TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation
DATE: May 23, 1996
RE: Electronic Filing Legislation Goes DownFriends:
I'm very sorry to report that AB 2546 by Jackie Speier, a bill that would mandate electronic filing of political disclosure records, was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee today. In effect, the bill is now dead, as today was the last day for bills to be passed out of the committee.
There was no discussion of the bill in committee; the chair, Charles Poochigian (R-Fresno) only said that he knew many members had difficulty with the bill, and suggested the bill be held in committee. No other committee members objected to the suggestion or raised any other issues.
There was much behind the scenes wrangling over this bill; I have been told by the Secretary of State's staffers that Secretary of State Bill Jones spoke to the members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, including the chair. There are numerous reasons why the legislators don't like this bill: one is, of course, that some may not want the public to know where their contributions come from. Another is the $550,000 appropriation in AB 2546 to pay for the new system, which, in these tight fiscal times, is a lot to ask for. Yet another theory is that strong partisanship in the Assembly is to blame -- that the Assembly Republicans, who are now in control, are "out to get" the Democrats as payback for the many years they suffered under Willie Brown's regime. Some say that Jackie Speier, in particular, is a target of the Republicans.
Of course, partisanship plagues the Senate as well, and while a bill by a Republican author might fair better in the Assembly, there's no guarantee it will get out of the Senate. And, because electronic filing legislation amends the Political Reform Act, a two-thirds vote is required for passage.
Needless to say, I and the many other people who have been working on this issue are dissapointed by this setback, but this is hardly the end of the effort. It is obvious to me that the members of the Legislature just don't know that this is something many people want to see happen. I encourage everyone who wants to see electronic filing become a reality in California to share that sentiment with your Assembly Member and State Senator - the sooner the better.
There is a chance that another bill, AB 1026 by Assemblyman Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), could become the focus of the electronic filing effort. McPherson's bill is currently sitting in Senate Elections, where another electronic filing bill by Sen. Tom Hayden was killed just a few weeks ago. I will check with McPherson's staff and the Secretary of State's staff to see if there is interest in rallying behind the McPherson bill now that the Speier bill is dead. McPherson's bill would have to be heard by June 19 in order to continue moving in the process this year.
I will keep you posted as more information becomes available....
Have a nice Memorial Day weekend, Kim Alexander, Executive Director, California Voter Foundation
cvf@netcom.com
916/325-2120
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