The following Executive Summary of Secretary of State Bill Jones' Electronic Filing Advisory Panel report highlights the Panel's major recommendations. If fully implemented, Californians for the first time would have computer network access to detailed campaign finance and lobbying expenditure information.

The Panel's full report, the culmination of a five-month study, is entitled "Electronic Filing: A New Era In Campaign And Lobbying Financial Disclosure." It was transmitted to the State Legislature by Secretary Jones in December, 1995. Jones will sponsor legislation in early 1996 to implement the Panel's recommenda- tions, which call for a phased-in electronic filing system for all state-level candidates, campaign committees and lobbying entities.

The system would be fully activated by the year 2000, providing public access via the Internet to campaign finance and lobbying data that currently is available only in paper format in a limited number of locations.

Utilizing computers, modems and a Secretary of State-provided software package, campaign and lobbying filers would transmit legally required disclosure information to the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento, where it would be relayed to a web site or sites on the Internet.

The required information includes the sources and amounts of campaign contributions and expenditures, and the sources and amounts of payments made for lobbying purposes. In 1994, 31,200 campaign disclosure forms containing 524,277 pages of information were filed with the Secretary of State. An additional 27,876 quarterly lobbying disclosure forms with 78,744 pages of data were filed during the 1993-94 legislative session. Most of these paper forms would be eliminated with implementation of an electronic filing system.

Recognizing the public's limited access to campaign and lobbying data, the legislature in 1994 enacted a measure, AB 3575 authored by Assembly Member Jackie Speier, requesting the Secretary of State to study computerized filing options. The measure stated: "It is the intent of the Legislature that a system be developed to permit persons required to file reports under the Political Reform Act of 1974 to file all reports electronically or by computer diskette and that this information be made available to the public by online public access computer networks."

The Legislature requested the Secretary of State to create an advisory panel composed of technical experts, persons involved in filing disclosure reports, and local election officials to assist in analyzing electronic filing options and costs. Jones appointed a 16-member advisory panel in early 1995, and accepted its final report on November 6, 1995.

Among the Panel's major recommendations:

A mandatory electronic filing pilot program involving statewide candidates and ballot measure committees raising $100,000 or more in contributions shall begin on January 1, 1997 and continue through the 1998 elections.

Mandatory electronic filing for all state-level candidates and committees raising or spending $30,000 or more would start on January 1, 1999 and extend through the year 2000 elections and thereafter.

Electronic filing of lobbying financial activity would begin on a voluntary basis during the 1997-98 legislative session, and become mandatory beginning with the 1999-2000 session.

The Secretary of State shall provide all filers, without charge, a basic software filing package. Filers could obtain more sophisticated software from private vendors. Filings would be transmitted directly to the Secretary of State electronically (not by diskette), and then relayed to the Internet. It no longer would be necessary to file copies with local election officials. The Secretary of State shall transmit the data via online computer links with the 58 county elections offices.

The Secretary of State shall maintain all data filed online for 10 years, then archive it permanently in a secure format.

The Secretary of State shall establish a "help desk" to assist filers using the data entry software package.

Local governments could establish their own electronic filing programs, but would be required to follow the basic state format.

The Secretary of State shall seek approximately $540,000 to develop the system. Ongoing yearly costs are estimated at $99,000.

(The cost to filers would be minimal. Computers and modems are available today for less than $1,000.)

The Electronic Filing Advisory Panel was headed by Chief Assistant Secretary of State Robert "Bob" Jennings, a former Senior Consultant for QUAD Engineering of Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno and Sacramento.

Other Panel members included:

Kim Alexander, Executive Director, California Voter Foundation, Sacramento.

Karen Bohn, representing the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office.

Marion Carlson, Election Manager, Sacramento County Registrar of Voters.

Richard Eichman, accountant specializing in Political Reform Act reporting, Sacramento.

Diane Fishburn, attorney specializing in political reform law and reporting, Sacramento.

Patrick Foarde, Marketing Director, StateNet, an online legislative service, Sacramento.

Ruth Holton, Executive Director, California Common Cause, Sacramento.

David Jefferson, Research Engineer, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Palo Alto.

Richard "Dick" O'Reilly, Director of Computer Analysis, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles.

Richard "Dick" Ratcliff, President, Applied Strategies and a representative of the Institute of Governmental Advocates, Sacramento.

Dana Reed, Attorney, specializing in political law and campaign disclosure, Costa Mesa.

Beatriz "Bea" Valdez, recently retired Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk of Los Angeles County. (Replaced on the Panel by Rosa Garcia-Viteri of the same office.)

Carla Wardlow, Chief, Technical Assistance Division, Fair Political Practices Commission, Sacramento.

Jim Warren, Independent Computer Columnist, Author and Consultant, Woodside.

Germaine Wong, Registrar of Voters, City and County of San Francisco.

Ex-officio members included: Assembly Member Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), Chairman, Assembly Elections and Reapportionment Committee; Senator Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), Chairman, Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee; and Assembly Member Jackie Speier (D-South San Francisco), Author of AB 3575.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction
Advisory Panel Composition
Panel Findings and Recommendations
Cost Estimates

Appendices:

Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D

30-Jun-96