ADVISORY PANEL COMPOSITION

Secretary of State Bill Jones, in compliance with the mandate specified in AB 3575, appointed an advisory panel to study the matter of the electronic filing of campaign and lobbyist reports and instructed the Panel to develop a written report for his eventual submission to the California Legislature. Secretary Jones selected his Chief Assistant Secretary of State, Robert Jennings, to serve as the Panel's Chairman.

Additionally, Secretary Jones directed the Chairman to select members for the Panel who represented a wide variety of interests and individuals familiar with and representative of the campaign and lobbyist reporting environment. The selection of the Panel members began in earnest in late February of this year and continued through much of the month of March. The names of the Panel members, their titles, cities of origin, and areas of expertise immediately follow:


REGULAR PANEL MEMBERS

  1. Kim Alexander, Executive Director, California Voter Foundation, Sacramento. Campaign finance expert; author of several campaign finance studies; strong skills in utilization of digital technology.

  2. Karen Bohn, Principal Programmer/Analyst, Internal Services Department, County of Los Angeles. Vast experience with computer applications of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles County. Designed the County's campaign reporting tracking system.

  3. Marion Carlson, Election Manager, Sacramento County Registrar of Voters. In charge of campaign services, including campaign disclosure, for Sacramento County with over 26 years of experience.

  4. Richard Eichman, Certified Public Accountant in Sacramento. Has 20 years of experience with the Political Reform Act; his firm has specialized in Political Reform Act reporting since 1984.

  5. Diane Fishburn, a member of the legal firm of Olson, Hagel, Fong, Leidigh, Waters & Fishburn of Sacramento; she served as an attorney for the FPPC for five years. Her firm has specialized in political legal work and the filing of campaign reports since 1977.

  6. Patrick Foarde, Marketing Director, StateNet, Sacramento. A specialist in telecommunication and technology issues, he presently directs marketing and sales for California's's online legislative service, StateNet.

  7. Ruth Holton, Executive Director, California Common Cause, Sacramento. Has served in present position three years and as a lobbyist for the organization for three years prior.

  8. David Jefferson, Research Engineer, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Palo Alto. A recognized systems designer and analyst, he led the team of DEC programmers who developed the online election reporting system for the Secretary of State's office in the 1994 general election. Additionally, Jefferson is a professor of computer science at UCLA.

  9. Robert "Bob" Jennings, Chief Assistant Secretary of State, Sacramento. Prior to assuming his present position, worked as a Senior Consultant for QUAD Engineering, with offices in Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno and Sacramento. Also managed a computer service bureau and direct mail firm in Fresno for 11 years.

  10. Richard "Dick" O'Reilly, Director of Computer Analysis, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles. Head of the computer journalism operation at the LA Times for six years, including the development and maintenance of the database for LA City and County elective office contributions.

  11. Richard "Dick" Ratcliff, President, Applied Strategies, Sacramento. Representing the Institute of Governmental Advocates, an association of lobbyists registered in the State Capitol, he is a lobbyist with long-standing credentials and a thorough knowledge of digital technology.

  12. Dana Reed, Attorney, Partner in Reed and Davidson, Costa Mesa. Specializes in political law; treasurer for over 500 local or state campaign committees since enactment of the Political Reform Act.

  13. *Beatriz "Bea" Valdez, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, County of Los Angeles. With more than 37 years of experience in the office of the Registrar-Recorder, she supervised the conduct of over 200 elections annually.

  14. **Carla Wardlow, Chief, Technical Assistance Division, Fair Political Practices Commission, Sacramento. An expert on the requirements of campaign disclosure and information required on campaign reporting forms, she's headed the Division for three years.

  15. Jim Warren, Independent Computer Columnist, Woodside. A recognized authority on the utilization of computers in the business, governmental, educational and professional worlds and author of numerous technical articles dealing with computer usage, freedom of information and public access.

  16. Germaine Wong, Registrar of Voters, City and County of San Francisco. Has recently implemented a campaign disclosure electronic filing program required by local ordinance.


EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

  1. Assemblyman Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), Chairman, Assembly Elections and Reapportionment Committee. Mr. McPherson is represented by Ned Cohen, chief consultant for the committee.

  2. Senator Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), Chairman, Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee. Mr. Polanco is represented by Larry Sokol, associate consultant for the committee.

  3. Assembly Member Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco), Author of AB 3575.


SUPPORT STAFF-OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

    Political Reform Division

  1. Tracy Fletcher-Bowman, Political Reform Specialist

  2. David Hulse, Political Reform Specialist

  3. John Keplinger, Assistant Division Chief

  4. Harvey Tsuboi, Staff Services Analyst

    Elections Division

  5. Caren Daniels-Meade, Elections Specialist

    Information Technology Division

  6. Miguel Castillo, Associate Analyst/Programmer

  7. Lowell McPherson, Manager, Application Program Support Unit Specialist


PANEL MEETING DATES

The first meeting of the Panel was held in the second floor conference room of the Secretary of State's building located at 1500 11th Street in Sacramento on April 4, 1995. The Panel agreed to be named the Electronic Filing Advisory Panel under the auspices of the Secretary of State and functioning under the authorization provided by AB 3575 (Speier), approved by Governor Wilson on September 29, 1994.

Additionally, during the first meeting it was decided to organize into two committees, each with a specific subject area to address. The first committee was charged with the responsibility of determining the specific data that would be electronically filed, as well as the format needed to be developed to accept and organize that data. The second committee's responsibility was to determine the manner in which the filed data could best be accessed and utilized by the public. It was agreed the Panel as a whole would review the findings and recommendations of the two committees, and would determine the costs for developing, implementing and operating the system.

A workshop-type format was implemented for the meetings held on May 12th and May 26th, wherein each committee held its own meeting for a majority of the day and then met as a committee of the whole to report to the entire Panel on the work completed. This structure allowed for coverage of more specific items by the subcommittees as well as a thorough discussion of conclusions and recommendations by all members of the Panel.

The Panel met as a whole for the meetings held on June 9th and July 14th to focus on a number of major policy decisions. It was decided at the July 14th meeting that the final meeting of the Panel would be held on September 15th. The sequence of events and a tentative timetable adopted by the Panel at the meeting immediately follow:

  1. Preparation of the initial draft of the report to be submitted by the Panel to Secretary of State Bill Jones: July 17 - September 1, 1995.

  2. Circulation of the draft report to and review by the Panel members: September 5 - September 14, 1995.

  3. Meeting of the Panel to discuss modifications and additions to the draft report: September 15, 1995.

  4. Preparation of the final draft of the report: September 17 - October 13, 1995.

  5. Circulation of the final draft to the Panel for approval: October 16 - October 25, 1995.

  6. Printing of the final report: October 26--27, 1995.

  7. Submission of the report to Secretary of State Bill Jones: November 1, 1995.

  8. Submission of Secretary Jones' report to the California Legislature: November 6, 1995.

*Bea Valdez retired from her position as Los Angeles County Registrar- Recorder/County Clerk in August, 1995. Her replacement on the panel is Rosa Garcia-Viteri.

**The original Panel member representing the FPPC was Robert Tribe, Acting Executive Director. Carla Wardlow permanently replaced Mr. Tribe on the panel beginning with the meeting held May 26, 1995.

30-Jun-96