TO:Interested Parties
FROM: Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation
DATE: July 3, 1996
RE:Today's votes in the Legislature on Electronic FilingToday the Senate Elections Committee considered AB 1026, by Assemblyman Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), a bill that would require candidates and others to file their political disclosure reports electronically. The bill also directs the Secretary of State to make the electronic reports available on the Internet.
The Senate Elections committee held a thoughtful discussion on the McPherson bill, and took testimony from numerous people, including Jim Ewert of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, Ruth Holton from Common Cause, Trudy Schafer from the League of Women Voters, and Phil Whalen and Karl Meyers, who testified as concerned citizens. Testimony in opposition to AB 1026 came from the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Institute for Governmental Advocates, which is the association that represents lobbyists.
Senator Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) made a motion to amend McPherson's bill to make Jackie Speier the author, and McPherson the co-author. Only three members of the Senate Elections Committee were present at the hearing, and all three - Polanco, Dan Boatwright (D-Concord) and Henry Mello (D-Watsonville) - voted in favor. (Senators Beverly and Craven were absent.)
Then, Boatwright announced that since he planned to vote against the bill anyway, (which would have killed it) he suggested rather than kill the bill the committee send AB 1026 to interim study, along with Hayden's SB 1893. This means that the Senate Elections Committee will hold an informational hearing on electronic filing later this year. All three members voted in favor of Boatwright's motion.
Later in the day, Bruce McPherson held a hearing for the Assembly Elections Committee, which he chairs. The committee took up SB 108, by Senator Quentin Kopp, an Independent from San Francisco. Kopp's bill was then amended to include all the provisions of McPherson's AB 1026, and McPherson was made a co-author. SB 108 will now move to Assembly Appropriations for a hearing.
There was some discussion in the Senate today that a possible conference committee on campaign finance reform could recommend that electronic filing be adopted in this session, but that seems like a long shot.
Anyway, that's the latest -- it was quite a day at the Capitol, and the saga of electronic filing continues....with yet another bill to watch, SB 108, by Kopp and McPherson.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing holiday weekend.
Kim Alexander, Executive Director, California Voter Foundation
cvf@netcom.com
916/325-2120
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