California Senate Bill SB1001 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1001AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 17, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 8, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee (Coauthor: Senator Blakeslee) FEBRUARY 6, 2012 An act to amend Section 86102 of, and to add Sections 84101.5 and 84613 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1001, as amended, Yee. Political Reform Act of 1974: lobbyists and committees: fees. (1) Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 require a committee, as defined, to file a statement of organization with the Secretary of State and, as applicable, to file semiannual campaign statements. This bill would require the Secretary of State to charge each committee that is required to file a statement of organization, and would require each committee to pay, except as specified and subject to specified deadlines, a fee  not to exceed   of  $50 per year until the committee is terminated. The bill would require the Fair Political Practices Commission to adjust this fee  limit  on December 1 of each even-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index and to round the adjustment to the nearest $5. (2) Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 regulate the activities of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers, as defined, in connection with attempts to influence legislative and administrative action by legislative and other state officials. The act requires that lobbying firms and lobbyist employers register with the Secretary of State, and authorizes the Secretary of State to charge each lobbying firm and lobbyist employer a fee of up to $25 per year for each lobbyist required to be listed on its registration statement. This bill  instead  would  increase the maximum amount of this fee to   require the Secretary of State to charge each lobbying firm and lobbyist employer a   fee of  $50 per year  for each lobbyist required to be listed on its registration statement  . The bill would require the Fair Political Practices Commission to adjust this fee  limit  on December 1 of each even-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index and to round the adjustment to the nearest $5. (3) This bill would establish the Political Disclosure,  Access, and Transparency Account   Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  in the State Treasury and require that moneys collected as fees  from committees,  as described  in (1)  above  , and one-half of fees collected from lobbying firms and lobbyist employers, as described in (2) above,  be deposited in  the account   this fund  . The bill would require that  the other   1/2   of the  fees collected  for lobbyist registration prior to January 1, 2013,   from lobbying firms and lobbyist employers  be deposited in the General Fund. The bill would require that moneys deposited in  the account   the Political Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  be expended for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of the online or electronic disclosure program implemented by the Secretary of State, except that the bill would also allow the Secretary of State to use these moneys for purposes of implementing the bill.  The bill would prohibit the use of these moneys to improve or replace the online or electronic disclosure program until the Secretary of State has completed and submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance a feasibility study report regarding a new online or electronic disclosure program.   The bill would provide that expenditures from this fund for purposes of the maintenance, repair, and improvement of the online or electronic disclosure program are subjec   t to the project approval and oversight process established by the California Technology Agency, as specified.  (4) 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 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 84101.5 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84101.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 81006, the Secretary of State shall charge each committee that is required to file a statement of organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 84101, and each committee that is required to file a statement of organization pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 84101 shall pay, a fee of  not more than  fifty dollars ($50) per year until the committee is terminated pursuant to Section 84214. (b) A committee shall pay the fee prescribed in subdivision (a) no later than 15 days after filing its statement of organization. (c) (1) A committee annually shall pay the fee prescribed in subdivision (a) no later than January 15 of each year. (2) A committee that is created and pays the initial fee pursuant to subdivision (b) in the final three months of a calendar year is not subject to the annual fee pursuant to paragraph (1) for the following calendar year. (3) A committee that existed prior to January 1, 2013, shall pay the fee prescribed in subdivision (a) no later than February 15, 2013, and in accordance with paragraph (1) in each year thereafter. A committee that terminates pursuant to Section 84214 prior to January 31, 2013, is not required to pay a fee pursuant to this paragraph. (d) (1) A committee that fails to timely pay a fee required by this section is subject to a penalty equal to three times the amount of the fee. (2) The Commission shall enforce the requirements of this section. (e) The Commission shall adjust the fee  limit  in subdivision (a) on December 1 of each even-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index. The Commission shall round each adjustment pursuant to this subdivision to the nearest five dollars ($5). SEC. 2. Section 84613 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84613. (a)  (1)   The Political Disclosure,  Access, and Transparency Account   Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  is hereby established in the State Treasury. Moneys collected pursuant to  Sections   Section  84101.5 and  one-half of the moneys collected pursuant to Section  86102 shall be deposited in the Political Disclosure,  Access, and Transparency Account   Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  .  (2) Fees collected pursuant to Section 86102 prior to January 1, 2013, shall be deposited in the General Fund.  (b)  (1)    Moneys deposited in the Political Disclosure,  Access, and Transparency Account   Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  are subject to appropriation by the Legislature and shall be expended for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of the online or electronic disclosure program implemented by the Secretary of State pursuant to this chapter.  In   (2)     In  addition  to paragraph (1)  , the Secretary of State may  also  use moneys deposited in the Political Disclosure,  Access, and Transparency Account   Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund  for purposes of implementing the act that added this section.  (c) Moneys deposited in the Political Disclosure, Access, and Transparency Account shall not be used to improve or replace the online or electronic disclosure program until the Secretary of State has completed and submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Department of Finance a feasibility study report regarding a new online or electronic disclosure program.   (c) Any expenditure of moneys from the Political Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund for the purposes described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) is subject to the project approval and oversight process established by the California Technology Agency pursuant to Section 11546.  SEC. 3. Section 86102 of the Government Code is amended to read: 86102. (a)  Each   The Secretary of State shall charge each  lobbying firm and lobbyist employer required to file a registration statement under this chapter  may be charged not more than  a fee of  fifty dollars ($50) per year for each lobbyist required to be listed on its registration statement. (b) The Commission shall adjust the registration fee  limit  in subdivision (a) on December 1 of each even-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index. The Commission shall round each adjustment pursuant to this subdivision to the nearest five dollars ($5).  (c) One-half of the moneys collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Political Disclosure, Accountability, Transparency, and Access Fund, and the other one-half of the moneys shall be deposited in the General Fund.  SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.