Existing law provides that every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or in connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

This bill would specify that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case. By expanding the activities that constitute a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Existing law provides that every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or in connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

This bill would specify that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case. By expanding the activities that constitute a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Existing law provides that every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or in connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

This bill would specify that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case. By expanding the activities that constitute a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

 CONSENT  

Bill No: AB 370

Author: Brown (D)

Introduced: 2/17/15

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/16/15

AYES: Allen, Anderson, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Election campaigns: candidate misrepresentation

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill expands the list of activities that constitute a crime of candidate misrepresentation.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with the intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or that he or she is or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

2. Provides that any violation may be enjoined in a civil action brought by any candidate for the public office involved.

This bill specifies that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if, with the intent to mislead the voters, he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

Background

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally mislead voters in elections. Further, the law prohibits a candidate from assuming, pretending, or implying by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer when that is not the case. A violation of this law is a misdemeanor.

Comments

1. According to the author:

There have been occasions in which a candidate for an elected office has placed misleading information on campaign materials, especially on outdoor signage. I have had numerous constituent complaints about the false and or misleading advertising they receive or view during campaigns. Especially, signs that mislead the public as to a candidate’s occupation or profession. Specifically, professing to be the incumbent, when in fact they are the challenger. This is not only false and misleading but should be illegal. It is time that we place some reasonable limits on false and misleading campaign materials, including signage. This clarification is needed because candidate misrepresentation is occurring and most recently occurred in the author’s district during the November, 2014 General Election.

Moreover, it can be argued that campaign materials, such as campaign signs, are already included within the existing prohibition against statements or conduct that falsely suggests that a person is an incumbent. Nevertheless, this bill will strengthen and clarify current law by explicitly including campaign materials and could help prevent.

2. Is it a statewide problem? The Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee staff tracked down two other instances of complaints of misleading campaign materials, but those instances both involved judicial races in 2012. Additionally, while the author’s office has provided the Committee with a picture of a campaign sign which can be interpreted to be a false claim of incumbency by a challenger, their office was unable to provide further examples.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/25/15)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/25/15)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins

NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas

Prepared by: Frances Tibon Estoista / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

6/30/15 14:00:02

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Ben Allen, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 370 Hearing Date: 6/16/15

Subject: Election campaigns: candidate misrepresentation

DIGEST

This bill expands the list of activities that constitute a crime of candidate misrepresentation.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with the intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or that he or she is or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

2. Provides that any violation may be enjoined in a civil action brought by any candidate for the public office involved.

This bill: Specifies that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if, with the intent to mislead the voters, he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

BACKGROUND

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally mislead voters in elections. Further, the law prohibits a candidate from assuming, pretending, or implying by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer when that is not the case. A violation of this law is a misdemeanor.

COMMENTS

1. According to the Author, there have been occasions in which a candidate for an elected office has placed misleading information on campaign materials, especially on outdoor signage. I have had numerous constituent complaints about the false and or misleading advertising they receive or view during campaigns. Especially, signs that mislead the public as to a candidate’s occupation or profession. Specifically, professing to be the incumbent, when in fact they are the challenger. This is not only false and misleading but should be illegal. It is time that we place some reasonable limits on false and misleading campaign materials, including signage. This clarification is needed because candidate misrepresentation is occurring and most recently occurred in the author's district during the November, 2014 General Election.
   
   Moreover, it can be argued that campaign materials, such as campaign signs, are already included within the existing prohibition against statements or conduct that falsely suggests that a person is an incumbent. Nevertheless, this bill will strengthen and clarify current law by explicitly including campaign materials and could help prevent.

2. Is it a statewide problem? Committee staff tracked down two other instances of complaints of misleading campaign materials, but those instances both involved judicial races in 2012. Additionally, while the author's office has provided the committee with a picture of a campaign sign which can be interpreted to be a false claim of incumbency by a challenger, their office was unable to provide further examples.
   
   

PRIOR ACTION

POSITIONS

Sponsor: Author

Support: None received

Oppose: None received

-- END --

Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 370

Author:(Brown) – As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2015

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill specifies that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if, with the intent to mislead the voters, he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Likely minor nonreimbursable costs to local governments for enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Current law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly try to mislead voters by his or her statements or conduct by assuming, pretending, or implying that he or she is an incumbent of a public office or has been acting in the capacity of the public officer, when that is not the case.

2. Purpose. This bill expands current law to apply the above prohibition to misrepresentations in a candidate's campaign materials. According to author's office, this clarification is needed because candidate misrepresentation is occurring and most recently occurred in the author's district during the November 2014 general election. The author's office provided the policy committee with a picture of a campaign sign which can be interpreted to be a false claim of incumbency by a challenger.

Analysis Prepared by: Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 25, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 370

Author:(Brown) – As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2015

SUBJECT: Election campaigns: candidate misrepresentation.

SUMMARY: Expands the list of activities that constitute a crime of candidate misrepresentation. Specifically, this bill specifies that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor if, with the intent to mislead the voters, he or she assumes, pretends, or implies by his or her campaign materials that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case.

EXISTING LAW: Provides that a person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, with the intent to mislead the voters in connection with his or her campaign for nomination or election to a public office, or connection with the campaign of another person for nomination or election to a public office, assumes, pretends, or implies, by his or her statements or conduct, that he or she is the incumbent of a public office, or that he or she is or has been acting in the capacity of a public officer, when that is not the case. Provides that any violation may be enjoined in a civil action brought by any candidate for the public office involved.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. State-mandated local program: contains a crimes and infractions disclaimer.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:

I have had numerous constituent complaints about the false and or misleading advertising they receive or view during campaigns. Especially, signs that mislead the public as to a candidate’s occupation or profession. Specifically, professing to be the incumbent, when in fact they are the challenger. This is not only false and misleading but should be illegal. It is time that we place some reasonable limits on false and misleading campaign materials, including signage.

2. Misrepresentation By Candidates: Current law provides that it is a crime for a person to knowingly try to mislead voters by his or her statements or conduct by assuming, pretending, or implying that he or she is an incumbent of a public office or has been acting in the capacity of the public officer, when that is not the case. A violation of this law is a misdemeanor. This bill expands current law to include misrepresentations in a candidate's campaign materials.
   
   According to author's office, this clarification is needed because candidate misrepresentation is occurring and most recently occurred in the author's district during the November 2014 general election. The author's office provided the committee with a picture of a campaign sign which can be interpreted to be a false claim of incumbency by a challenger. Despite this district example, however, the author's office was unable to provide the committee with further examples demonstrating a statewide problem.

Moreover, it can be argued that campaign materials, such as campaign signs, are already included within the existing prohibition against statements or conduct that falsely suggests that a person is an incumbent. Nevertheless, this bill will strengthen and clarify current law by explicitly including campaign materials and could help prevent candidate misrepresentation in future elections.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None on file.

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094