Political Reform Act of 1974: statements of economic interests: electronic filing.

Existing law establishes, until December 31, 2012, a pilot program authorizing specified local government agencies to develop and implement a system for the electronic filing of statements of economic interests by certain public officials, as specified. This bill would authorize all agencies to permit the electronic filing of a statement of economic interests, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission. The bill would require the Commission to approve and certify an electronic filing system proposed by an agency, upon payment by the agency of a fee of $1,000 to the Commission, if the system meets prescribed requirements. The bill would exempt the city and counties that participated in the existing pilot program from paying the $1,000 fee. The bill would also authorize the Commission to conduct discretionary audits of an agency's electronic filing system to evaluate its performance and compliance with the requirements of this bill. The bill would require the Commission to accept electronic copies of statements of economic interests forwarded to it by an agency that has received an electronically filed statement from filers. The bill would authorize a city or county that developed an electronic filing system pursuant to the pilot program to continue to use that system during the time it takes the Commission to adopt the regulations to govern the electronic filing system program, but would require the city or county to submit a description of its electronic filing system to the Commission for approval and certification after the Commission's regulations take effect, as specified. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. By creating additional crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.