(1) Existing law requires a committee, as defined, that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet, as specified. Existing law authorizes such a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Existing law also requires this committee to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the Secretary of State. Existing law requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.

This bill would remove the requirement that a committee that pays for the circulation of a state referendum create an Official Top Funders sheet and submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the Secretary of State. The bill would also remove the requirement for a state referendum petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition. The bill would instead require such a state referendum petition to include a different disclosure statement, as specified, on the first page of each section of the referendum petition.

(2) Existing law requires the top of each page of a state referendum petition to contain, in 12-point boldface type, the following text: Referendum Against an Act Passed by the Legislature.

This bill would substantially revise the required form and contents of a statewide referendum petition by mandating, among other things, the petition to contain an official title and summary of the law proposed to be overturned, as prepared by the Attorney General. Among other things, the bill would require a committee, as defined, that circulates a statewide referendum petition to submit to the Secretary of State the first page of the petition and any updates required to reflect a change in the top contributors to the committee. The bill would require the Secretary of State to post the first page of the petition on the Secretary of States internet website along with previous versions submitted by the committee.

(3) Existing law requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signers signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signers incorporated city or unincorporated community.

This bill would require a petition for a statewide referendum measure to include, in addition to the information above, before the space for the signers printed name, a box preceding the following statement: BY CHECKING THIS BOX, I confirm that I have reviewed the Official Top Funders listed on this page.

(1) Existing law requires a committee, as defined, that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet, as specified. Existing law requires authorizes such a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Existing law also requires this committee to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the Secretary of State. Existing law requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.

This bill would remove the requirement that a committee that pays for the circulation of a state referendum create an Official Top Funders sheet, create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders Sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum, sheet and submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the Secretary of State. The bill would also remove the requirement for a state referendum petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition. The bill would instead require such a state referendum petition to include a different disclosure statement, as specified, on the first page of each section of the referendum petition.

(2) Existing law requires the top of each page of a state referendum petition to contain, in 12-point boldface type, the following text: Referendum Against an Act Passed by the Legislature.

This bill would substantially revise the required form and contents of a state statewide referendum petition by mandating, among other things, the petition to contain an official title and summary of the law proposed to be overturned, as prepared by the Attorney General. Among other things, the bill would require a committee, as defined, that circulates a state statewide referendum petition to submit to the Secretary of State the first page of the petition and any updates required to reflect a change in the top contributors to the committee. The bill would require the Secretary of State to post the first page of the petition on the Secretary of States internet website along with previous versions submitted by the committee.

(3) Existing law requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signers signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signers incorporated city or unincorporated community.

This bill would require a petition for a statewide referendum measure to include, in addition to the information above, before the space for the signers printed name, a box preceding the following statement: BY CHECKING THIS BOX, I confirm that I have reviewed the Official Top Funders listed on this page.

(1) Existing law requires a committee, as defined, that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet, as specified. Existing law requires such a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Existing law also requires this committee to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the Secretary of State. Existing law requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.

This bill would remove the requirement that a committee that pays for the circulation of a state referendum create an Official Top Funders sheet, create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders Sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum, and submit the Official Top Funders Sheet sheet to the Secretary of State. The bill would also remove the requirement for a state referendum petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate either to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition. The bill would instead require such a state referendum petition to include a different disclosure statement, as specified, on the first page of each section of the referendum petition.

(2) Existing law requires the top of each page of a state referendum petition to contain, in 12-point boldface type, the following text: Referendum Against an Act Passed by the Legislature.

This bill would substantially revise the required form and contents of a state referendum petition by mandating, among other things, the petition to contain an official title and summary of the law proposed to be overturned, as prepared by the Attorney General. Among other things, the bill would require a committee, as defined, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit to the Secretary of State the first page of the petition and any updates required to reflect a change in the top contributors to the committee. The bill would require the Secretary of State to post the first page of the petition on the Secretary of States internet website along with previous versions submitted by the committee.

(3) Existing law requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signers signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signers incorporated city or unincorporated community.

This bill would require a petition for a statewide referendum measure to include, in addition to the information above, the date the petition was signed and the signers initials immediately preceding the following statement: BY INITIALING HERE, before the space for the signers printed name, a box preceding the following statement: BY CHECKING THIS BOX, I confirm that I have reviewed the Official Top Funders listed on this page.

Existing law requires that all nomination documents and signatures in lieu of filing fee petitions be held by the officer with whom they are filed during the term of office for which they are filed and for 4 years after the expiration of the term, after which they must be destroyed as soon as practicable, unless they are in evidence in an action or proceeding or have been requested for use in an investigation, as specified.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the above provision.

 VETO  

Bill No: SB 1337

Author: Gonzalez (D)

Enrolled: 9/3/24

Vote: 27

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/16/24

AYES: Blakespear, Allen, Menjivar, Newman, Portantino, Umberg

NOES: Nguyen

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SENATE FLOOR: 28-9, 5/21/24

AYES: Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NOES: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Dodd, Glazer

SENATE FLOOR: 28-11, 8/29/24

AYES: Allen, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NOES: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Dodd, Glazer, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-17, 8/28/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Elections: form of petitions

SOURCE: SEIU California

DIGEST:

This bill modifies the requirements for what is included on petitions for state referenda, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Permits electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes, except as specified, through the referendum process. Requires a petition with signatures for a proposed state referendum measure to be filed with the county elections official no later than 90 days from the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of State (SOS), as specified.
2. Defines “top contributors” to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. Defines “cumulative contributions” to mean the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
3. Provides for the format of state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition, as specified. Requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signer’s signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signer’s incorporated city or unincorporated community.
4. Requires a committee that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet that includes a listing of the top contributors, as specified. Requires a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Requires committees to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the SOS.
5. Requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.
6. Requires that a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition contain a notice alerting voters that a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer may circulate the petition, and that voters have the right to ask if a petition circulator is a paid gatherer or volunteer.

This bill:

1. Provides that any signatures on a statewide referendum petition shall appear only on the first page of each petition section.
2. Recasts and revises the requirements for the format and content of a state referendum petition.
3. Requires, in the case of a petition where a campaign committee pays to circulate the petition, that the petition include a listing of the committee’s top contributors as of the date the petition is printed. Requires the first page of each section of a state referendum petition be reprinted within five business days with an updated top contributors list if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation.
4. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the SOS, who shall post the page on the SOS’s website along with any previous versions the committee submitted.
5. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Background

Qualification of State Referenda Measures. The qualification of a state referendum measure for the ballot has the effect of staying the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Since state referenda generally appear on the ballot only at statewide general elections, the qualification of a referendum measure for the ballot can prevent the operation of a state law for up to two years. The qualification of a state referendum for the ballot alters the operation of state law before the electorate has a chance to vote on that ballot measure.

This is an important difference from the state initiative process. The qualification of an initiative measure for the ballot does not have any direct effect on the operation of state law simply by virtue of the fact that it has qualified. In the case of an initiative that seeks to undo a recently enacted legislative change, the proponents cannot stop or delay the operation of that law simply by qualifying the measure for the ballot. The only way that an initiative measure affects the operation of a recently enacted legislative change is if the voters approve that measure when it appears on the ballot.

Invalidation of Signatures. Existing law generally is silent on the issue of whether violations of state law prohibiting improper signature-gathering tactics will result in the signatures on those petitions being invalidated. However, in at least one case, a court invalidated signatures gathered to qualify an initiative for the ballot due to improper signature-gathering tactics by the proponents of the measure. In San Francisco Forty-Niners v. Nishioka (1999, 75 Cal.App.4th 637), the California Court of Appeals for the First District, Division One, prohibited an initiative measure from appearing on the ballot because the initiative petition included false statements intended to mislead voters, in violation of Section 18600 of the Elections Code. In this case, the false statements appeared on the text of the petition itself. As a result, every person who was asked to sign the petition was exposed to these false statements.

In a case where petition circulators make false or misleading statements about a proposed ballot measure, or engage in other illegal signature-gathering tactics in an attempt to get voters to sign a petition, it is unclear whether that misconduct can result in signatures being invalidated.

Comments

According to the author, “while direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making.”

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 421 (Bryan, Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023) originally included the requirement that top funders be printed directly on the first page of the petition and required signers to initial an acknowledgement that they saw the Top Funders. These provisions were amended out of the bill prior to the bill being chaptered.

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

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:

Negligible costs to the SOS to update informational materials to reflect new referendum petition requirements. The SOS has no role in reviewing or verifying the content or format of a statewide initiative or referendum petition prior to circulation, as proponents are responsible for the preparation and printing of a valid petition.

SUPPORT: (Verified 10/7/24)

SEIU California (source)

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees

BlueGreen Alliance California

California Environmental Voters

OPPOSITION: (Verified 10/7/24)

California Chamber of Commerce

Department of Finance

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

I am returning Senate Bill 1337 without my signature.

This bill modifies what must be included in state referenda petitions, including a requirement to list the top five contributors on the actual

petition. The bill further requires that this list be updated, and the petition reprinted, within five business days any time there is a change to the top

five contributors.

While I share the author’s goal of increasing transparency in our elections

system, these changes are overly burdensome and may have the unintended

consequence of making our state referendum process less accessible.

For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-17, 8/28/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alvarez, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Ta, Waldron, Wallis

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bains, Cervantes, Ortega, Pacheco, Blanca Rubio, Villapudua, Wilson

Prepared by: Scott Matsumoto/ E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

10/16/24 14:18:25

**** END ****

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 1337

Author: Gonzalez (D)

Amended: 8/22/24

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/16/24

AYES: Blakespear, Allen, Menjivar, Newman, Portantino, Umberg

NOES: Nguyen

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SENATE FLOOR: 28-9, 5/21/24

AYES: Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NOES: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Dodd, Glazer

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-17, 8/28/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Elections: form of petitions

SOURCE: SEIU California

DIGEST:

This bill modifies the requirements for what is included on petitions for state referenda, as specified.

Assembly Amendments

replace the requirement for a state referendum petition to contain a space for the signer to provide their initials after reviewing the Top Funders on a state referendum petition with a box for the signer to mark and made other clarifying and technical changes.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Permits electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes, except as specified, through the referendum process. Requires a petition with signatures for a proposed state referendum measure to be filed with the county elections official no later than 90 days from the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of State (SOS), as specified.
2. Defines “top contributors” to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. Defines “cumulative contributions” to mean the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
3. Provides for the format of state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition, as specified. Requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signer’s signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signer’s incorporated city or unincorporated community.
4. Requires a committee that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet that includes a listing of the top contributors, as specified. Requires a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Requires committees to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the SOS.
5. Requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.
6. Requires that a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition contain a notice alerting voters that a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer may circulate the petition, and that voters have the right to ask if a petition circulator is a paid gatherer or volunteer.

This bill:

1. Provides that any signatures on a statewide referendum petition shall appear only on the first page of each petition section.
2. Recasts and revises the requirements for the format and content of a state referendum petition.
3. Requires, in the case of a petition where a campaign committee pays to circulate the petition, that the petition include a listing of the committee's top contributors as of the date the petition is printed. Requires the first page of each section of a state referendum petition be reprinted within five business days with an updated top contributors list if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation.
4. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the SOS, who shall post the page on the SOS's website along with any previous versions the committee submitted.
5. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Background

Qualification of State Referenda Measures. The qualification of a state referendum measure for the ballot has the effect of staying the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Since state referenda generally appear on the ballot only at statewide general elections, the qualification of a referendum measure for the ballot can prevent the operation of a state law for up to two years. The qualification of a state referendum for the ballot alters the operation of state law before the electorate has a chance to vote on that ballot measure.

This is an important difference from the state initiative process. The qualification of an initiative measure for the ballot does not have any direct effect on the operation of state law simply by virtue of the fact that it has qualified. In the case of an initiative that seeks to undo a recently enacted legislative change, the proponents cannot stop or delay the operation of that law simply by qualifying the measure for the ballot. The only way that an initiative measure affects the operation of a recently enacted legislative change is if the voters approve that measure when it appears on the ballot.

Invalidation of Signatures. Existing law generally is silent on the issue of whether violations of state law prohibiting improper signature-gathering tactics will result in the signatures on those petitions being invalidated. However, in at least one case, a court invalidated signatures gathered to qualify an initiative for the ballot due to improper signature-gathering tactics by the proponents of the measure. In San Francisco Forty-Niners v. Nishioka (1999, 75 Cal.App.4th 637), the California Court of Appeals for the First District, Division One, prohibited an initiative measure from appearing on the ballot because the initiative petition included false statements intended to mislead voters, in violation of Section 18600 of the Elections Code. In this case, the false statements appeared on the text of the petition itself. As a result, every person who was asked to sign the petition was exposed to these false statements.

In a case where petition circulators make false or misleading statements about a proposed ballot measure, or engage in other illegal signature-gathering tactics in an attempt to get voters to sign a petition, it is unclear whether that misconduct can result in signatures being invalidated.

Comments

Author’s statement. According to the author, While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 421 (Bryan, Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023) originally included the requirement that top funders be printed directly on the first page of the petition and required signers to initial an acknowledgement that they saw the Top Funders. These provisions were amended out of the bill prior to the bill being chaptered.

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

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:

Negligible costs to the SOS to update informational materials to reflect new referendum petition requirements. The SOS has no role in reviewing or verifying the content or format of a statewide initiative or referendum petition prior to circulation, as proponents are responsible for the preparation and printing of a valid petition.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/26/24)

SEIU California (source)

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees

BlueGreen Alliance California

California Environmental Voters

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/26/24)

California Chamber of Commerce

Department of Finance

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-17, 8/28/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alvarez, Arambula, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Mike Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Papan, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ting, Valencia, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Ta, Waldron, Wallis

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bains, Cervantes, Ortega, Pacheco, Blanca Rubio, Villapudua, Wilson

Prepared by: Scott Matsumoto / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

8/28/24 22:39:43

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 1337

Author:(Gonzalez)

As Amended Ver:August 22, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires statewide referendum petitions to include a list of the top funders of the effort to qualify the referendum on the petition, as specified. Requires state referendum petitions to comply with other formatting and content requirements.

Major Provisions

1. Provides that any signatures on a statewide referendum petition shall appear only on the first page of each petition section.
2. Recasts and revises the requirements for the format and content of a state referendum petition. Requires, in the case of a petition where a campaign committee pays to circulate the petition, that the petition include a listing of the committee's top contributors as of the date the petition is printed, as specified.
3. Requires the first page of each section of a state referendum petition to be reprinted within five business days with an updated top contributors list if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, as specified.
4. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the Secretary of State (SOS), who shall post the page on the SOS's website along with any previous versions the committee submitted.

COMMENTS

SB 47 (Allen), Chapter 563, Statutes of 2019, requires that individuals who are asked to sign state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petitions be provided with information about the committee that is paying for the petition to be circulated, if any, and the top campaign contributors to that committee, as specified. Those disclosures, which must comply with various formatting and legibility requirements, are referred to as an "Official Top Funders" disclosure. SB 47 permits the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, or on a separate sheet that is required to be shown to individuals who are asked to sign the petition.

The author and supporters of this bill argue that paid signature gatherers who are circulating state referendum petitions have misled voters about who is funding the campaign to overturn state law, thus necessitating changes to state law to ensure that potential petition signers are provided with accurate information about those funding signature gathering drives for state referendum measures. Accordingly, for state referendum petitions only, this bill requires the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, thereby eliminating the option for those circulating referendum petitions to provide that information on a separate document instead. This bill also requires the Official Top Funders disclosure on state referendum petitions to be updated more frequently; while existing law generally requires the disclosure to be updated monthly while the petition is being circulated, this bill requires the disclosure to be updated within five business days of any change in the listed top contributors.

While these changes collectively may improve the likelihood that potential signers of state referendum petitions are aware of the top funders of the petition drive before signing, they also likely will add additional complexities for proponents in their attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot. Notably, the requirement for the proponents to reprint referendum petitions within five days of certain changes to the Official Top Funders disclosure could be particularly challenging. Supporters of this bill have provided information to suggest that the top funders of efforts to qualify referendum measures for the ballot typically do not change frequently during the signature gathering stage. Nonetheless, given the short time to collect signatures on a state referendum petition (90 days, compared to 180 days for a state initiative measure), the requirement to reprint petitions could be especially disruptive to signature gathering efforts for state referenda.

Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.

According to the Author

"While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making."

Arguments in Support

The sponsor of this bill, the SEIU California State Council, writes in support, "California corporations and other big money interests are using our referendum process to subvert the will of the people by spending millions of dollars to hire bounty hunter signature gatherers who often misrepresent the content of petitions in order to get paid. Because these bounty hunters are motivated by per signature payment, they will say and do anything to get signatures on petitions… [SB 1337] requires the three top contributors of $50,000 or more to the committee paying to circulate the petition to be printed on the face of the petition. Under current law, the top funders may be printed on a separate sheet and circulated with the petition. In practice, circulators often obscure the disclosure, or hide the top funders sheet entirely while misleading the signer about the substance of the referendum. Requiring the top funders printed where the voter signs the petition ensures that potential signers have this information when making the decision whether to sign a petition."

Arguments in Opposition

In opposition to this bill, the California Chamber of Commerce writes, "Under [SB 1337], the petitions that are used to collect signatures would have to follow a strict template… Referendum campaigns would also have to immediately note any changes to their top funders…So, if a campaign receives a new donation and their top funders change they will need to reprint their petitions and throw out the old petitions…There is no practical way to constantly update the petitions as campaign contributions often take place on a daily basis, thus changing who the top funders would be. This will make it impossible to gather the requisite number of signatures in the time allowed…By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government. Californians cherish direct democracy, and this would eliminate that opportunity."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible costs to the SOS to update informational materials to reflect new referendum petition requirements. The SOS has no role in reviewing or verifying the content or format of a statewide initiative or referendum petition prior to circulation, as proponents are responsible for the preparation and printing of a valid petition.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 28-9-3

YES: Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NO: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Allen, Dodd, Glazer

ASM ELECTIONS: 6-2-0

YES: Pellerin, Bennett, Berman, Cervantes, Low, Weber

NO: Lackey, Essayli

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 10-4-1

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin

NO: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

ABS, ABST OR NV: Villapudua

UPDATED

VERSION: August 22, 2024

CONSULTANT: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0003790

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 1337

Author:(Gonzalez)

As Amended Ver:July 1, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires statewide referendum petitions to include a list of the top funders of the effort to qualify the referendum on the petition, as specified. Requires state referendum petitions to comply with other formatting and content requirements.

Major Provisions

1. Provides that any signatures on a statewide referendum petition shall appear only on the first page of each petition section.
2. Recasts and revises the requirements for the format and content of a state referendum petition. Requires, in the case of a petition where a campaign committee pays to circulate the petition, that the petition include a listing of the committee's top contributors as of the date the petition is printed, as specified.
3. Requires the first page of each section of a state referendum petition to be reprinted within five business days with an updated top contributors list if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, as specified.
4. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the Secretary of State (SOS), who shall post the page on the SOS's website along with any previous versions the committee submitted.

COMMENTS

SB 47 (Allen), Chapter 563, Statutes of 2019, requires that individuals who are asked to sign state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petitions be provided with information about the committee that is paying for the petition to be circulated, if any, and the top campaign contributors to that committee, as specified. Those disclosures, which must comply with various formatting and legibility requirements, are referred to as an "Official Top Funders" disclosure. SB 47 permits the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, or on a separate sheet that is required to be shown to individuals who are asked to sign the petition.

The author and supporters of this bill argue that paid signature gatherers who are circulating state referendum petitions have misled voters about who is funding the campaign to overturn state law, thus necessitating changes to state law to ensure that potential petition signers are provided with accurate information about those funding signature gathering drives for state referendum measures. Accordingly, for state referendum petitions only, this bill requires the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, thereby eliminating the option for those circulating referendum petitions to provide that information on a separate document instead. This bill also requires the Official Top Funders disclosure on state referendum petitions to be updated more frequently; while existing law generally requires the disclosure to be updated monthly while the petition is being circulated, this bill requires the disclosure to be updated within five business days of any change in the listed top contributors.

While these changes collectively may improve the likelihood that potential signers of state referendum petitions are aware of the top funders of the petition drive before signing, they also likely will add additional complexities for proponents in their attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot. Notably, the requirement for the proponents to reprint referendum petitions within five days of certain changes to the Official Top Funders disclosure could be particularly challenging. Supporters of this bill have provided information to suggest that the top funders of efforts to qualify referendum measures for the ballot typically do not change frequently during the signature gathering stage. Nonetheless, given the short time to collect signatures on a state referendum petition (90 days, compared to 180 days for a state initiative measure), the requirement to reprint petitions could be especially disruptive to signature gathering efforts for state referenda.

Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill.

According to the Author

"While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making."

Arguments in Support

The sponsor of this bill, the SEIU California State Council, writes in support, "California corporations and other big money interests are using our referendum process to subvert the will of the people by spending millions of dollars to hire bounty hunter signature gatherers who often misrepresent the content of petitions in order to get paid. Because these bounty hunters are motivated by per signature payment, they will say and do anything to get signatures on petitions… [SB 1337] requires the three top contributors of $50,000 or more to the committee paying to circulate the petition to be printed on the face of the petition. Under current law, the top funders may be printed on a separate sheet and circulated with the petition. In practice, circulators often obscure the disclosure, or hide the top funders sheet entirely while misleading the signer about the substance of the referendum. Requiring the top funders printed where the voter signs the petition ensures that potential signers have this information when making the decision whether to sign a petition."

Arguments in Opposition

In opposition to this bill, the California Chamber of Commerce writes, "Under [SB 1337], the petitions that are used to collect signatures would have to follow a strict template… Referendum campaigns would also have to immediately note any changes to their top funders…So, if a campaign receives a new donation and their top funders change they will need to reprint their petitions and throw out the old petitions…There is no practical way to constantly update the petitions as campaign contributions often take place on a daily basis, thus changing who the top funders would be. This will make it impossible to gather the requisite number of signatures in the time allowed…By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government. Californians cherish direct democracy, and this would eliminate that opportunity."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible costs to the SOS to update informational materials to reflect new referendum petition requirements. The SOS has no role in reviewing or verifying the content or format of a statewide initiative or referendum petition prior to circulation, as proponents are responsible for the preparation and printing of a valid petition.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 28-9-3

YES: Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener

NO: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Grove, Jones, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Allen, Dodd, Glazer

ASM ELECTIONS: 6-2-0

YES: Pellerin, Bennett, Berman, Cervantes, Low, Weber

NO: Lackey, Essayli

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 10-4-1

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin

NO: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson, Ta

ABS, ABST OR NV: Villapudua

UPDATED

VERSION: July 1, 2024

CONSULTANT: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094 FN: 0003790

Date of Hearing: August 7, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1337

Author:(Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:July 1, 2024

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

SUMMARY:

This bill requires a statewide referendum petition to include a list of the top funders of the effort to qualify the referendum, and revises other petition formatting and content requirements.

Specifically, this bill:

1. Provides that a petition for a statewide referendum is not subject to certain existing laws governing other types of direct democracy measures, and instead subjects a petition for a statewide referendum to its own rules.
2. Prescribes the format in which a petition for a statewide referendum must appear. The first page of the petition must include, in the following order:
3. The Attorney General’s summary of the law proposed to be overturned.
4. If a committee is formed to pay for the circulation of a proposed petition, the validity date of the committee’s “Official Top Funders,” as defined under existing law, which must be updated within five business days of a change in a funder’s position on the list.
5. The name of the committee that paid for petition circulation and the committee’s top funders, which must also be updated within five business days to reflect a change.
6. Notice regarding the paid or volunteer status of the petition circulator.
7. Space for the voter’s signature and related information, and before the space for each signer’s printed name, a box preceding the following statement: “BY CHECKING THIS BOX, I confirm that I have reviewed the Official Top Funders listed on this page.”
8. Allows spacing and font size to be adjusted to ensure the required content fits on the first page of the petition. Signatures must be collected on the first page of the petition.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Negligible costs to the Secretary of State (SOS) to update informational materials to reflect new referendum petition requirements. The SOS has no role in reviewing or verifying the content or format of a statewide initiative or referendum petition prior to circulation, as proponents are responsible for the preparation and printing of a valid petition.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition.

1. Support and Opposition. This bill is sponsored by SEIU California, which argues, “The Legislature must strengthen the laws to promote accountability and ensure integrity in the referendum process – once again making the referendum power an instrument of the people, rather than wealthy corporate interests.” This bill is also supported by other labor organizations, voter empowerment organizations, and social justice groups.

This bill is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce, which argues, “By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government.”

1. Background.

Referendum Measures. California’s referendum process allows voters to approve or reject statutes enacted by the Legislature. This bill revises requirements applicable to a petition to qualify a state referendum measure for the ballot, but does not impose those same requirements on a petition to qualify a state initiative measure. While the two processes are similar, the qualification of a state referendum measure has the effect of staying the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Thus, the mere qualification of a referendum can alter the operation of a state law for up to two years. In contrast, the qualification of an initiative measure does not have a direct effect on the operation of state law.

Top Funders Disclosure. SB 47 (Allen), Chapter 563, Statues of 2019, requires an individual asked to sign a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition be provided with information about the committee paying for the petition to be circulated, if any, and the “Official Top Funders” making campaign contributions to that committee. SB 47 allowed the disclosure to appear on the petition itself or on a separate document required to be shown to individuals asked to sign the petition.

This bill revises the petition format for state referendum petitions only, and requires the top funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, eliminating the option to share the information on a separate document. This bill also requires the top funders disclosure be updated within five business days of any change to the order of contributors, whereas only monthly updates are required for other direct democracy petitions. Other notable differences are that this bill requires the state referendum petition include a box the signer may check to confirm review of the top funders disclosure, and all of this bill’s prescribed text must appear on each page of the petition. As noted in the Assembly Elections Committee’s analysis of this bill:

While these changes collectively may improve the likelihood that potential signers of state referendum petitions are aware of the top funders of the petition drive before signing, they also likely will add additional complexities for proponents in their attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot…given the short time to collect signatures on a state referendum petition (90 days, compared to 180 days for a state initiative measure), the requirement to reprint petitions could be especially disruptive to signature gathering efforts for state referenda.

1. Related Legislation. AB 421 (Bryan), Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023, made revisions to the referendum process, including requiring the state voter information guide include a list of the top funders of a referendum petition. AB 421 previously contained provisions similar to this bill, but AB 421 was amended by this committee to strike those provisions.

Analysis Prepared by: Irene Ho / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 26, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

Gail Pellerin, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1337

Author:(Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:March 20, 2024

AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED

SENATE VOTE: 28-9

SUBJECT: Elections: form of petitions.

SUMMARY: Requires statewide referendum petitions to include a list of the top funders of the effort to qualify the referendum on the petition, as specified. Requires state referendum petitions to comply with other formatting and content requirements. Specifically, this bill:

1. Provides that any signatures on a statewide referendum petition shall appear only on the first page of each petition section.
2. Recasts and revises the requirements for the format and content of a state referendum petition, such that the petition is required to include all of the following on the first page of each section of the referendum petition, in the following order:
   1. At the top of the page, the following text in at least 11-point type, followed by the circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General (AG):

REFERENDUM AGAINST AN ACT PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY

The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the law proposed to be overturned:

• 1. In the case of a petition where a campaign committee pays to circulate the petition, the text “TOP FUNDERS OF PETITION TO OVERTURN THE LAW. Updated:” followed by the month, date, and year of the committee’s top contributors as of the date the petition is printed. This text shall be centered in at least 16-point boldface type.
  2. A disclosure statement in a printed box with a black border. At the top of the disclosure statement, the text “Petition circulation paid for by” shall be centered in at least 14-point boldface type, followed by the name of the committee, as specified, centered on a separate horizontal line in at least 14-point type.
     

If the committee has top contributors, that text shall be followed on a separate line by the following text that is underlined, centered, and at least 14-point type: “Committee major funding from:”. That text shall be followed by top contributors, if any, centered in at least 14-point boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line, as specified. Requires the first page of each section of the petition to be reprinted within five business days with an updated top contributors list and date if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, as specified.

• 1. The text “Latest Official Top Funders:” centered in at least 14-point type, followed by the web address to one of the following:
     
     1. The page on the website of the Secretary of State (SOS) that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements; or
        
     2. A website created or maintained by the committee that includes the information required by these provisions and a link to the full text of the referendum measure.
  2. The text “NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:” in a boldface type, followed by the text “THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK” in a non-boldface type.
  3. The portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, and the declaration of circulator printed in at least 8-point type, as specified.

1. Provides that the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses shall appear only on the first page of a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure.
2. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the SOS, who shall post the page on the SOS’s website along with any previous versions the committee submitted.
3. Permits blank lines to be eliminated or the text size of disclosures to be reduced for a state referendum petition if complying with this bill’s formatting specifications causes the required content to exceed the first page of the petition with a minimum of one signature space for each petition section, as specified.
   
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
   

EXISTING LAW:

1. Allows electors to propose statutes and amendments to the Constitution and to adopt or reject them through the initiative process. (California Constitution Article II, §8) Allows electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes, except as specified, through the referendum process. (California Constitution Article II, §9)
   
2. Provides that a referendum suspends the operation of a law until it is approved by a majority of voters. (Wilde v. City of Dunsmuir (2020) 9 Cal.5th 1105, 1111; California Constitution, Article II, §§9(a), 10(a))
3. Provides for a 180 day period to gather signatures on a petition for a proposed state initiative measure, and a 90 day period for a petition for a proposed state referendum measure. (Elections Code §9014)
4. Requires a campaign committee, as specified, that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet that discloses the three largest contributors of $50,000 or more to the committee, as specified. Requires the committee to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the SOS, and requires the SOS to post that sheet on its website. Requires, during the circulation of such a petition, that the Official Top Funders disclosure be included either on the petition itself, or be provided to potential petition signers as a separate document. Generally requires the Official Top Funders disclosure to be confirmed and, if appropriate, updated on a monthly basis. (Elections Code §107; Government Code §84501)
   
5. Provides that signatures collected on an initiative, referendum, or recall petition are not invalid solely because the required Official Top Funders information was absent or inaccurate. (Elections Code §107(h)) Provides for misdemeanor penalties for intentionally misrepresenting or making a false statement concerning an Official Top Funders disclosure to a potential signer of an initiative, referendum, or recall petition, or for willfully and knowingly circulating, publishing, or exhibiting any false statement or misrepresentation concerning an Official Top Funders disclosure. (Elections Code §18600)

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s Amendments: After the committee’s deadline for pre-committee author’s amendments, and based on conversations between the author and committee staff, the author agreed to accept various amendments to this bill. Those amendments are as follows:
   1. Repeal provisions of the bill that require signatures on a referendum petition to be disqualified if any information required to appear on the petition is absent or inaccurate, or if the date a petition was signed by a voter is not included or is more than five business days after the date of a required reprinting of the list of top contributors, as specified.
      
   2. Repeal provisions of the bill that require state referendum petitions to be designed so that each petition signer is required to provide the date that the person signed the petition and is required to initial that the signer reviewed the Official Top Funders disclosure on the petition, and instead requires the petitions to be designed so that each petition signer is asked to check a box to indicate that the signer reviewed the Official Top Funders disclosure.
      
   3. Repeal provisions of the bill that require each state referendum petition to be consecutively numbered.
   4. Make multiple technical corrections.

This analysis reflects these proposed author’s amendments. A mock-up of these amendments is attached at the end of this analysis. The exact language of the amendments is subject to change based on minor revisions suggested by the Office of Legislative Counsel that are consistent with the committee’s actions.

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

While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making.

1. Referenda vs. Initiatives: This bill imposes a number of requirements on petitions to qualify state referenda for the ballot, but does not impose similar requirements on the process for qualifying state initiatives. While the initiative and referendum processes are similar, the effect of a referendum qualifying for the ballot is very different than the effect of an initiative’s qualification.
   
   Specifically, the qualification of a state referendum measure for the ballot stays the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Because state referenda generally appear on the ballot only at statewide general elections, the qualification of a referendum measure for the ballot can prevent the operation of a state law—even if the voters subsequently approve that law—for up to two years. The fact that the mere qualification of a state referendum for the ballot alters the operation of state law—even before the electorate has a chance to vote on that ballot measure—is an important difference from the state initiative process.
   
   By contrast, the qualification of an initiative measure for the ballot does not have any direct effect on the operation of state law simply by virtue of the fact that it has qualified. Rather, the only way that an initiative measure directly affects state law is if the voters ultimately approve that measure when it appears on the ballot.
   
2. State Referenda History: According to the SOS, between 1912 and January 31, 2024, 96 statewide referenda were titled and summarized for circulation. Of those, 54 referenda (56.25%) qualified for the ballot, including one that is eligible for the November 5, 2024 statewide general election ballot, and one that was withdrawn by the proponents prior to qualification. Of the 52 laws placed on the ballot through the referendum process, 22 (42.31%) were approved and 30 (57.69%) were rejected by voters.
   
3. Top Funders Disclosure: SB 47 (Allen), Chapter 563, Statutes of 2019, requires that individuals who are asked to sign state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petitions be provided with information about the committee that is paying for the petition to be circulated, if any, and the top campaign contributors to that committee, as specified. Those disclosures, which must comply with various formatting and legibility requirements, are referred to as an “Official Top Funders” disclosure. SB 47 permits the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, or on a separate sheet that is required to be shown to individuals who are asked to sign the petition.
   
   The author and supporters of this bill argue that paid signature gatherers who are circulating state referendum petitions have misled voters about who is funding the campaign to overturn state law, thus necessitating changes to state law to ensure that potential petition signers are provided with accurate information about those funding signature gathering drives for state referendum measures. Accordingly, for state referendum petitions only, this bill requires the Official Top Funders disclosure to appear on the petition itself, thereby eliminating the option for those circulating referendum petitions to provide that information on a separate document instead. This bill also requires the Official Top Funders disclosure on state referendum petitions to be updated more frequently; while existing law generally requires the disclosure to be updated monthly while the petition is being circulated, this bill requires the disclosure to be updated within five business days of any change in the listed top contributors. Finally, this bill requires state referendum petition signers to check a box to indicate that they reviewed the disclosure.
   
   While these changes collectively may improve the likelihood that potential signers of state referendum petitions are aware of the top funders of the petition drive before signing, they also likely will add additional complexities for proponents in their attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot. Notably, the requirement for the proponents to reprint referendum petitions within five days of certain changes to the Official Top Funders disclosure could be particularly challenging. Supporters of this bill have provided information to suggest that the top funders of efforts to qualify referendum measures for the ballot typically do not change frequently during the signature gathering stage. Nonetheless, given the short time to collect signatures on a state referendum petition (90 days, compared to 180 days for a state initiative measure), the requirement to reprint petitions could be especially disruptive to signature gathering efforts for state referenda.
   
4. Concerns Expressed: The California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials (CACEO), while not taking an official position, submitted a letter of concerns about this bill to the committee. In that letter, CACEO expressed concerns that this bill could add complexity and increase workload for county elections officials when verifying signatures on state referendum petitions, and would represent an unfunded state mandate on counties. The amendments that are being taken in committee by the author appear to address at least some of CACEO’s expressed concerns.
5. Arguments in Support: The sponsor of this bill, the SEIU California State Council, writes in support:

California corporations and other big money interests are using our referendum process to subvert the will of the people by spending millions of dollars to hire bounty hunter signature gatherers who often misrepresent the content of petitions in order to get paid. Because these bounty hunters are motivated by per signature payment, they will say and do anything to get signatures on petitions. Specifically, during qualification efforts to refer AB 257 and SB 1137, circulators engaged in widespread, fraudulent solicitation of petition signatures by willfully and knowingly publishing, exhibiting, and verbally stating false information concerning the content of referendum petitions to persuade individual voters to sign referendum petitions under false pretenses. These unlawful tactics resulted in both measures qualifying for the ballot, in part, because there are inadequate safeguards in place to enforce laws prohibiting this exact conduct…

[SB 1337] requires the three top contributors of $50,000 or more to the committee paying to circulate the petition to be printed on the face of the petition. Under current law, the top funders may be printed on a separate sheet and circulated with the petition. In practice, circulators often obscure the disclosure, or hide the top funders sheet entirely while misleading the signer about the substance of the referendum. Requiring the top funders printed where the voter signs the petition ensures that potential signers have this information when making the decision whether to sign a petition.

1. Arguments in Opposition: In opposition to this bill, the California Chamber of Commerce writes:

Under [SB 1337], the petitions that are used to collect signatures would have to follow a strict template… Referendum campaigns would also have to immediately note any changes to their top funders…

So, if a campaign receives a new donation and their top funders change they will need to reprint their petitions and throw out the old petitions…There is no practical way to constantly update the petitions as campaign contributions often take place on a daily basis, thus changing who the top funders would be. This will make it impossible to gather the requisite number of signatures in the time allowed…

By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government. Californians cherish direct democracy, and this would eliminate that opportunity.

1. Previous Legislation: AB 421 (Bryan), Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023, changed the wording of the question that is presented to voters who are voting on a state referendum, and requires the top campaign funders of an effort to qualify a state referendum to be listed in the state voter information guide, among other provisions. When AB 421 was heard in this committee, it included provisions that are similar to this bill. AB 421 was approved in that form by this committee on a 5-2 vote. The provisions of AB 421 that were similar to this bill, however, were amended out of the bill in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

SEIU California State Council (Sponsor)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment

Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

Bluegreen Alliance

California Environmental Voters (formerly CLCV)

Indivisible CA: StateStrong

Inland Empire Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Smart - Transportation Division (SMART-TD)

Smart Justice California, a Project of Tides Advocacy

Voices for Progress

Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods (VISION)

Working Partnerships USA

Opposition

California Chamber of Commerce

Analysis Prepared by: Ethan Jones / ELECTIONS / (916) 319-2094

ATTACHMENT: Amendments Mock-up for SB 1337 (Gonzalez)

Mock-up based on Version Number 98 - Amended Senate 3/20/24
(These amendments are subject to minor revisions that are consistent with the committee’s actions during drafting by the Office of Legislative Counsel)

SECTION 1. Section 101 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

101. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a state or local initiative, referendum, initiative or recall petition petition, or a local referendum petition, required to be signed by voters shall contain in 11-point type, before that portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, the following language, in order:

(1) “NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:”. This text shall be in a boldface type.

(2) If the petition includes the disclosure statement described by subdivision (b) of Section 107, the text “SIGN ONLY IF IT IS THE SAME MONTH SHOWN IN THE OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS OR YOU SAW AN “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS” SHEET FOR THIS MONTH.” This text shall be in a boldface type.

(3) “THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK.” This text shall be in a non-boldface type.

(b) A state initiative petition shall contain, in the same location and type size described in subdivision (a), the following language in a non-boldface type: “THE PROPONENTS OF THIS PROPOSED INITIATIVE MEASURE HAVE THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW THIS PETITION AT ANY TIME BEFORE THE MEASURE QUALIFIES FOR THE BALLOT.”

SECTION 1. SEC. 2.  Section 104 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

104. (a) Wherever any petition or paper is submitted to the elections official, each section of the petition or paper shall have attached to it a declaration signed by the circulator of the petition or paper, setting forth, in the circulator’s own hand, the following:

(1) The printed name of the circulator.

(2) The residence address of the circulator, giving street and number, or if no street or number exists, adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained.

(3) The dates between which all the signatures to the petition or paper were obtained.

(b) Each declaration submitted pursuant to this section shall also set forth the following:

(1) That the circulator circulated that declaration section and witnessed the appended signatures being written.

(2) That according to the best information and belief of the circulator, each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.

(3) That the circulator is 18 years of age or older.

(4) Except for statewide referendum petitions, if the petition does not include the disclosure statement described by subdivision (b) of Section 107, that the circulator showed each signer a valid and unfalsified “Official Top Funders” sheet, as required by Section 107.

(c) The circulator shall certify the content of the declaration as to its truth and correctness, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, with the signature of the circulator’s name. The circulator shall state the date and the place of execution on the declaration immediately preceding the circulator’s signature.

SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 107 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

107. (a) (1)  A committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative or recall petition, or a local referendum petition, shall create an Official Top Funders sheet as follows, with all text in a black roman type with a type size of 14 point on a plain, contrasting background, and centered horizontally, except as described below. None of the text shall have its type condensed or have the spacing between characters reduced to be narrower than a normal roman type. Unless otherwise specified, the text shall not be boldface type.

(2) At the top of the sheet shall appear the text “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS. Valid only for”, followed by a month and year that starts at most seven days after the date the top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code were last confirmed. This text shall be boldface type and with a type size of at least 16 point.

(3) Next, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph (2), shall appear the title of the initiative, local referendum, or recall as it appears on the petition, in all capital letters.

(4) (A) Next, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph (3), shall appear a disclosure statement in a printed or drawn box with a black border.

(B) At the top of the disclosure statement shall appear the text “Petition circulation paid for by” in boldface type.

(C) Next, on a separate horizontal line, shall appear the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101 of the Government Code. If the committee has any top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, it shall be followed by a blank horizontal line and then the underlined text “Committee major funding from:”.

(D) The top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, if any, shall each be disclosed in boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, on the first line.

(E) The committee, in its discretion, may include the underlined text “Endorsed by:”, followed by a list, not underlined, of up to three endorsers. The text pursuant to this subparagraph shall be separated from the text above and below it by a blank horizontal line.

(F) The following line shall include the text “Latest Official Top Funders:” followed by either (i) the internet web page on the Secretary of State’s internet website that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements that are reported pursuant to subdivision (f), or (ii) the internet website described in subdivision (c).

(5) If the petition is a state initiative petition, next, separated by at least two blank horizontal lines from the disclosures of paragraphs (4) and (5), shall appear the text “OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY (SAME AS ON PETITION)”, in boldface type in all capital letters.

(6) If the petition is a state initiative petition, next, starting on a separate horizontal line, shall appear the text “The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure:”, in boldface type with a type size of 11 point.

(7) If the petition is a state initiative petition, next, starting on a separate horizontal line, shall appear the Attorney General summary of the initiative as it appears on the initiative petition, in plain text with a type size of 11 point.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a state or local initiative or recall petition, or a local referendum petition, that requires voter signatures and for which the circulation is paid for by a committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code shall either include a disclosure statement on the petition that is displayed as follows or the circulator for the petition shall present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet described in subdivision (a) to a prospective signer of the petition.

(2) A state referendum petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code pays to circulate shall include the disclosure statement described in Section 9010 on the first page of the each section of the referendum petition.

(3) The disclosure statement shall have a solid white background and shall be in a printed or drawn box with a black border and shall appear before that portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses. The text in the disclosure area shall be in a black Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10 point, with all lines centered horizontally in the disclosure area.

(4) The top of the disclosure shall include the text “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS. Valid only for”, followed by a month and year that starts at most seven days after the date the top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code were last confirmed. The text of this paragraph shall be boldface.

(5) Next shall appear, on a separate horizontal line, the text “Petition circulation paid for by”, followed by the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101 of the Government Code. If the committee has any top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, it shall be followed by, on a separate horizontal line, the underlined text “Committee major funding from:”.

(6) The top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, if any, shall each be disclosed in boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, on the first line.

(7) The committee, in its discretion, may include the underlined text “Endorsed by:”, followed by a list, not underlined, of up to three endorsers. The text in this paragraph shall be separated from the text above and below it by a blank horizontal line.

(8) The following line shall include the text “Latest info:” followed by the URL for either (A) the internet web page on the Secretary of State’s internet website that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements that are reported pursuant to subdivision (f), or (B) the internet website described in subdivision (c). The text specified in this paragraph shall be underlined.

(c) Any committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative or recall petition, or a local referendum petition, may create a page on an internet website that includes both of the following:

(1) A prominent link to the most recent Official Top Funders sheet as described in subdivision (a). The Official Top Funders sheet that the page links to shall be in a format that allows it to be viewed on an internet website and printed out on a single page of paper.

(2) A prominent link to the full text of the initiative or referendum.

(d) The disclosure of a top contributor or endorser pursuant to this section need not include terms such as “incorporated,” “committee,” “political action committee,” or “corporation,” or abbreviations of these terms, unless the term is part of the contributor’s or endorser’s name in common usage or parlance.

(e) If this section requires the disclosure of the name of a top contributor that is a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 of the Government Code and is a sponsored committee pursuant to Section 82048.7 of the Government Code with a single sponsor, only the name of the single sponsoring organization shall be disclosed.

(f) A committee that circulates a state initiative or recall petition, or a local referendum petition, petition shall submit the Official Top Funders sheet required by subdivision (a), and any updates to that statement, to the Secretary of State, who shall post that statement on the Secretary of State’s internet website along with the previous versions the committee submitted.

(g) This section does not require a local elections official to verify the accuracy of the information required by this section or to reapprove the petition upon any updates the committee makes.

(h) Signatures collected on a state initiative or recall petition, or a local referendum an initiative, referendum, or recall petition, are not invalid solely because the information required by this section was absent or inaccurate.

(i) For purposes of this section, “endorser” means:

(1) A business that has been in existence for at least two years and has had at least one full-time staffer during that period.

(2) A nonprofit organization that was not originally created for the purposes of serving as a committee, that has been in existence for at least two years, and either has received contributions from more than 50 donors in that period or has had at least one full-time staffer during that period.

(3) A political party.

(4) An individual, whose name may include their title if they are an elected official or represent one of the organizations described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).

SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 9010 of the Elections Code is repealed.

SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 9010 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

9010. (a) For a proposed statewide referendum measure, the first page of each section of the petition shall be in substantially the following form and in sans serif type font unless otherwise specified:

(1) At the top of the page, include the following, in at least 11-point type:

REFERENDUM AGAINST AN ACT PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY

The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the law proposed to be overturned:

[Here set forth the Attorney General’s unique numeric identifier placed before the circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General.]

(2) (A) For a proposed state referendum measure that a committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code pays to circulate, next shall appear, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph (1), the text “TOP FUNDERS OF PETITION TO OVERTURN THE LAW. Valid:” Updated:” followed by the month, date, and year of the committee’s top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code as of the date the petition is printed. This text shall be centered in at least 16-point boldface type.

(B) If a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, the first page of each section of the petition shall, within five business days, be reprinted to show the revised validity date of the top contributors as provided in subparagraph (A). If a committee has no top contributors, this paragraph does not apply.

(3) (A) Next, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph (2), shall appear a disclosure statement in a printed box with a black border.

(B) At the top of the disclosure statement shall appear the text “Petition circulation paid for by” centered in at least 14-point boldface type.

(C) Next, centered on a separate horizontal line in at least 14-point type, shall appear the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent statement of organization filed pursuant to Section 84101 of the Government Code or, if the proposed measure is circulated by a committee pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013 of the Government Code, the name that the committee is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211 of the Government Code. The committee’s name shall be followed by a blank horizontal line and then, if the committee has top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, the underlined text “Committee major funding from:” shall appear centered in at least 14-point type.

(D) (i) The top contributors as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, if any, shall each be centered in at least 14-point boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 84501 of the Government Code, on the first line.

(ii) If a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, the first page of each section of the petition shall, within five business days, be reprinted to list the new contributors in the order specified in clause (i).

(E) The following line shall include the text, centered in at least 14-point font type, “Latest Official Top Funders:” followed by the hyperlink a Uniform Resource Locator to one of the following:

(i) The internet web page on the Secretary of State’s internet website that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements.

(ii) An internet website created or maintained by the committee that prominently includes the information required by this section and a prominent link to the full text of the referendum measure.

(4) Next, separated by a blank horizontal line from the bottom of the border, the disclosure statements required by subdivision (a) of Section 101 following language, in order, in at least 11-point type. type:

(A) “NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:”. This text shall be in a boldface type.

(B) “THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK.” This text shall be in a non-boldface type.

(5) Next, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph (4), the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, date petition is signed, and signer’s initials, and the declaration of circulator shall be printed as provided in Sections 100, 104, and 9020 in at least 8-point type.

(6) Each referendum petition shall be consecutively numbered. The petition section number shall be included anywhere on the petition in at least 8-point type.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, date petition is signed, and signer’s initials, shall appear only on the first page of a section of a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 107, signatures collected on a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure shall be invalid and not counted toward qualifying the measure for the ballot if the information required by this section is absent or inaccurate, or if the date a petition was signed by a voter is not included or is more than five business days after the date of a required reprinting of the list of top contributors.

(d) (c) A committee formed pursuant to Section 82013 of the Government Code that circulates a state referendum petition shall submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the Secretary of State, who shall post the page on the Secretary of State’s internet website along with the previous versions the committee submitted.

(e) (d) If this section requires the disclosure of the name of a top contributor that is a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 of the Government Code and is a sponsored committee pursuant to Section 82048.7 of the Government Code with a single sponsor, only the name of the single sponsor shall be disclosed.

(f) (e) If complying with the formatting specifications contained in this section causes the required content to exceed the first page of the section of the petition with a minimum of one signature space for each petition section, the specifications may be modified by eliminating blank horizontal lines or, if doing so is insufficient to ensure space for at least one signature space on the first page of the petition, by reducing the size of disclosures required to be included in 14-point text to a minimum of 10-point text.

SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Section 9020 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

9020. (a) The petition sections shall be designed so that each signer shall personally affix all of the following:

(1) The signer’s signature.

(2) The signer’s printed name.

(3) The signer’s residence address, giving street and number, or if no street or number exists, adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained. An incomplete or inaccurate apartment or unit number in the signer’s residence address shall not invalidate their signature pursuant to Section 105.

(4) The name of the signer’s incorporated city or unincorporated community.

(5) Except for statewide referendum petitions, if the petition does not include the disclosure statement described by subdivision (b) of Section 107, the following text on a separate horizontal line below the signer’s printed name and above the signer’s signature: “DO NOT SIGN UNLESS you have seen Official Top Funders sheet and its month is still valid.” The text “DO NOT SIGN UNLESS” shall be in all capitals and in boldface. The other text shall be capitalized as shown and shall not be in boldface.

(b) For a statewide referendum measure, in addition to the requirements of paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a), the petition sections shall be designed so that each signer shall personally affix both of the following:

(1) The date the petition is signed.

(2) The signer’s initials immediately before the space for each signer’s printed name, there is a box preceding the following statement: “BY INITIALING HERE, CHECKING THIS BOX, I confirm that I have reviewed the Official Top Funders listed on this page.”

(c) Only a person who is a qualified registered voter at the time of signing the petition is entitled to sign it.

(d) The number of signatures attached to each section shall be at the pleasure of the person soliciting the signatures, except that for a statewide referendum measure, the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, and residence addresses, the date the petition is signed, and signer’s initials addresses shall appear only on the first page of any section of the petition.

-0-

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 1337

Author: Gonzalez (D)

Amended: 3/20/24

Vote: 21

SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/16/24

AYES: Blakespear, Allen, Menjivar, Newman, Portantino, Umberg

NOES: Nguyen

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT: Elections: form of petitions

SOURCE: SEIU California

DIGEST:

This bill modifies the requirements for what is included on petitions for state referenda, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “committee” as any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any of the following:
   1. Receives contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year.
   2. Makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year.
   3. Makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees.
2. Defines “top contributors” to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. Defines “cumulative contributions” to mean the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
3. Permits electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes, except as specified, through the referendum process. Requires a petition with signatures for a proposed state referendum measure to be filed with the county elections official no later than 90 days from the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of State (SOS), as specified.
4. Provides for the format of state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition, as specified. Requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signer’s signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signer’s incorporated city or unincorporated community.
5. Requires a committee that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet that includes a listing of the top contributors, as specified. Requires a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Requires committees to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the SOS.
6. Requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.
7. Requires that a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition contain a notice alerting voters that a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer may circulate the petition, and that voters have the right to ask if a petition circulator is a paid gatherer or volunteer.

This bill:

1. Recasts the format of petitions for state referenda. Specifically, in the following order:
   1. At the top of the page, include the following, in at least 11-point type:

REFERENDUM AGAINST AN ACT PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY

The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the law proposed to be overturned:

[Here set forth the Attorney General’s unique numeric identifier placed before the circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General.]

• 1. For a proposed state referendum measure that a committee pays to circulate, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text required in a), the text TOP FUNDERS OF PETITION TO OVERTURN THE LAW. Valid: followed by the month, date, and year of the committee’s top contributors as of the date the petition is printed. This text shall be centered in at least 16-point boldface type.
  2. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in b), shall appear a disclosure statement in a printed box with a black border. At the top of the disclosure statement shall appear the text “Petition circulation paid for by” centered in at least 14-point boldface type.
  3. Centered on a separate horizontal line in at least 14-point type, shall appear the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent statement of organization or the name that the committee is required to use on campaign statements, as specified. The committee’s name shall be followed by a blank horizontal line and then, if the committee has top contributors, the underlined text “Committee major funding from:” shall appear centered in at least 14-point type.
  4. The top contributors, if any, shall each be centered in at least 14-point boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line, as specified.
  5. The following line shall include the text, centered in at least 14-point font type, “Latest Official Top Funders:” followed by the hyperlink to one of the following:
     1. The internet webpage on the SOS’s internet website that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements.
     2. An internet website created or maintained by the committee that prominently includes the information required by this section and a prominent link to the full text of the referendum measure.
  6. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the bottom of the border, the following:
     1. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: This text shall be in a boldface type.
     2. If the petition includes the disclosure statement, the text SIGN ONLY IF IT IS THE SAME MONTH SHOWN IN THE OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS OR YOU SAW AN “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS” SHEET FOR THIS MONTH. This text shall be in a boldface type.
     3. THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK. This text shall be in a non-boldface type.
  7. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph g), the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, residence addresses, date petition is signed, and signer’s initials, and the declaration of circulator shall be printed in at least 8-point type, as specified.
  8. Each referendum petition shall be consecutively numbered. The petition section number shall be included anywhere on the petition in at least 8-point type.

1. Provides that if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, the first page of the petition shall, within five business days, be reprinted to show the revised validity date of the top contributors, as specified.
2. Provides that the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, residence addresses, the date petition is signed, and the signer’s initials shall appear only on the first page of a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure.
3. Provides that signatures collected on a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure shall be invalid and not counted toward qualifying the measure for the ballot if the information required is absent or inaccurate, if the date a petition was signed by a voter is not included, or is more than five business days after the date of a required reprinting of the list of top contributors, as specified.
4. Requires a committee that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the SOS, who shall post the page on the SOS’s internet website along with the previous versions the committee submitted.
5. Provides that if the disclosure of the name of a top contributor is only sponsor, then only the name of the single sponsor shall be disclosed, as specified.
6. Provides that if complying with the formatting specifications prescribed by this bill causes the required content to exceed the first page of the petition with a minimum of one signature space for each petition section, the specifications may be modified by eliminating blank horizontal lines or, if doing so is insufficient to ensure space for at least one signature space on the first page of the petition, by reducing the size of disclosures required to be included in 14-point text to a minimum of 10-point text.

Background

Qualification of State Referenda Measures. The qualification of a state referendum measure for the ballot has the effect of staying the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Since state referenda generally appear on the ballot only at statewide general elections, the qualification of a referendum measure for the ballot can prevent the operation of a state law for up to two years. The qualification of a state referendum for the ballot alters the operation of state law before the electorate has a chance to vote on that ballot measure.

This is an important difference from the state initiative process. The qualification of an initiative measure for the ballot does not have any direct effect on the operation of state law simply by virtue of the fact that it has qualified. In the case of an initiative that seeks to undo a recently enacted legislative change, the proponents cannot stop or delay the operation of that law simply by qualifying the measure for the ballot. The only way that an initiative measure affects the operation of a recently enacted legislative change is if the voters approve that measure when it appears on the ballot.

Invalidation of Signatures. Existing law generally is silent on the issue of whether violations of state law prohibiting improper signature-gathering tactics will result in the signatures on those petitions being invalidated. In at least one case, however, a court invalidated signatures gathered to qualify an initiative for the ballot due to improper signature-gathering tactics by the proponents of the measure. In San Francisco Forty-Niners v. Nishioka (1999, 75 Cal.App.4th 637), the California Court of Appeals for the First District, Division One, prohibited an initiative measure from appearing on the ballot because the initiative petition included false statements intended to mislead voters, in violation of Section 18600 of the Elections Code. In this case, the false statements appeared on the text of the petition itself. As a result, every person who was asked to sign the petition was exposed to these false statements that were intended to mislead voters.

In a case where petition circulators make false or misleading statements about a proposed ballot measure, or engage in other illegal signature-gathering tactics in an attempt to get voters to sign a petition, it is unclear whether that misconduct can result in signatures being invalidated.

Referendum Data. According to the SOS, between 1912 and January 31, 2024, 96 statewide referenda were titled and summarized for circulation. Of those, 42 referenda (43.75%) failed to qualify for the ballot and 54 referenda (56.25%) qualified for the ballot. This includes one referendum that is currently eligible for the November 5, 2024 statewide general election ballot. This also includes one eligible referendum that was withdrawn by the proponents prior to qualification.

Finally, of the 52 laws placed on the ballot, 22 (42.31%) were approved and 30 (57.69%) were rejected by voters.

Comments

According to the author: While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 421 (Bryan, Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023) originally included the requirement that top funders be printed directly on the first page of the petition and required signers to initial an acknowledgement that they saw the Top Funders. These provisions were amended out of the bill prior to the bill being chaptered.

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

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/1/24)

SEIU California (source)

Asian American and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment

Asian Pacific Environmental Network

California Environmental Voters

Indivisible CA: StateStrong

Inland Empire Labor Council

SMART – Transportation Division

VISIÓN

Voices for Progress

Working Partnership USA

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/1/24)

California Chamber of Commerce

ARGUMENT IN SUPPORT: In a letter supporting this bill, California Environmental Voters stated, in part, the following:

Big tobacco companies, oil companies, fast food companies, and plastic manufacturers have all utilized the referendum process in recent years in efforts to block progress that protects working people, improves our health, or limits harmful pollution. These powerful forces use every tool at their disposal like the referendum process to defeat hard fought victories that took years if not decades of coalition building and negotiating, to protect their exorbitant profits at the expense of our communities.

[…]

We believe that these changes will help advancing our mission to put this critical tool of direct democracy - the referendum - back in the hands of voters.

ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION: In a letter opposing this bill, the California Chamber of Commerce stated, in part, the following:

Under the proposal, the petitions that are used to collect signatures would have to follow a strict template, including a sheet with the list of the “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS” at the top in boldface 16-point font. In addition to signing their names and addresses to the petition, voters would have to initial and date that they reviewed the top funders. Signatures of voters who don’t, would be invalidated. Referendum campaigns would also have to immediately note any changes to their top funders. Signatures on allegedly out-of-date petition sheets would be invalidated.

So, if a campaign receives a new donation and their top funders change they will need to totally reprint their petitions and throw out the old petitions. If a signature is on the old petition, then it will be ruled invalid. There is no practical way to constantly update the petitions as campaign contributions often take place on a daily basis, thus changing who the top funders would be. This will make it impossible to gather the requisite number of signatures in the time allowed.

[…]

By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government. Californians cherish direct democracy, and this would eliminate that opportunity.

Prepared by: Scott Matsumoto / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106

5/1/24 12:28:34

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Senator Catherine Blakespear, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB Hearing Date: 4/16/24

Subject: Elections: form of petitions

DIGEST

This bill modifies the requirements for what is included on petitions for state referenda, as specified.

ANALYSIS

Existing law:

1. Defines “committee” as any person or combination of persons who directly or indirectly does any of the following:
   1. Receives contributions totaling $2,000 or more in a calendar year.
   2. Makes independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year.
   3. Makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more in a calendar year to or at the behest of candidates or committees.
2. Defines “top contributors” to mean the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of $50,000 or more. Defines “cumulative contributions” to mean the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
3. Permits electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes, except as specified, through the referendum process. Requires a petition with signatures for a proposed state referendum measure to be filed with the county elections official no later than 90 days from the date the legislative bill was chaptered by the Secretary of State (SOS), as specified.
4. Provides for the format of state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition, as specified. Requires a petition for a state initiative or referendum to contain, among other things, each signer’s signature, printed name, residence address, and the name of the signer’s incorporated city or unincorporated community.
5. Requires a committee that pays for the circulation of a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition to create an Official Top Funders sheet that includes a listing of the top contributors, as specified. Requires a committee to create a page on an internet website that includes a link to the Official Top Funders sheet and a link to the full text of the initiative or referendum. Requires committees to submit the Official Top Funders sheet to the SOS.
6. Requires a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition that requires voter signatures and that a committee pays to circulate to include a disclosure statement on the petition, as specified, or for the circulator for the petition to present as a separate document the Official Top Funders sheet to a prospective signer of the petition.
7. Requires that a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition contain a notice alerting voters that a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer may circulate the petition, and that voters have the right to ask if a petition circulator is a paid gatherer or volunteer.

This bill:

1. Recasts the format of petitions for state referenda. Specifically, in the following order:
   1. At the top of the page, include the following, in at least 11-point type:

REFERENDUM AGAINST AN ACT PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY

The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the law proposed to be overturned:

[Here set forth the Attorney General’s unique numeric identifier placed before the circulating title and summary prepared by the Attorney General.]

• 1. For a proposed state referendum measure that a committee pays to circulate, separated by a blank horizontal line from the text required in a), the text “TOP FUNDERS OF PETITION TO OVERTURN THE LAW. Valid:” followed by the month, date, and year of the committee’s top contributors as of the date the petition is printed. This text shall be centered in at least 16-point boldface type.
  2. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in b), shall appear a disclosure statement in a printed box with a black border. At the top of the disclosure statement shall appear the text “Petition circulation paid for by” centered in at least 14-point boldface type.
  3. Centered on a separate horizontal line in at least 14-point type, shall appear the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent statement of organization or the name that the committee is required to use on campaign statements, as specified. The committee’s name shall be followed by a blank horizontal line and then, if the committee has top contributors, the underlined text “Committee major funding from:” shall appear centered in at least 14-point type.
  4. The top contributors, if any, shall each be centered in at least 14-point boldface type on a separate horizontal line separate from any other text, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line, as specified.
  5. The following line shall include the text, centered in at least 14-point font type, “Latest Official Top Funders:” followed by the hyperlink to one of the following:
     1. The internet webpage on the SOS’s internet website that lists the “Official Top Funders” statements.
     2. An internet website created or maintained by the committee that prominently includes the information required by this section and a prominent link to the full text of the referendum measure.
  6. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the bottom of the border, the following:
     1. “NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:” This text shall be in a boldface type.
     2. If the petition includes the disclosure statement, the text “SIGN ONLY IF IT IS THE SAME MONTH SHOWN IN THE OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS OR YOU SAW AN “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS” SHEET FOR THIS MONTH.” This text shall be in a boldface type.
     3. “THIS PETITION MAY BE CIRCULATED BY A PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER OR A VOLUNTEER. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK.” This text shall be in a non-boldface type.
  7. Separated by a blank horizontal line from the text in paragraph g), the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, residence addresses, date petition is signed, and signer’s initials, and the declaration of circulator shall be printed in at least 8-point type, as specified.
  8. Each referendum petition shall be consecutively numbered. The petition section number shall be included anywhere on the petition in at least 8-point type.

1. Provides that if a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor during petition circulation, the first page of the petition shall, within five business days, be reprinted to show the revised validity date of the top contributors, as specified.
2. Provides that the portion of the petition for voters’ signatures, printed names, residence addresses, the date petition is signed, and the signer’s initials shall appear only on the first page of a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure.
3. Provides that signatures collected on a petition for a proposed statewide referendum measure shall be invalid and not counted toward qualifying the measure for the ballot if the information required is absent or inaccurate, if the date a petition was signed by a voter is not included, or is more than five business days after the date of a required reprinting of the list of top contributors, as specified.
4. Requires a committee that circulates a state referendum petition to submit the first page of the petition and any reprinting of the list of top contributors to the SOS, who shall post the page on the SOS’s internet website along with the previous versions the committee submitted.
5. Provides that if the disclosure of the name of a top contributor is only sponsor, then only the name of the single sponsor shall be disclosed, as specified.
6. Provides that if complying with the formatting specifications prescribed by this bill causes the required content to exceed the first page of the petition with a minimum of one signature space for each petition section, the specifications may be modified by eliminating blank horizontal lines or, if doing so is insufficient to ensure space for at least one signature space on the first page of the petition, by reducing the size of disclosures required to be included in 14-point text to a minimum of 10-point text.

BACKGROUND

Qualification of State Referenda Measures. The qualification of a state referendum measure for the ballot has the effect of staying the operation of a duly enacted state law until voters have the opportunity to decide whether to approve or reject that law. Since state referenda generally appear on the ballot only at statewide general elections, the qualification of a referendum measure for the ballot can prevent the operation of a state law for up to two years. The qualification of a state referendum for the ballot alters the operation of state law before the electorate has a chance to vote on that ballot measure.

This is an important difference from the state initiative process. The qualification of an initiative measure for the ballot does not have any direct effect on the operation of state law simply by virtue of the fact that it has qualified. In the case of an initiative that seeks to undo a recently enacted legislative change, the proponents cannot stop or delay the operation of that law simply by qualifying the measure for the ballot. The only way that an initiative measure affects the operation of a recently enacted legislative change is if the voters approve that measure when it appears on the ballot.

Invalidation of Signatures. Existing law generally is silent on the issue of whether violations of state law prohibiting improper signature-gathering tactics will result in the signatures on those petitions being invalidated. In at least one case, however, a court invalidated signatures gathered to qualify an initiative for the ballot due to improper signature-gathering tactics by the proponents of the measure. In San Francisco Forty-Niners v. Nishioka (1999), 75 Cal.App.4th 637, the California Court of Appeals for the First District, Division One, prohibited an initiative measure from appearing on the ballot because the initiative petition included false statements intended to mislead voters, in violation of Section 18600 of the Elections Code. In this case, the false statements appeared on the text of the petition itself. As a result, every person who was asked to sign the petition was exposed to these false statements that were intended to mislead voters.

In a case where petition circulators make false or misleading statements about a proposed ballot measure, or engage in other illegal signature-gathering tactics in an attempt to get voters to sign a petition, it is unclear whether that misconduct can result in signatures being invalidated. Committee staff is not aware of any court cases that have addressed this issue.

Referendum Data. According to the SOS, between 1912 and January 31, 2024, 96 statewide referenda were titled and summarized for circulation. Of those, 42 referenda (43.75%) failed to qualify for the ballot and 54 referenda (56.25%) qualified for the ballot. This includes one referendum that is currently eligible for the November 5, 2024 statewide general election ballot. This also includes one eligible referendum that was withdrawn by the proponents prior to qualification.

Finally, of the 52 laws placed on the ballot, 22 (42.31%) were approved and 30 (57.69%) were rejected by voters.

COMMENTS

1. According to the author: While direct democracy is an important right for California voters, large corporations are increasingly turning to misleading tactics and ballot referendums to subvert the democratic legislative process. Existing law allows paid signature gatherers to mislead voters about who is funding a campaign to overturn state law. SB 1337 will enact important transparency updates to the signature-gathering process to ensure that voters have access to relevant information before agreeing to sign a petition. Empowering voters to transparently view the funders of an effort to overturn state law will allow for more informed decision-making.
2. Argument in Support. In a letter supporting SB 1337, California Environmental Voters stated, in part, the following:

This bill builds on the transparency requirements enacted by AB 421 (Bryan, 2023). Big tobacco companies, oil companies, fast food companies, and plastic manufacturers have all utilized the referendum process in recent years in efforts to block progress that protects working people, improves our health, or limits harmful pollution. These powerful forces use every tool at their disposal like the referendum process to defeat hard fought victories that took years if not decades of coalition building and negotiating, to protect their exorbitant profits at the expense of our communities.

SB 1337 will require that the top three funders of a referendum petition appear directly on the signature petition, rather than on a separate piece of paper. This bill will require signers of the petition to also mark their initials next to a statement that they have reviewed the top funders.

We believe that these changes will help advancing our mission to put this critical tool of direct democracy - the referendum - back in the hands of voters. For these reasons, California Environmental Voters is in support of SB 1337 and urges the committee’s aye vote.

1. Argument in Opposition. In a letter opposing SB 1337, the California Chamber of Commerce stated, in part, the following:

Under the proposal, the petitions that are used to collect signatures would have to follow a strict template, including a sheet with the list of the “OFFICIAL TOP FUNDERS” at the top in boldface 16-point font. In addition to signing their names and addresses to the petition, voters would have to initial and date that they reviewed the top funders. Signatures of voters who don’t, would be invalidated. Referendum campaigns would also have to immediately note any changes to their top funders. Signatures on allegedly out-of-date petition sheets would be invalidated.

So, if a campaign receives a new donation and their top funders change they will need to totally reprint their petitions and throw out the old petitions. If a signature is on the old petition, then it will be ruled invalid. There is no practical way to constantly update the petitions as campaign contributions often take place on a daily basis, thus changing who the top funders would be. This will make it impossible to gather the requisite number of signatures in the time allowed.

Many of these issues were raised in AB 421 (Bryan) last year and were subject to a negotiation. It’s disappointing to see these provisions that were already agreed on once again being proposed.

By making it harder to qualify referenda this proposal is denying Californians the right to address grievances with their government. Californians cherish direct democracy, and this would eliminate that opportunity.

RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION

AB 421 (Bryan), Chapter 162, Statutes of 2023, originally included the requirement that top funders be printed directly on the first page of the petition and required signers to initial an acknowledgement that they saw the Top Funders. These provisions were amended out of the bill prior to the bill being chaptered.

POSITIONS

Sponsor: SEIU California

Support: Asian American and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment

Asian Pacific Environmental Network

California Environmental Voters

Indivisible CA: StateStrong

Inland Empire Labor Council

SMART – Transportation Division

VISIÓN

Voices for Progress

Working Partnership USA

Oppose: California Chamber of Commerce

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