Political Reform Act of 1974: reporting.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the filing of reports of contributions and expenditures. Among its provisions, the act requires a slate mailer organization, as defined, to file semiannual campaign statements for each 6-month period in which it has received or expended $500 or more for the production of a slate mailer. This bill would require a slate mailer organization to file semiannual campaign statements for every 6-month period, irrespective of whether the organization received payments or made expenditures for that period. Existing law makes a willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 84218 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1181, that would become operative only if AB 1181 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.