SB 1027: Political Reform Act of 1974: disclosures.
- Session Year: 2023-2024
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2024-08-19
Current Status:
Passed
(2024-08-19: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 180, Statutes of 2024.)
Introduced
In Committee
First Chamber
In Committee
Second Chamber
Enacted
What does this bill do?
The bill lets campaign committees hide bank account numbers—and in some cases the name of a person authorized to access the account—on their statements of organization (the basic form campaigns file) when they file with local officers, and it requires the Secretary of State to remove those details before making the forms public. It also updates local online filing rules, raising the money threshold for who must file electronically to $2,000 and includes findings that the redactions protect filers’ privacy and help prevent financial fraud.
The summary is provided by generative AI which can make mistakes. For original language, please view the details in the table below.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires a committee that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, if applicable, a local filing officer.
This bill would authorize a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the acts 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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires a committee that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, if applicable, a local filing officer.
This bill would authorize a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the acts 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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires a committee that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, if applicable, a local filing officer.
This bill would authorize a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the acts 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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires a committee that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, if applicable, a local filing officer.
This bill would authorize a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the acts 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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures and imposing other reporting and recordkeeping requirements on campaign committees. The act requires a committee that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, if applicable, a local filing officer.
This bill would authorize a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the acts 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.
(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant to Section 84200.8 or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 2.Section 84101 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 159 of Chapter 50 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:84101.(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall email or send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall email or send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 within 16 days before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, an original statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State, and a copy with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215 by email, fax, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State. The committee shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures, by email, facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, authorized person means a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
(2)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number and the name of an authorized person included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(3)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number and the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 3.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 126 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall only accept a filing in the standardized record format that is developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602 and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 4.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 28 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall accept a filing in the standardized record format that was developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602, or the local government agency may transition to the Cal-Access Replacement System format, and then the system shall accept a filing in the new standardized record format developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 84602, and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 5.The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend Section 84101 of the Government Code, and Sections 3 and 4 of this act, which amend Section 84615 of the Government Code, impose a limitation on the publics right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect filers privacy and to prevent financial fraud, the limitations on the publics right of access imposed by Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this act are necessary.
SEC. 6.Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.
SEC. 7.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.
(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant to Section 84200.8 or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 2.Section 84101 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 159 of Chapter 50 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:84101.(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall email or send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall email or send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 within 16 days before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, an original statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State, and a copy with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215 by email, fax, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State. The committee shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures, by email, facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, authorized person means a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
(2)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number and the name of an authorized person included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(3)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number and the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 3.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 126 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall only accept a filing in the standardized record format that is developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602 and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 4.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 28 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall accept a filing in the standardized record format that was developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602, or the local government agency may transition to the Cal-Access Replacement System format, and then the system shall accept a filing in the new standardized record format developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 84602, and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 5.The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend Section 84101 of the Government Code, and Sections 3 and 4 of this act, which amend Section 84615 of the Government Code, impose a limitation on the publics right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect filers privacy and to prevent financial fraud, the limitations on the publics right of access imposed by Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this act are necessary.
SEC. 6.Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.
SEC. 7.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.
(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant to Section 84200.8 or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 2.Section 84101 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 159 of Chapter 50 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:84101.(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall email or send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall email or send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 within 16 days before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, an original statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State, and a copy with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215 by email, fax, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State. The committee shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures, by email, facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, authorized person means a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
(2)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number and the name of an authorized person included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(3)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number and the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 3.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 126 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall only accept a filing in the standardized record format that is developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602 and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 4.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 28 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall accept a filing in the standardized record format that was developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602, or the local government agency may transition to the Cal-Access Replacement System format, and then the system shall accept a filing in the new standardized record format developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 84602, and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 5.The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend Section 84101 of the Government Code, and Sections 3 and 4 of this act, which amend Section 84615 of the Government Code, impose a limitation on the publics right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect filers privacy and to prevent financial fraud, the limitations on the publics right of access imposed by Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this act are necessary.
SEC. 6.Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.
SEC. 7.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.
(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant to Section 84200.8 or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 2.Section 84101 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 159 of Chapter 50 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:84101.(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall email or send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section, with the information specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall email or send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 within 16 days before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, an original statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State, and a copy with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215 by email, fax, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State. The committee shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer with whom the committee is required to file an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures, by email, facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, authorized person means a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
(2)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number and the name of an authorized person included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(3)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number and the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 3.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 126 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall only accept a filing in the standardized record format that is developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602 and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 4.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 28 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall accept a filing in the standardized record format that was developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602, or the local government agency may transition to the Cal-Access Replacement System format, and then the system shall accept a filing in the new standardized record format developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 84602, and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Except as provided in Section 84101, the local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names and building numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 5.The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend Section 84101 of the Government Code, and Sections 3 and 4 of this act, which amend Section 84615 of the Government Code, impose a limitation on the publics right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect filers privacy and to prevent financial fraud, the limitations on the publics right of access imposed by Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this act are necessary.
SEC. 6.Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.
SEC. 7.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.
(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file the originals of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section section, with the information specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, but after the closing date of the last campaign statement required to be filed before the election pursuant to Section 84200.8 or 84200.9, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this subdivision shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file the originals of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, by facsimile transmission, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the information required to be reported in the statement of organization. The information required by this section shall be filed with the filing officer with whom the committee is required to file the original of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and shall be filed at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(2)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 2.Section 84101 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 159 of Chapter 50 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:84101.(a)A committee that is a committee by virtue of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall file a statement of organization. The committee shall file the original of the statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State and shall also file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file the originals of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215. The original and copy of the statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after the committee has qualified as a committee. The Secretary of State shall assign a number to each committee that files a statement of organization and shall notify the committee of the number. The Secretary of State shall email or send a copy of statements filed pursuant to this section section, with the information specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) redacted, to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. A county elections official who receives a copy of a statement of organization from the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall email or send a copy of the statement to the clerk of each city in the county that the county elections official deems appropriate.
(b)In addition to filing the statement of organization as required by subdivision (a), if a committee qualifies as a committee under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 within 16 days before the date of an election in connection with which the committee is required to file preelection statements, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the an original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State, and a copy with the local filing officer, if any, with whom the committee is required to file the originals of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215 by email, fax, online transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.
(c)If an independent expenditure committee qualifies as a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 during the time period described in Section 82036.5 and makes independent expenditures of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to support or oppose a candidate or candidates for office, the committee shall file, within 24 hours of qualifying as a committee, the original of its statement of organization online or electronically with the Secretary of State. The committee shall also file a copy of its statement with the the statement of organization with the local filing officer with whom the committee is required to file theoriginal of its campaign reports an original campaign statement pursuant to Section 84215, and at all locations required for the candidate or candidates supported or opposed by the independent expenditures, by email, facsimile transmission, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery. The filings required by this section are in addition to filings that may be required by Section 84204.
(d)For purposes of this section, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in contributions has been received, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualifications to appear in a sample ballot shall not be included if these payments have been made from the candidates personal funds.
(e)(1)For purposes of this subdivision, authorized person means a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
(2)A committee may redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number and the name of an authorized person included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer pursuant to subdivision (a). A local filing officer shall not require a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
(3)Notwithstanding Section 81008 or the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number and the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
SEC. 3.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 126 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall only accept a filing in the standardized record format that is developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602 and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. The local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names, building numbers, and bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 4.Section 84615 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 28 of Chapter 662 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:84615.A local government agency may require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person required to file statements, reports, or other documents required by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 84100), except an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person who receives contributions totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000), and makes expenditures totaling less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in a calendar year, to file those statements, reports, or other documents online or electronically with a local filing officer. A local government agency that requires online or electronic filing pursuant to this section shall comply with all of the following:
(a)The legislative body for the local government agency shall adopt an ordinance approving the use of online or electronic filing, which shall include a legislative finding that the online or electronic filing system will operate securely and effectively and would not unduly burden filers. The ordinance adopted by the legislative body for the local government agency may, at the discretion of that legislative body, specify that the electronic or online filing requirements apply only to specifically identified types of filings or are triggered only by identified monetary thresholds. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the local government agency, the ordinance may permit, but shall not require, that the copy be filed online or electronically.
(b)The online or electronic filing system shall accept a filing in the standardized record format that was developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84602, or the local government agency may transition to the Cal-Access Replacement System format, and then the system shall accept a filing in the new standardized record format developed by the Secretary of State pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 84602, and that is compatible with the Secretary of States system for receiving an online or electronic filing.
(c)The online or electronic filing system shall ensure the integrity of the data transmitted and shall include safeguards against efforts to tamper with, manipulate, alter, or subvert the data.
(d)(1)The local filing officer shall issue to a person who files a statement, report, or other document online or electronically an electronic confirmation that notifies the filer that the statement, report, or other document was received. The confirmation shall include the date and the time that the statement, report, or other document was received by the filing officer and the method by which the filer may view and print the data received by the filing officer.
(2)A copy retained by the filer of a statement, report, or other document that was filed online or electronically and the confirmation issued pursuant to paragraph (1) that shows the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document shall create a rebuttable presumption that the filer timely filed the statement, report, or other document.
(e)The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the local filing officer.
(f)The local filing officer shall make all the data filed available on the Internet in an easily understood format that provides the greatest public access. The data shall be made available free of charge and as soon as possible after receipt. The data made available on the Internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. The local filing officer shall make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, including any street names, building numbers, and bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request.
(g)The online or electronic filing system shall include a procedure for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section 81004.
(h)The local government agency shall enable filers to complete and submit filings free of charge.
(i)The local filing officer shall maintain, for a period of at least 10 years commencing from the date filed, a secured, official version of each online or electronic statement, report, or other document filed pursuant to this section, which shall serve as the official version of that record for purpose of audits and any other legal purpose. Data that has been maintained for at least 10 years may then be archived in a secure format.
(j)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any statement, report, or other document filed online or electronically pursuant to this section shall not be required to be filed with the local filing officer in paper format.
SEC. 5.The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 1 and 2 of this act, which amend Section 84101 of the Government Code, and Sections 3 and 4 of this act, which amend Section 84615 of the Government Code, impose a limitation on the publics right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect filers privacy and to prevent financial fraud, the limitations on the publics right of access imposed by Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this act are necessary.
SEC. 6.Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not become operative until the date that the Secretary of State certifies an online filing and disclosure system pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 84602 of the Government Code.
SEC. 7.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.
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Date
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Status
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|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2024 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 180, Statutes of 2024. |
| Aug 19, 2024 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Aug 13, 2024 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m. |
| Aug 8, 2024 | In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 8, 2024 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 72. Noes 0. Page 6250.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Jul 3, 2024 | Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. |
| Jul 2, 2024 | From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 2). |
| Jun 18, 2024 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 12). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| May 13, 2024 | Referred to Coms. on ELECTIONS and JUD. |
| Apr 18, 2024 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| Apr 18, 2024 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 3672.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Apr 16, 2024 | Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. |
| Apr 15, 2024 | From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar. |
| Apr 5, 2024 | Set for hearing April 15. |
| Apr 3, 2024 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 3447.) (April 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar 26, 2024 | Set for hearing April 2. |
| Mar 20, 2024 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Mar 19, 2024 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 3348.) (March 19). |
| Mar 12, 2024 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A. |
| Mar 8, 2024 | Set for hearing March 19. |
| Feb 14, 2024 | Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and JUD. |
| Feb 7, 2024 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 8. |
| Feb 6, 2024 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
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Date
|
Description
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Location
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Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2024 | SB 1027 Menjivar Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jul 2, 2024 | Do pass. To Consent Calendar. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 18, 2024 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Passed |
|
| Jun 12, 2024 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Elections |
Passed |
|
| Apr 18, 2024 | Consent Calendar 2nd SB1027 Menjivar | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Apr 2, 2024 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Passed |
|
| Mar 19, 2024 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary] | Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
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Organization
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Position
|
Date
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|---|---|---|
| California Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO | ** Support | |
| California Political Attorneys Association | ** Support | |
| Fair Political Practices Commission | ** Support |
Date of Hearing: July 2, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1027
Author:(Menjivar) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2024
Policy Committee: | Elections | Vote: | 8 - 0 |
Judiciary | 12 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill provides for the redaction of a campaign committee’s banking information from public disclosure reports.
Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization (Form 410) before making the statement available to the public.
- Authorizes a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on the Form 410 copy filed with a local filing officer.
- Provides, upon certification of the Cal-Access Replacement System by the SOS, that the SOS must redact the name of a person authorized to obtain campaign committee bank records on a Form 410 made available to the public, and that the campaign committee may redact the name on the locally filed Form 410 copy.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- Minor and absorbable costs to the SOS to redact specified information.
- Minor and absorbable costs to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), which enforces campaign filing requirements.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. According to the author:
SB 1027 provides added protections to candidates and elected officials when filing their [Form 410] with the [SOS]. This minor change in statute will mitigate the rising threat of identity theft that has become commonplace in the finance and banking industries…From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
This bill is co-sponsored by the FPPC and the California Political Attorneys Association (CPAA) and supported by labor organizations.
- Campaign Committee Banking Information. The Political Reform Act (PRA) generally requires a campaign committee to file a Form 410 with the SOS and a copy of that form with a local filing officer. The Form 410 serves to identify the committee’s purpose, contact information, and officers, and must include the name of the financial institution of the committee’s campaign bank account and the bank account number. While the PRA prohibits bank account numbers and other sensitive information from being included with data published online through the SOS’s Cal-Access database, existing law still requires unredacted copies of campaign disclosure reports be made available to the public upon request, such as through a California Public Records Act request.
On January 1, 2024, FPPC regulations adopted in 2022 took effect, requiring the Form 410 to also include the names of persons other than the committee treasurer authorized to obtain committee bank records. CPAA expressed concerns with this requirement during the regulatory process, stating:
Any additional information the potential fraudster can obtain, such as authorized signer information, only helps to make commission of the fraud easier. Committees are already required to provide bank account numbers on the Form 410 without appropriate protections in the law to require redaction…Adding additional, valuable information to the [Form] 410 before safeguards are put in place further jeopardizes the safety of funds located in campaign bank accounts.
This bill requires the SOS to redact the bank account number from a Form 410 before making the statement available to the public. Upon certification of the Cal-Access Replacement System, the SOS must also redact the name of a person authorized to obtain campaign committee bank records on the Form 410, as the current Cal-Access system cannot be modified to provide for such redaction. This bill also allows a campaign committee to redact the same banking information under the same two-part timeline on the locally filed Form 410 copy.
Analysis Prepared by: Irene Ho / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 18, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Ash Kalra, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1027
Author:(Menjivar) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2024
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: POLITICAL REFORM ACT OF 1974: DISCLOSURES
KEY ISSUE: SHOULD BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE IN COMPLIANCE WITH CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS, BE EXEMPT FROM THE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT, GIVEN THAT SUCH INFORMATION HAS LITTLE, IF ANY, PUBLIC VALUE AND CREATES RISK OF FINANCIAL FRAUD?
SYNOPSIS
In the wake of the Watergate scandal, California voters enacted the Political Reform Act (PRA) and established the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) through Proposition 9 in 1974 (June 1974, prim. elec.). The FPPC is a five-member independent, non-partisan commission tasked with the responsibility of administering the PRA. Under the PRA, political candidates or committees are required to file various forms and reports with the FPPC containing certain information. Like all records in the possession of a public agency these records are presumptively open and subject to inspection and disclosure, upon request.
This bill, co-sponsored by the Fair Political Practices Commission and the California Political Attorneys Association, prevents the disclosure of sensitive financial information, specifically bank account information submitted by a political campaign committee on their Statement of Organization form (Form 410) to the Secretary of State, from being disclosed to the public in response to a request for public records. These protections to limit the public disclosure of sensitive financial information are consistent with existing law governing the public disclosure of bank account information about local political campaigns that is submitted to local election offices. (See Government Code Section 84616.) It also appears to be consistent with provisions of the California Public Records Act (CPRA) itself that allow a public agency to withhold an otherwise public record when, under the facts of the particular case, the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.
The bill, which recently was unanimously approved by the Assembly Committee on Elections, is also supported by the California Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO and has no opposition on file.
SUMMARY: Prevents the disclosure of sensitive financial information, specifically bank account information submitted by a political campaign committee on their Statement of Organization forms (Form 410) to the Secretary of State (SOS), from being disclosed to the public in response to a request for public records. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the SOS to redact a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer prior to sending a copy of a statement of organization to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate.
- Allows a campaign committee to redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer.
- Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
- Provides that notwithstanding open public records laws, including the California Public Records Act, the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form.
- Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing; and defines “authorized person” to mean a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides that the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business and, therefore, the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny. Specifies that any law or rule that limits the public right of access shall be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation. (California Constitution, art. I, Section 3.)
- Provides that, in enacting the California Public Records Act (CPRA), the Legislature, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. (Government Code Section 7921.000. All further statutory references are to this code, unless otherwise indicated.)
- Defines “public records” to include any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics and those in the custody of, or maintained by, the Governor’s office means any writing prepared on or after January 6, 1975. (Section 7920.530.)
- Provides that public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of a state or local agency and every person has a right to inspect any public record, exempted as otherwise provided; and that any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be available for inspection by any person requesting the record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law. (Section 7922.525.)
- Requires a public agency to determine whether it has disclosable public records in its possession within ten days or, in specified “unusual circumstances,” within 14 days of the ten-day period, of its receipt of a request for public records and to promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefor. (Section 7922.535 (a).)
- Requires a public agency to justify withholding any record by demonstrating that the record in question is exempt under express provisions of this division, or that on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. (Section 7922.000.)
- Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and makes it responsible for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act (PRA). (Sections 83100, 83111.)
- Provides that every report and statement filed pursuant to the PRA is a public record open for public inspection and reproduction, as specified. (Section 81008.)
- Requires a committee, as specified, to file a statement of organization with the SOS, and to file a copy of that statement with a local filing officer in certain circumstances. Requires the statement of organization to include specified information, including the names of persons who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained, and the campaign’s bank account number. (Sections 84101, 84102, 84103.)
- Requires the SOS to make specified campaign finance disclosure information available online; and provides that the data made available on the internet shall not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed. (Section 84602 (a)(4).)
- Permits local jurisdictions to provide online and electronic filing and disclosure systems for use by local candidates, officeholders, and committees, as specified. Prohibits a local jurisdiction, when making data related to campaign finance disclosures available on the internet, from including any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Requires the local filing officer to make a complete, unredacted copy of any disclosure statement, including any bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request. (Section 84615.)
- Requires a local government agency that receives campaign finance disclosure filings in paper format to post copies of those filings on the agency’s website within 72 hours of the applicable filing deadline and requires the local filing officer to redact certain information from a filing, including any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer, before posting the filing on the agency’s website. (Section 84616.)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS: This bill, co-sponsored by the Fair Political Practices Commission and the California Political Attorneys Association, prevents the disclosure of sensitive financial information, specifically bank account information submitted by a political campaign committee on their Statement of Organization form (Form 410) to the Secretary of State, from being disclosed to the public in response to a request for public records. The author’s personal experience as the victim of identity theft is the inspiration for the bill. According to the author:
Election officials are currently not required to redact the bank account numbers from the hard copies of the Form 410 provided to the public. This has led to candidates and elected officials becoming easy targets for those who perpetuate identity theft schemes. Further, this bill will require the names of authorized users to be redacted from the Form 410, once the Cal-Access Replacement System (CARS) is updated and certified by the SOS. From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
Background about the Political Reform Act and the FPPC. In the wake of the Watergate scandal, California voters enacted the Political Reform Act (PRA) and established the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) through Proposition 9 in 1974 (June 1974, prim. elec.). The FPPC is a five-member independent, non-partisan commission tasked with the responsibility of administering the PRA. Under the PRA, political candidates or committees are required to file various forms and reports with the FPPC containing certain information. Like all records in the possession of a public agency (see Background about the California Public Records Act, below) these records are presumptively open and subject to inspection and disclosure, upon request.
According to the analysis of this bill by the Assembly Committee on Elections:
When the PRA was originally enacted, members of the public who wished to view disclosure statements and reports generally had to visit a government office to view or obtain copies of those documents. In 1997, however, the Legislature passed and Governor Pete Wilson signed SB 49 (Karnette), Chapter 866, Statutes of 1997, which established the Online Disclosure Act of 1997. SB 49 required the SOS to implement an online filing and disclosure system for reports and statements required to be filed under the PRA, as specified. As a result, the SOS created and deployed a system called the California Automated Lobby Activity and Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Search System, commonly referred to as Cal-Access. Subsequently-enacted legislation, which is described in more detail below, also provided for online disclosure of campaign information at the local level.
While SB 49 required most of the information that is included in disclosure reports and statements filed under the PRA to be posted online, it prohibited certain street address information contained in those reports from being posted online. Additionally, due to concerns that the posting of campaign bank account number information online could lead to misuse, the PRA was amended shortly after Cal-Access was deployed to prohibit bank account numbers from being included with the data made available on the Internet through Cal-Access. Legislation that provided for locally-filed campaign disclosure reports to be posted on the Internet similarly requires certain street address information and bank account numbers to be excluded from the information that is posted on the Internet. However, while this information is not available on campaign disclosure reports that are posted online by public officials, state law requires unredacted copies of campaign disclosure reports that include this information to be made available to the public upon request.
Disclosure of sensitive banking information on campaign disclosure forms is required by current law, but controversial. The PRA requires a campaign disclosure statement—a statement of organization, also known as a Form 410—to be filed by a campaign committee with the SOS by any campaign committee that receives campaign contributions of $2,000 or more in a calendar year. The PRA additionally requires a copy of that statement to be filed with a local filing officer in certain circumstances. The statement of organization serves to identify the committee’s purpose, contact information, and officers. Among other information, the PRA specifies that a committee’s statement of organization must include the name of the financial institution where the committee’s campaign bank account is located and the committee’s bank account number.
At the FPPC’s October 2023 meeting, they received several public comments asking them to delay the implementation of amendments to their regulations, which would have required information contained on a Form 410 to include the name of those authorized to obtain bank records in addition to other bank account information, until the Legislature passes legislation to protect sensitive financial information required to be disclosed on Form 410, such as the limits proposed by this bill. (See Oct. 19, 2023 Agenda, Fair Pol. Pract. Comm., agenda item 5 available at https://fppc.ca.gov/about-fppc/hearings-meetings-workshops/current-agenda/past-agendas/2023-agendas/october-2023-agenda.html.)
One such public comment was from the California Political Attorneys Association (CPAA), one of the co-sponsors of this bill. The CPAA had concerns that providing both the bank account numbers and signer information on a single form without appropriate privacy safeguards creates a significant risk for fraud. The CPAA wrote in their comment to the FPPC:
As noted by the Association for Financial Professional’s (AFP) 2023 Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 65 percent of organizations were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2022. Instances of fraud via ACH credits and virtual cards increased by 6 percentage points each from prior years. For a nefarious actor to commit ACH fraud, they need a bank account and a routing number. Any additional information the potential fraudster can obtain, such as authorized signer information, only helps to make commission of the fraud easier. Committees are already required to provide bank account numbers on the Form 410 without appropriate protections in the law to require redaction. Routing numbers for all banks can be found online via a quick Google search. Adding additional, valuable information to the 410 before safeguards are put in place further jeopardizes the safety of funds located in campaign bank accounts. (See Comment Letter – CPAA on the FPPC’s website for their Oct. 19, 2023 meeting available at https://fppc.ca.gov/about-fppc/hearings-meetings-workshops/current-agenda/past-agendas/2023-agendas/october-2023-agenda.html.)
This fear indeed appears to be well-founded, as illustrated by the fact that the author of this bill states above that their own committee accounts have been victimized multiple times as both a candidate for office and as an elected official.
Background about the California Public Records Act. Access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. (Section 7921.000.) In 2004, the right of public access was enshrined in the California Constitution with the passage of Proposition 59 (Nov. 3, 2004, statewide general election), placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of both houses of the Legislature. (SCA 1 (Burton, Ch. 1, Stats. 2004), which amended the California Constitution to specifically protect the right of the public to access and obtain government records: “The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore . . . the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.” (Cal. Const., art. I, sec. 3 (b)(1).) In 2014, voters approved Proposition 42 (Jun. 3, 2014, statewide direct primary election), placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of both houses of the Legislature, (SCA 3 (Leno, Ch. 123, Stats. 2013), to further increase public access to government records by requiring local agencies to comply with the CPRA and the Ralph M. Brown Act, and with any subsequent statutory enactment amending either act, as provided. (Cal. Const., art. I, sec. 3 (b)(7).)
Under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of a public agency for inspection by the public, unless exempted. (Section 7922.525.) A public record is defined as any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any public agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. (Section 7920.530.) The CPRA allows a public agency 10 days or, in specified “unusual circumstances,” within 14 days of the 10-day period to respond to a request for the requested public record, and authorizes the agency to charge a fee for its “direct costs of duplication” of the record. (Sections 7922.530 (a), 7922.535.)
Despite the CPRA’s general rule making public records open to inspection and subject to disclosure, the CPRA provides exceptions when a document, or a portion thereof, is exempt from public disclosure. An exemption can be explicit in the CPRA itself, pursuant to another law that is incorporated by reference into the CPRA, or justified by the agency’s determination--based on the facts of the particular case—that the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. (See Sections 7922.000, 7922.525, 7922.530.)
This bill amends the Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) to require the SOS to redact a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer prior to sending a copy of a statement of organization to the county elections official of each county that the Secretary of State deems appropriate. It allows a campaign committee to redact, or otherwise omit, a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer. It prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose either of the following as a condition of accepting the filing: (1) a bank account number on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer; or (2) the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer. Finally, most germane to the jurisdiction of this Committee, it provides that notwithstanding open public records laws, including the California Public Records Act, the Secretary of State shall redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the Secretary of State before making the statement available to the public in any form. In other words, the bill enacts in the PRA an exception to the CPRA.
These protections, limiting the public disclosure of sensitive financial information, are consistent with existing law governing the public disclosure of bank account information about local political campaigns that is submitted to local election offices. (See Section 84616.) They also appear to be consistent with Section 7922.000 of the CPRA itself. Section 7922.000 allows a public agency to withhold an otherwise public record when, under the facts of the particular case, the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. Given that the bank account information has little, if any, public value; and disclosure of the information creates risk of financial fraud to elected officials and candidates for public office; it would appear prudent for the Secretary of State or a local election agency to withhold bank account information from public disclosure under current law. However, the bill would remove the possibility of inadvertent disclosure—whether by the SOS, another public agency, or a campaign committee--by both allowing a campaign committee to omit the information from its Form 410, and prohibiting the SOS from disclosing any such information that has been submitted.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Fair Political Practices Commission, co-sponsor of the bill, writes the following to explain the need for the bill:
Campaign committees and committee and bank representatives have expressed strong concern over increased fraud risk due to public disclosure of campaign committees’ bank account information on the committees’ Statements of Organization. In public comment letters submitted to the FPPC, bank representatives stated that the risk of fraud attacks on campaign committee bank accounts and other types of accounts is at an all time high.
In their letter of support, the California Political Attorneys Association, the bill’s other co-sponsor, describes how and why the bill proposes an important change to existing law:
AB 1027 is critically important because it creates a common sense solution to protect committees and individuals from financial crimes, while preserving access to the information potentially needed for investigations and enforcement. . . .Notably, all this bill does is redact the limited information that exposes committees to financial fraud on the face of the Form 410. The public will continue to enjoy full insight into the purposes for which a committee is formed and the individuals or entities that control it, and political committees will continue to file campaign statements disclosing their contribution and expenditure activity.
Campaign committees must act as fiduciaries in ensuring that donors’ campaign funds are properly used. At a time when financial fraud is on the rise in California and the U.S., it is imperative that sensitive banking information be adequately safeguarded to further this fiduciary obligation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Fair Political Practices Commission
California Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO
California Political Attorneys Association, Executive and Legislative Committees
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
Date of Hearing: June 12, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
Gail Pellerin, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1027
Author:(Menjivar) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2024
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: Political Reform Act of 1974: disclosures.
SUMMARY: Provides for the redaction of a campaign committee’s banking information from disclosure reports that are made available to the public. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the Secretary of State (SOS), before making a copy of a committee’s statement of organization available to the public, to redact the committee’s bank account number from that statement.
- Permits a campaign committee to redact or omit the committee’s bank account number from any copy of the committee’s statement of organization that is filed with a local filing officer. Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose the bank account number as a condition of accepting the filing.
- Provides for the redaction of the names of persons who are authorized to obtain a campaign committee’s bank records from any copy of the committee’s statement of organization that is made publicly available, beginning the date on which the SOS certifies that a new campaign and lobbying disclosure system that meets the requirements of state law has been implemented, as follows:
- Requires the SOS, before making a copy of a committee’s statement of organization available to the public, to redact the names of persons who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records from that statement.
- Permits the campaign committee to redact or omit the names of persons who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records from any copy of the committee’s statement of organization that is filed with a local filing officer. Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose those names as a condition of accepting the filing.
- Declares that the provisions of this bill that limit access to specified information about campaign committees’ banking information are necessary to protect filers’ privacy and to prevent financial fraud.
- Makes technical, corresponding, and conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW:
- Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and makes it responsible for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act (PRA). (Government Code §§83100, 83111)
- Provides that every report and statement filed pursuant to the PRA is a public record open for public inspection and reproduction, as specified. (Government Code §81008)
- Requires a committee, as specified, to file a statement of organization with the SOS, and to file a copy of that statement with a local filing officer in certain circumstances. Requires the statement of organization to include specified information, including the names of persons who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained, and the campaign’s bank account number. (Government Code §§84101, 84102, 84103; 2 California Code of Regulations §18410)
- Requires the SOS to make specified campaign finance disclosure information available online. Prohibits the SOS, when making that information available on the internet, from including any bank account number required to be disclosed. (Government Code §84602(a)(4))
- Permits local jurisdictions to provide online and electronic filing and disclosure systems for use by local candidates, officeholders, and committees, as specified. Prohibits a local jurisdiction, when making data related to campaign finance disclosures available on the internet, from including any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. Requires the local filing officer to make a complete, unredacted copy of any disclosure statement, including any bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request. (Government Code §84615)
- Requires a local government agency that receives campaign finance disclosure filings in paper format to post copies of those filings on the agency’s website within 72 hours of the applicable filing deadline. Requires the local filing officer to redact certain information from a filing, including any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer, before posting the filing on the agency’s website. (Government Code §84616)
- Requires the SOS, in consultation with the FPPC, to develop and certify a new online filing and disclosure system for public use that provides public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format, as specified. This system is commonly referred to as the Cal-Access Replacement System (CARS). Requires the SOS, before making this system available for public use, to test it to ensure its functionality, and then to certify that the system meets specified requirements of state law. (Government Code §84602(b))
- Provides that the people of California have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny. Requires a statute, court rule, or other authority adopted after June 4, 2014, that limits the right of access, to be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. (California Constitution, Article I, §3)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose of the Bill: According to the author:
SB 1027 provides added protections to candidates and elected officials when filling their Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the [SOS]. This minor change in statute will mitigate the rising threat of identity theft that has become commonplace in the finance and banking industries. This bill will permit a candidate or elected official to omit the bank account numbers from the Form 410 when filing copies of these statements with local elections officials. SB 1027 will also require SOS to redact the bank account numbers from hard copies of their Statement of Organization when they are requested by the public. Election officials are currently not required to redact the bank account numbers from the hard copies of the Form 410 provided to the public. This has led to candidates and elected officials becoming easy targets for those who perpetuate identity theft schemes. Further, this bill will require the names of authorized users to be redacted from the Form 410, once [CARS] is updated and certified by the SOS. From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
- Political Reform Act Disclosure: In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, California was the first state to pass a comprehensive political reform package with the enactment of the PRA through the voters’ approval of Proposition 9 at the June 1974 statewide primary election. One of the enumerated purposes of the PRA was that “[r]eceipts and expenditures in election campaigns should be fully and truthfully disclosed in order that the voters may be fully informed and improper practices may be inhibited.”
When the PRA was originally enacted, members of the public who wished to view disclosure statements and reports generally had to visit a government office to view or obtain copies of those documents. In 1997, however, the Legislature passed and Governor Pete Wilson signed SB 49 (Karnette), Chapter 866, Statutes of 1997, which established the Online Disclosure Act of 1997. SB 49 required the SOS to implement an online filing and disclosure system for reports and statements required to be filed under the PRA, as specified. As a result, the SOS created and deployed a system called the California Automated Lobby Activity and Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Search System, commonly referred to as Cal-Access. Subsequently-enacted legislation, which is described in more detail below, also provided for online disclosure of campaign information at the local level.
While SB 49 required most of the information that is included in disclosure reports and statements filed under the PRA to be posted online, it prohibited certain street address information contained in those reports from being posted online. Additionally, due to concerns that the posting of campaign bank account number information online could lead to misuse, the PRA was amended shortly after Cal-Access was deployed to prohibit bank account numbers from being included with the data made available on the Internet through Cal-Access. Legislation that provided for locally-filed campaign disclosure reports to be posted on the Internet similarly requires certain street address information and bank account numbers to be excluded from the information that is posted on the Internet. However, while this information is not available on campaign disclosure reports that are posted online by public officials, state law requires unredacted copies of campaign disclosure reports that include this information to be made available to the public upon request. - Campaign Committee Banking Information: One campaign disclosure statement that is required to be filed under the PRA—a statement of organization, also known as the Form 410—must be filed with the SOS by any campaign committee that receives campaign contributions of $2,000 or more in a calendar year. The PRA additionally requires a copy of that statement to be filed with a local filing officer in certain circumstances. The statement of organization serves to identify the committee’s purpose, contact information, and officers.
Among other information, a committee’s statement of organization must include the name of the financial institution where the committee’s campaign bank account is located and the committee’s bank account number. Additionally, the FPPC adopted regulations in 2022, with a delayed implementation date of January 1, 2024, that requires the statement of organization to contain the names of persons other than the committee’s treasurer who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records. This regulation was intended to help the FPPC and other government agencies obtain bank records of campaign committees for campaign audits and investigations when committee treasurers are unavailable or otherwise unable to provide those records.
When the FPPC was considering this regulation, various stakeholders including the California Political Attorneys Association (CPAA), which is one of the co-sponsors of this bill, expressed concern that the easy availability of the names of persons authorized to obtain committee bank records could increase the potential for fraudulent activity. In an October 2023 letter to the FPPC that requested a further delay in the implementation of this regulation, CPAA wrote:
As noted by the Association for Financial Professional’s (AFP) 2023 Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 65 percent of organizations were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2022. Instances of fraud via ACH credits and virtual cards increased by 6 percentage points each from prior years. For a nefarious actor to commit ACH fraud, they need a bank account and a routing number. Any additional information the potential fraudster can obtain, such as authorized signer information, only helps to make commission of the fraud easier. Committees are already required to provide bank account numbers on the Form 410 without appropriate protections in the law to require redaction. Routing numbers for all banks can be found online via a quick Google search. Adding additional, valuable information to the [Form] 410 before safeguards are put in place further jeopardizes the safety of funds located in campaign bank accounts.
While the FPPC has acknowledged that the public availability of campaign bank account information can increase the risk of fraud for those accounts, the FPPC rejected the request to further delay the implementation of the regulation. Accordingly, the requirement for campaign committees to include information on the statement of organization about people who are authorized to obtain the committee’s bank records went into effect on January 1 of this year.
- Protection of Sensitive Banking Information: As detailed above, campaign bank account numbers already are excluded from the data that is posted on the Internet through the Cal-Access system due to concerns about the potential misuse of that information. The Cal-Access system is now 25 years old, and the SOS reports that components of the system are no longer supported by their vendor. As a result, according to information from the FPPC and the SOS, the existing Cal-Access system cannot be modified to similarly redact the names of persons who are authorized to obtain a committee’s bank records from a committee’s statement of organization that is filed with the SOS. While the Legislature has taken steps to replace the Cal-Access system with a new disclosure system commonly referred to as CARS, the SOS does not expect to fully deploy CARS until late 2026 at the earliest.
The limitations of the Cal-Access system have created challenges for updating California’s campaign disclosure laws. Accordingly, various previously-enacted amendments to the PRA have included provisions that specify that those amendments will not go into effect until after the SOS certifies that CARS is operational. This bill similarly provides that its provisions related to the redaction of the names of persons who are authorized to obtain a committee’s bank records will become operative only once the CARS system has been deployed.
More immediately, this bill will further limit the public’s access to information about committees’ bank account numbers. While those numbers already are excluded from being posted online, this bill additionally requires the SOS to redact that information from campaign statements before making those statements available to the public. Given that a campaign committee’s bank account number does not provide meaningful information to the public about a committee’s campaign activities, the redaction of this information from copies of campaign reports that are made publicly available seems like a prudent step to help protect against fraud without undermining the purposes of the PRA. - Arguments in Support: The California Political Attorneys Association, one of the co-sponsors of this bill, writes in support:
Current law requires political committees…to include their banking institution and bank account number on their Statement of Organization (Form 410). Last year, the [FPPC] passed a regulation requiring the disclosure of individuals with certain authority over a political committee’s bank account on the Form 410…While a Form 410 made available online has bank account information redacted, the names of individuals with banking authority cannot be redacted without legislative intervention. Furthermore, hard copies of the Form 410 made available to the public at filing officers’ offices have neither the bank account nor individual information redacted. By making public a committee’s bank account number, along with the names and addresses used by individuals with banking authority over the committee’s finances, political committees and their agents are at risk of being victimized with identify theft and other fraud.
[SB] 1027 is critically important because it creates a common sense solution to protect committees and individuals from financial crimes, while preserving access to the information potentially needed for investigations and enforcement.
- Previous Legislation: SB 2108 (Karnette), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2000, prohibited the SOS from including bank account numbers in the information that is made available on the Internet through Cal-Access.
AB 2452 (Ammiano), Chapter 126, Statutes of 2012, permitted local government agencies to require elected officials, candidates, and campaign committees to file campaign disclosure reports online or electronically. AB 2452 prohibited any bank account number that was required to be disclosed from being posted on the Internet, but also required the local filing officer to make an unredacted version of the campaign reports available upon request.
AB 2151 (Gallagher), Chapter 214, Statutes of 2020, required a local governmental agency that receives campaign finance disclosure filings in paper format to post copies of those filings on its website within 72 hours of the filing deadline. Before posting copies of those filings online, AB 2151 additionally required the local filing officer to redact certain information from the filings, including any bank account number required to be disclosed by the filer. - Political Reform Act of 1974: California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974 that created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. That initiative is commonly known as the PRA. Amendments to the PRA that are not submitted to the voters, such as those contained in this bill, must further the purposes of the initiative and require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
- Double-Referral: This bill has been double-referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Political Attorneys Association (Co-Sponsor) (prior version)
Fair Political Practices Commission (Co-Sponsor) (prior version)
California Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB 1027 |
CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1027
Author: Menjivar (D)
Amended: 3/20/24
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 3/19/24
AYES: Blakespear, Nguyen, Allen, Menjivar, Newman, Portantino, Umberg
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/2/24
AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Min, Niello, Stern, Wahab
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Political Reform Act of 1974: disclosures
SOURCE: California Political Attorneys Association
Fair Political Practices Commission
DIGEST:
This bill permits a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and makes it responsible for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act (PRA).
- Defines “committee” to mean any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any of the following:
- Receives contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year.
- Makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year.
- Makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees.
- Requires a committee to file a statement of organization with the SOS, and file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, as specified. Provides that the data made available on the internet shall not contain any bank account numbers required to be disclosed pursuant the PRA.
- Requires local filing officers to make complete, unredacted copies of certain statements, reports, and other documents, including any street names, building numbers, and bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request, as specified.
- Requires the SOS, in consultation with FPPC, to develop and certify for public use a new online filing and disclosure system for statements and reports that provide public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format, as specified. This is known as the CAL-ACCESS Replacement System (CARS).
This bill:
- Permits a committee to redact or otherwise omit a bank account number and the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with a local filing officer.
- Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
- Requires the SOS to redact a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form.
- Defines “authorized person” as a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
Background
Political Reform Act of 1974. In 1974, California voters passed Proposition 9, an initiative commonly known as the PRA. Proposition 9 created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. The Legislature is permitted to amend the PRA, but the amendments must further the purposes of the PRA and requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
Bank Account Numbers. When a committee files a statement of organization form (Form 410), one of the required fields is a bank account number. The original Form 410 is submitted to the SOS and a copy is submitted to a local filing officer. When making these forms available online for the public, the SOS redacts the bank account number and other information as specified by existing law.
For forms submitted to a local government agency that requires online or electronic filings, the local filing officer redacts the bank account number before making the forms available for the general public. However, for a hard copy of the Form 410, the account numbers on the form are not redacted when requested by a member of the public.
Comments
According to the author:
SB 1027 provides added protections to candidates and elected officials when filling their Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the SOS. This minor change in statute will mitigate the rising threat of identity theft that has become commonplace in the finance and banking industries. This bill will permit a candidate or elected official to omit the bank account numbers from the Form 410 when filing copies of these statements with local elections officials. SB 1027 will also require SOS to redact the bank account numbers from hard copies of their Statement of Organization when they are requested by the public. Election officials are currently not required to redact the bank account numbers from the hard copies of the Form 410 provided to the public. This has led to candidates and elected officials becoming easy targets for those who perpetuate identity theft schemes. Further, this bill will require the names of authorized users to be redacted from the Form 410, once CARS is updated and certified by the SOS. From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 888 (Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments, 2023) would have required, among other provisions, the SOS to redact bank account numbers on the statement of organization, and authorizes a committee to redact the bank account number on the copy of the statement provided to the local filing officer. The bill is held on the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 423 (Umberg, Chapter 31, Statutes of 2020) ensured that, in an early version of the bill, among other provisions, the bank account numbers on a committee’s Statement of Organization form are kept confidential. The bill is amended to reflect a different elections issue.
SB 2108 (Karnette, Chapter 319, Statutes of 2000) prohibited the SOS from disclosing bank account numbers listed on a statement of organization form from being made available online.
AB 2452 (Ammiano, Chapter 126, Statutes of 2012) permitted, among other provisions, a local government agency requiring online or electronic filing to redact any bank account number required to be disclosed. The bill required the filing officer to make an unredacted version of the campaign reports available upon request.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 4/17/24)
California Political Attorneys Association (co-source)
Fair Political Practices Commission (co-source)
California Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO
OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/17/24)
None received
Prepared by: Scott Matsumoto / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
4/17/24 13:22:44
**** END ****
Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair
2023-2024 Regular Session
Bill No: SB 1027 (Author:Menjivar)
Version: March 20, 2024
Hearing Date: April 2, 2024
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
Consultant: AM
SUBJECT
Political Reform Act of 1974: disclosures
DIGEST
This bill amends the Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) to authorize a committee to redact a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer and requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization before making the statement available to the public in any form. The bill also requires the SOS or a local filing officer to redact the name and building number on a report or statement before making the report or statement available to the public in any form.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In the wake of the Watergate scandal, California voters enacted the PRA and established the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) through Proposition 9 in 1974 (June 1974, prim. elec.). The FPPC is a five-member independent, non-partisan commission tasked with the responsibility of administering the PRA. Under the PRA, political candidates or committees are required to file various forms and reports with the FPPC containing certain information, which is generally publically available. This bill seeks to address concerns that certain personal and financial information that is publically available on forms filed with the FPPC can lead to victimization and financial fraud. The bill requires a two-thirds vote because it amends the Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure. The bill passed the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments on a vote of 7 to 0. The bill is sponsored by the FPPC and the California Political Attorneys Association. The bill is supported by the California Federation of Teachers. The Committee has received no timely opposition.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW
Existing law:
- Establishes the Political Reform Act (PRA), which creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and makes it responsible for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the PRA. (Gov. Code § 81000.) [1]
- Defines “statewide election,” for purposes of the PRA, as an election for statewide elective office. (§ 82052.5.)
- Defines “committee” to mean any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any of the following:
- receives contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year;
- makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year; or
- makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees. (§ 82013.)
- Requires a committee to file a statement of organization with the SOS, and file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, as specified. (§ 84101.)
- Authorizes a local government agency to require an elected officer, candidate, committee, or other person to file statements, reports, or other specified documents, with certain limited exceptions, online or electronically. (§ 84615).
- Requires the local filing officer to make data available on the internet, but provides that data cannot not contain the street name and building number of the persons or entity representatives listed on the electronically filed forms or any bank account number required to be disclosed pursuant to the PRA. (§ 84615(f).)
- Requires the local filing officer to make a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other document filed available to any person upon request, and that this copy is to include any street names, building numbers, and bank accounts disclosed by the filer. (Ibid.)
- Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, that the people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies are required to be open to public scrutiny. (Cal. const. art. I, § 3(b)(1).)
- Requires a statute to be broadly construed if it furthers the people’s right of access, and narrowly construed if it limits the right of access. (Cal. const. art. I, § 3(b)(1).)
- Requires a statute that limits the public’s right of access to be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. (Cal. const. art. I, § 3(b)(1).)
- Governs the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA). (§§ 7920.000 et seq.)
- States that the Legislature, mindful of the individual right to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state. (§ 7921.000.)
- Defines “public records” as any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. (§ 7920.530.)
- Provides that all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (§ 7922.530.)
This bill:
- Permits a committee to redact or otherwise omit a bank account number and the name of an authored person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with a local filing officer.
- Prohibits a local filing officer from requiring a committee to disclose a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer as a condition of accepting that filing.
- “Authorized person” is defined as a person, other than the treasurer, who is authorized to obtain the bank records of the committee from the financial institution where the campaign bank account is maintained.
- Requires the SOS to redact a bank account number or the name of an authorized person on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form.
- Makes specified legislative findings and declarations.
COMMENTS
- Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
SB 1027 provides added protections to candidates and elected officials when filling their Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the Secretary of State (SOS). This minor change in statute will mitigate the rising threat of identity theft that has become commonplace in the finance and banking industries. This bill will permit a candidate or elected official to omit the bank account numbers from the Form 410 when filing copies of these statements with local elections officials. SB 1027 will also require SOS to redact the bank account numbers from hard copies of their Statement of Organization when they are requested by the public. Election officials are currently not required to redact the bank account numbers from the hard copies of the Form 410 provided to the public. This has led to candidates and elected officials becoming easy targets for those who perpetuate identity theft schemes. Further, this bill will require the names of authorized users to be redacted from the Form 410, once the Cal-Access Replacement System (CARS) is updated and certified by the SOS. From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
- The PRA, public right of access under the CPRA, and privacy
- Prior related bills
This bill is a reintroduction of provisions that were in SB 888 (Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments, 2023), which passed this Committee on a vote of 11 to 0 but ultimately failed to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 423 (Umberg, Ch. 31, Stats. 2020), in an early version of the bill, among other provisions, also would have ensured that bank account numbers on a committee’s statement of organization form (Form 410) are kept confidential; however, this bill was later amended to reflect a different elections issue.
- Concerns regarding the disclosure of sensitive financial information on Form 410
At the FPPC’s October 2023 meeting, they received several public comments asking them to delay the implementation of amendments to § 18410 of the regulations of the FPPC, which would require information contained on a Form 410 to include the name of those authorized to obtain bank records in addition to other bank account information, until the Legislature passes legislation to protect sensitive financial information required to be disclosed on Form 410.[2] Once such public comment was from the California Political Attorneys Association (CPAA), which is one of the sponsors of this bill. The CPAA had concerns that providing both the bank account numbers and signer information on a single form without appropriate privacy safeguards creates a significant risk for fraud.[3] The CPAA wrote in their comment to the FPPC:
As noted by the Association for Financial Professional’s (AFP) 2023 Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 65 percent of organizations were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2022. Instances of fraud via ACH credits and virtual cards increased by 6 percentage points each from prior years. For a nefarious actor to commit ACH fraud, they need a bank account and a routing number. Any additional information the potential fraudster can obtain, such as authorized signer information, only helps to make commission of the fraud easier. Committees are already required to provide bank account numbers on the Form 410 without appropriate protections in the law to require redaction. Routing numbers for all banks can be found online via a quick Google search. Adding additional, valuable information to the 410 before safeguards are put in place further jeopardizes the safety of funds located in campaign bank accounts.
The author of this bill states above that their own committee accounts have been victimized multiple times as both a candidate for office and as an elected official.
- Public right of access under the CPRA and privacy
California generally recognizes that public access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right. At the same time, the state recognizes that this right must be balanced against the right to privacy. The general right of access to public records may, therefore, be limited where records include personal information or information of a sensitive nature. Under existing law, when a committee files a Form 410, one of the required fields is a bank account number. The original Form 410 is submitted to the SOS and a copy is submitted to a local filing officer. When making these forms available online for the public, the SOS redacts the bank account; however, this information on the hard copy of Form 410 is not redacted and may be disclosed to the public. The bill will provide that the bank account number and the name of an authorized person may be redacted on the hard copy of the form filed with the SOS and that if it is included on the form it is not to be disclosed to the public. The bill states that the above limitations on the access to public records is needed in order to protect filers’ privacy and to prevent financial fraud. In light of the bill’s findings on the need for limiting access, this limitation to the CPRA seems warranted.
3. Statements in support
The FPPC, one of the sponsors of the bill, writes in support stating:
Existing law under the Political Reform Act of 1974 requires candidates to establish a single campaign bank account for all campaign contributions and expenditures, and imposes additional requirements on management of committee funds, accounting, recordkeeping, and disclosure that apply to all campaign committees. As part of the disclosure requirements, campaign committees must file a Statement of Organization with the Secretary of State, and a copy of the statement with the local filing officer. Pursuant to FPPC regulation, this statement includes the committee bank account number and, as of January 1, 2024, the names of persons authorized to obtain bank account records.
Campaign committees and committee and bank representatives have expressed strong concern over increased fraud risk due to public disclosure of campaign committees’ bank account information on the committees’ Statements of Organization. In public comment letters submitted to the FPPC, bank representatives stated that the risk of fraud attacks on campaign committee bank accounts and other types of accounts is at an all time high.
To address this concern, SB 1027 would require the Secretary of State to redact the committee bank account number and the names of persons authorized to obtain bank account records from copies of Statements of Organization provided to the public. The bill would also permit committees to omit this information from copies of the statement filed with the local filing officer.
SUPPORT
California Fair Political Practices Committee (sponsor)
California Political Attorneys Association (sponsor)
California Federation of Teachers
OPPOSITION
None received
RELATED LEGISLATION
Pending Legislation: None known.
Prior Legislation:
SB 888 (Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments, 2023) contained various changes to the PRA, including authorizing a committee to redact a bank account number included on the copy of the statement of organization filed with the local filing officer and requiring the SOS to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form. SB 888 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 423 (Umberg, Ch. 31, Stats. 2020), in an early version of this bill, among other provisions, would have ensured that bank account numbers on a committee’s Statement of Organization form are kept confidential. This bill was later amended to reflect a different elections issue.
PRIOR VOTES
Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee (7 Ayes, 0 Noes)
**************
All further references are to the Government Code unless specified otherwise. ↑
See Oct. 19, 2023 Agenda, Fair Pol. Pract. Comm., agenda item 5 available at https://fppc.ca.gov/about-fppc/hearings-meetings-workshops/current-agenda/past-agendas/2023-agendas/october-2023-agenda.html. ↑
See Comment Letter – CPAA on the FPPC’s website for their Oct. 19, 2023 meeting available at https://fppc.ca.gov/about-fppc/hearings-meetings-workshops/current-agenda/past-agendas/2023-agendas/october-2023-agenda.html. ↑
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Catherine Blakespear, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular
Bill No: SB Hearing Date: 3/19/24
Author: | |||
Version: | 3/12/24 | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Scott Matsumoto | ||
Subject: Political Reform Act of 1974: disclosures
DIGEST
This bill permits a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the Secretary of State (SOS) to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
- Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and makes it responsible for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act (PRA).
- Defines “committee” to mean any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any of the following:
- Receives contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year.
- Makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year.
- Makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees.
- Requires a committee to file a statement of organization with the SOS, and file a copy of the statement of organization with the local filing officer, if any, as specified. Provides that the data made available on the internet shall not contain any bank account numbers required to be disclosed pursuant the PRA.
- Requires local filing officers to make complete, unredacted copies of certain statements, reports, and other documents, including any street names, building numbers, and bank account numbers disclosed by the filer, available to any person upon request, as specified.
- Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with FPPC, to develop and certify for public use a new online filing and disclosure system for statements and reports that provide public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format, as specified. This is known as the CAL-ACCESS Replacement System (CARS).
This bill:
- Permits a campaign committee to redact the bank account number on a copy of a statement of organization filed with a local filing officer, and it would require the SOS to redact the bank account number on a statement of organization filed with the SOS before making the statement available to the public in any form.
- Repeals the requirement of a local filing officer from providing a complete, unredacted copy of any statement, report, or other documents to any person upon request, if that request is made prior to the Secretary of State’s certification of CARS.
BACKGROUND
Political Reform Act of 1974. In 1974, California voters passed Proposition 9, an initiative commonly known as the PRA. Proposition 9 created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. The Legislature is permitted to amend the PRA, but the amendments must further the purposes of the PRA and requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
Bank Account Numbers. When a committee files a statement of organization form (Form 410), one of the required fields is a bank account number. The original Form 410 is submitted to the SOS and a copy is submitted to a local filing officer. When making these forms available online for the public, the SOS redacts the bank account number and other information as specified by existing law.
For forms submitted to a local government agency that requires online or electronic filings, the local filing officer redacts the bank account number before making the forms available for the general public. However, for a hard copy of the Form 410, the account numbers on the form are not redacted when requested by a member of the public.
CAL-ACCESS Replacement System. In 2016, SB 1349 (Hertzberg), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2016, was enacted and required the SOS, in consultation with FPPC, to develop and certify for public use a new online filing and disclosure system for statements and reports that provide public disclosure of campaign finance and lobbying information in a user-friendly, easily understandable format, as specified. This system is intended to be data driven, rather than form-based, and is intended to permit future compatibility with local campaign finance data. The development and implementation of CARS is ongoing.
COMMENTS
- According to the author: SB 1027 provides added protections to candidates and elected officials when filling their Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the SOS. This minor change in statute will mitigate the rising threat of identity theft that has become commonplace in the finance and banking industries. This bill will permit a candidate or elected official to omit the bank account numbers from the Form 410 when filing copies of these statements with local elections officials. SB 1027 will also require SOS to redact the bank account numbers from hard copies of their Statement of Organization when they are requested by the public. Election officials are currently not required to redact the bank account numbers from the hard copies of the Form 410 provided to the public. This has led to candidates and elected officials becoming easy targets for those who perpetuate identity theft schemes. Further, this bill will require the names of authorized users to be redacted from the Form 410, once CARS is updated and certified by the SOS. From someone who has had their committee accounts hacked multiple times as a candidate and an elected official, this legislation is needed to protect my colleagues from being victimized in the same way that I have.
- Committee Amendment – Public Requests at the Local Level. The amendments of March 12, 2024 provided language relating to public requests at the local level after CARS has be certified and implemented. In order to bring uniformity and consistency, committee staff recommends the bill be amended to add similar language to Section 3 of the bill since it focuses on procedures prior to CARS being certified. The author has agreed to these amendments.
- Double Referral. If approved by the committee, SB 1027 will be re-referred to the Committee on Judiciary for further consideration.
- Argument in Support. In a letter sponsoring SB 1027, the Fair Political Practices Commission stated, in part, the following:
Campaign committees and committee and bank representatives have expressed strong concern over increased fraud risk due to public disclosure of campaign committees’ bank account information on the committees’ Statements of Organization. In public comment letters submitted to the FPPC, bank representatives stated that the risk of fraud attacks on campaign committee bank accounts and other types of accounts is at an all time high.
To address this concern, SB 1027 would require the Secretary of State to redact the committee bank account number and the names of persons authorized to obtain bank account records from copies of Statements of Organization provided to the public. The bill would also permit committees to omit this information from copies of the statement filed with the local filing officer.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
SB 888 (Committee on Elections Constitutional Amendments) of 2023, among other provisions, would have required SOS to redact bank account numbers on the statement of organization, and would authorize a committee to redact the bank account number on the copy of the statement provided to the local filing officer. The bill was held on the Suspense File in the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
SB 423 (Umberg), Chapter 31, Statutes of 2020, in an early version of this bill, among other provisions, would have ensured that bank account numbers on a committee’s Statement of Organization form are kept confidential. This bill was later amended to reflect a different elections issue.
SB 2108 (Karnette), Chapter 319, Statutes of 2000, prohibited the SOS from disclosing bank account numbers listed on a statement of organization form from being made available online.
AB 2452 (Ammiano), Chapter 126, Statutes of 2012, among other provisions, permitted a local government agency requiring online or electronic filing to redact any bank account number required to be disclosed. This bill also required the filing officer to make an unredacted version of the campaign reports available upon request.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: California Political Attorneys Association
Fair Political Practices Commission
Support: None received
Oppose: None received
-- END --
Discussed in Hearing
6MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):