Official Summary Text
SB 900, as amended, McNerney.
Political Reform Act of 1974: top contributors: disclosures.
(1) Existing law requires the disclosure of information related to political advertisements, including the name of the committee that paid for the advertisement and the names of the 3 top contributors to the committee. Existing law defines “top contributor” as the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more.
This bill, for mass mailings, would instead require the top 5 contributors to the committee be disclosed.
(2) For certain video, print, electronic media, or text message advertisements, existing law permits the name of the committee that paid for the advertisement to be shortened, as specified.
For purposes of this
provision, this bill would clarify that a print advertisement includes a yard sign or a billboard and an electronic media advertisement means a graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the advertisement allows to link to an internet website paid for by the committee, as specified. For certain advertisements, the bill would permit the names of top contributors to be shortened by using approved abbreviations or leaving out words from the top contributor’s name, as specified.
For larger printed advertisements such as yard signs and billboards, existing law permits the text of the disclosure to be adjusted so that it does not appear on separate horizontal lines, with the names of the top contributors separated by a comma.
This bill would also permit the names of the top contributors to be separated by clearly visible bullet points or by inserting the applicable number (1, 2, or 3)
before the names of the 3 largest contributors. The bill would also specify the order in which required disclosures must appear on the advertisement.
(3) Under existing law, an advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate that is paid for by an independent expenditure must include a statement that it was not authorized by a candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. If the advertisement was authorized or paid for by a candidate for another office, the expenditure must instead include a statement that “This advertisement was not authorized or paid for by a candidate for this office or a committee controlled by a candidate for this office.”
This bill would shorten the above statements, respectively, to “Not paid for by a candidate” and “Not paid for by a candidate for this office.”
(4) 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.
(5) 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
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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.