Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1349


Introduced by Senator Hertzberg

February 19, 2016


An act tobegin delete add Section 84211.5 toend deletebegin insert amend Sections 84601 and 84602 ofend insert the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1349, as amended, Hertzberg. Political Reform Act of 1974:begin delete campaign disclosure.end deletebegin insert Secretary of State: online filing system.end insert

The Political Reform Act of 1974 generally requires elected officials, candidates for elective office, and committees formed primarily to support or oppose a candidate for public office or a ballot measure, along with other entities, to file periodic campaign statements. The act requires that these campaign statements contain prescribed information related to campaign contributions and expenditures of the filing entities.begin insert Existing law, the Online Disclosure Act, requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission, to develop online and electronic filing processes for use by these persons and entities.end insert

Thisbegin delete billend deletebegin insert bill, in addition,end insert would require the Secretary ofbegin delete State to develop a system to identify filers of independent expenditure committee campaign statements and major donor committee campaign statements that would allow members of the public to search the Secretary of State’s database by filer to identify all expenditures or contributions made by that filer.end deletebegin insert State, in consultation with the Commission, to develop and certify for public use an online filing system for campaign statements and reports that provides public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format.end insert

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 and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 84601 of the end insertbegin insertGovernment Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert

3

84601.  

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

4(a) The people of California enacted one of the nation’s most
5comprehensive campaign and lobbying financial disclosure laws
6when they voted for Proposition 9, the Political Reform Act of
71974, an initiative statute.

8(b) Public access to campaign and lobbying disclosure
9information is a vital and integral component of a fully informed
10electorate.

11(c) Advances in technology have made itbegin delete viable for disclosure
12statements and reports required by the Political Reform Act to be
13filed online and placed on the Internet, thereby maximizing
14availability to the public.end delete
begin insert necessary for the State of California to
15develop a new, data-driven online filing system that provides public
16disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a
17user-friendly, easily understandable format.end insert

18begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 84602 of the end insertbegin insertGovernment Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
19read:end insert

20

84602.  

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insert To implement the Legislature’s intent, the Secretary
21of State, in consultation with the Commission, notwithstanding
22any other provision of this code, shall do all of the following:

begin delete

23(a)

end delete

24begin insert(1)end insert Develop online and electronic filing processes for use by
25persons and entities specified in Section 84605 that are required
26to file statements and reports with the Secretary of State’s office
27pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100) and
28Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 86100). Those processes
29shall each enable a user to comply with all the disclosure
P3    1requirements of this title and shall include, at a minimum, the
2following:

begin delete

3(1)

end delete

4begin insert(A)end insert A means or method whereby filers subject to this chapter
5may submit required filings free of charge. Any means or method
6developed pursuant to this provision shall not provide any
7additional or enhanced functions or services that exceed the
8minimum requirements necessary to fulfill the disclosure provisions
9of this title. At least one means or method shall be made available
10no later than December 31, 2002.

begin delete

11(2)

end delete

12begin insert(B)end insert The definition of a nonproprietary standardized record
13format or formats using industry standards for the transmission of
14the data that is required of those persons and entities specified
15Section 84605 and that conforms with the disclosure requirements
16of this title. The Secretary of State shall hold public hearingsbegin delete prior
17toend delete
begin insert beforeend insert development of the record format or formats as a means
18 to ensure that affected entities have an opportunity to provide input
19into the development process. The format or formats shall be made
20public no later than July 1, 1999, to ensure sufficient time to
21comply with this chapter.

begin delete

22(b)

end delete

23begin insert(2)end insert Accept test files from software vendors and others wishing
24to file reports electronically, for the purpose of determining whether
25the file format is in compliance with the standardized record format
26developed pursuant to subdivision (a) and is compatible with the
27Secretary of State’s system for receiving the data. A list of the
28software and service providers who have submitted acceptable test
29files shall be published by the Secretary of State and made available
30to the public. Acceptably formatted files shall be submitted by a
31filer in order to meet the requirements of this chapter.

begin delete

32(c)

end delete

33begin insert(3)end insert Develop a system that provides for the online or electronic
34transfer of the data specified in this sectionbegin delete utilizingend deletebegin insert usingend insert
35 telecommunications technology that assures the integrity of the
36data transmitted and that creates safeguards against efforts to
37tamper with or subvert the data.

begin delete

38(d)

end delete

39begin insert(4)end insert Make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily
40understood format that provides the greatest public access. The
P4    1data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible
2after receipt. All late contribution and late independent expenditure
3reports, as defined by Sections 84203 and 84204, respectively,
4shall be made available on the Internet within 24 hours of receipt.
5The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street
6name and building number of the persons or entity representatives
7listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number
8required to be disclosed pursuant to this title.

begin delete

9(e)

end delete

10begin insert(5)end insert Develop a procedure for filers to comply with the
11requirement that they sign under penalty of perjury pursuant to
12Section 81004.

begin delete

13(f)

end delete

14begin insert(6)end insert Maintain all filed data online for 10 years after the date it is
15filed, and then archive the information in a secure format.

begin delete

16(g)

end delete

17begin insert(7)end insert Provide assistance to those seeking public access to the
18information.

begin delete

19(h)

end delete

20begin insert(8)end insert Implement sufficient technology to seek to prevent
21unauthorized alteration or manipulation of the data.

begin delete

22(i)

end delete

23begin insert(9)end insert Provide the Commission with necessary information to
24enable it to assist agencies, public officials, and others with the
25compliance with and administration of this title.

begin delete

26(j)

end delete

27begin insert(10)end insert Report to the Legislature on the implementation and
28development of the online and electronic filing and disclosure
29requirements of this chapter. The report shall include an
30examination of system security, private security issues, software
31availability, compliance costs to filers, use of the filing system and
32software provided by the Secretary of State, and other issues
33relating to this chapter, and shall recommend appropriate changes
34if necessary. In preparing the report, the Commission may present
35to the Secretary of State and the Legislature its comments regarding
36this chapter as it relates to the duties of the Commission and
37 suggest appropriate changes if necessary. There shall be one report
38due before the system is operational as set forth in Section 84603,
39one report due no later than June 1, 2002, and one report due no
40later than January 31, 2003.

begin delete

P5    1(k)

end delete

2begin insert(11)end insert Review the current filing and disclosure requirements of
3this chapter and report to the Legislature, no later than June 1,
42005, recommendations on revising these requirements so as to
5promote greater reliance on electronic and online submissions.

begin insert

6
(b) (1) To implement the Legislature’s intent, as described in
7Section 84601, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
8Commission, shall develop an online filing system for use by
9persons and entities specified in Section 84605 that are required
10to file statements and reports with the Secretary of State’s office
11pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100) and
12Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 86100). The system shall
13enable a user to comply with all of the disclosure requirements of
14this title and shall include, at minimum, all of the following:

end insert
begin insert

15
(A) A data-driven means or method that allows filers subject to
16this chapter to submit required filings free of charge and does all
17of the following:

end insert
begin insert

18
(i) Enables a filer to comply with all of the disclosure
19requirements of this title, including by entering or uploading
20requisite data or by indicating that the filer had no reportable
21activity during a particular reporting period.

end insert
begin insert

22
(ii) Retains previously-submitted data so that a filer can access
23that data to amend disclosures or prepare future disclosures.

end insert
begin insert

24
(iii) Ensures the security of data entered and stored in the
25system.

end insert
begin insert

26
(iv) To the extent feasible, is compatible with potential future
27capability to accept statements from filers specified in subdivisions
28(b) to (e), inclusive, of Section 84215. No later than December 31,
292017, the Secretary of State shall provide a report to the Assembly
30Committee on Elections and Redistricting and the Senate
31Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments that
32includes a plan for accepting these filings.

end insert
begin insert

33
(B) The definition of a nonproprietary standardized record
34format or formats using industry standards for the transmission
35of the data that is required of those persons and entities specified
36in Section 84605 and that conforms with the disclosure
37requirements of this title.

end insert
begin insert

38
(2) The Secretary of State shall do all of the following with
39respect to the online filing system developed pursuant to this
40subdivision:

end insert
begin insert

P6    1
(A) Accept test files from software vendors and others wishing
2to file reports electronically for the purpose of determining whether
3the file format is in compliance with the standardized record format
4developed pursuant to this subdivision and is compatible with the
5Secretary of State’s system for receiving the data. The Secretary
6of State shall publish and make available to the public a list of the
7software and service providers who have submitted acceptable
8test files. A filer shall submit acceptably formatted files in order
9to meet the requirements of this chapter.

end insert
begin insert

10
(B) Make the data filed available on the Internet as follows:

end insert
begin insert

11
(i) In a user-friendly, easily understandable format that provides
12the greatest public access, including online searches and
13machine-readable downloads.

end insert
begin insert

14
(ii) Free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt, or, in
15the case of late contribution and late independent expenditure
16reports, as defined by Sections 84203 and 84204, respectively,
17within 24 hours of receipt.

end insert
begin insert

18
(iii) Not containing the street name or building number of the
19persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed
20forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed
21pursuant to this title.

end insert
begin insert

22
(iv) In a manner that allows the public to track and aggregate
23contributions from the same contributor across filers using a
24permanent unique identifier assigned by the Secretary of State for
25this purpose to, at minimum, each contributor who makes
26contributions totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more in
27a calendar year to, or at the behest of, candidates or committees
28that file electronically with the Secretary of State pursuant to
29subdivision (a) of Section 84215.

end insert
begin insert

30
(C) Develop a procedure for filers to comply electronically with
31the requirement to sign under penalty of perjury pursuant to
32Section 81004. The electronic signature procedure shall allow the
33filer to file with the Secretary of State and shall not require an
34original signature to be filed.

end insert
begin insert

35
(D) Maintain all filed data online for at least 10 years after the
36date it is filed, and then archive the information in a secure format.

end insert
begin insert

37
(E) Provide assistance to those seeking public access to the
38information.

end insert
begin insert

39
(F) Implement sufficient technology to seek to prevent
40unauthorized alteration or manipulation of the data.

end insert
begin insert

P7    1
(G) Provide the Commission with necessary information to
2enable it to assist agencies, public officials, and others in
3complying with and administering this title.

end insert
begin insert

4
(3) In consultation with the Commission, the Secretary of State
5shall, no later than July 31, 2017, hold at least one public hearing
6to receive input on development of the online filing system and
7record format pursuant to paragraph (1).

end insert
begin insert

8
(4) The Secretary of State shall make the online filing system
9developed pursuant to this subdivision available for use no later
10than February 1, 2019. The Secretary of State may extend this date
11to a date no later than December 31, 2019 after consulting with
12the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting and the
13Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments
14and providing to those committees a report that explains the need
15for the extension and includes a plan for completion.

end insert
begin insert

16
(5) The Secretary of State may accept any funds, services,
17equipment or grants to further this subdivision.

end insert
begin insert

18
(6) Because the provisions of this chapter need to be
19implemented as expeditiously as possible, the information
20technology procurement requirements described in Chapter 5.6
21(commencing with Section 11545) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
222, and in Section 12100 of the Public Contract Code, do not apply
23to development of the online filing system pursuant to this
24subdivision.

end insert
begin insert

25
(7) (A) Before making the system developed pursuant to this
26subdivision available for public use, the Secretary of State shall
27test the system to ensure its functionality and then certify that the
28system accurately tracks and aggregates contributions from the
29same contributor across filers. The Secretary of State may consult
30with the Department of Technology as needed to fulfill his or her
31duties under this paragraph.

end insert
begin insert

32
(B) After the system developed pursuant to this subdivision is
33certified, the system described in subdivision (a) shall no longer
34be used.

end insert
begin delete35

SECTION 1.  

Section 84211.5 is added to the Government
36Code
, to read:

37

84211.5.  

The Secretary of State shall develop a system to
38identify each filer of an independent expenditure committee
39campaign statement or major donor committee campaign statement
40that allows the public to search the Secretary of State’s database
P8    1by filer to identify all expenditures or contributions made by that
2filer.

end delete
3

begin deleteSEC. 2.end delete
4
begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
5the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
6meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
7Code.



O

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