirements for certain payments made by members of the Public Utilities Commission, allowing them to avoid reporting if they make a public appeal and meet specific conditions.

What This Bill Does

• Changes rules about when members of the Public Utilities Commission must report behested payments (payments made at their request).
• Allows these members not to report payments if they publicly ask for the payment, as long as certain family or staff members do not have a job with the receiving organization.

Who It Names or Affects

• Members of the Public Utilities Commission
• People who receive behested payments from members of the Public Utilities Commission

Terms To Know

Behested payment

A payment made at the request of a committee, elected officer, or member of the Public Utilities Commission for personal, charitable, legislative, or governmental purposes.

Public appeal for payment

When an official publicly asks for a payment to be made.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify when it will take effect.
• It only applies if both this bill and AB 808 pass, with this one passing last.

Official Summary Text

SB 760, Allen.
Behested payments: public appeal for payment.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including imposing reporting requirements on elected officials and campaign committees. Under the act, a behested payment is a payment that is made at the behest of a committee, an elected officer, or a member of the Public Utilities Commission, under specified circumstances, that is made principally for personal, charitable, legislative, or governmental purposes. The act requires officers and members of the Public Utilities Commission to report behested payments within 30 days of the payment or payments exceeding $5,000 in the aggregate from the same source in the same calendar year in which they are made.
This bill would exempt a behesting officer or member of the Public Utilities Commission from these reporting obligations if they make a public
appeal for payment unless the officer or member of the Public Utilities Commission, or a member of their immediate family, campaign staff, or officeholder staff, holds a position with the payee organization, other than a governmental organization, as specified.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 84224 of the Government Code proposed by AB 808, to be operative only if this bill and AB 808 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
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.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF