TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation
DATE: May 29, 1996
RE: AB 2546/Speier -- Another Vote on Electronic Filing

Friends:

I have big news -- it appears that the fight over Jackie Speier's electronic filing bill, AB 2546, is not quite over yet. She has decided to ask the Assembly to withdraw the bill, currently held in Assembly Appropriations, and bring it to a vote on the Assembly floor. The motion to withdraw will be made this FRIDAY, MAY 31.

Apparently the Assembly Members felt some pressure following the Appropriations committee's vote last week to hold the bill in committee. Many journalists have since taken an interest in this legislation, especially after some realized that the Senate also killed an electronic filing measure (SB 68/Hayden) a few weeks earlier. The Sacramento Bee came out with a very strong editorial yesterday with the headline, "What's the GOP hiding?", and called the electronic filing legislation "the most important campaign reform measure of the current legislative session." The San Diego Union Tribune featured a story last Saturday rehashing the Appropriations Committee's actions.

Asking the Assembly to withdraw a bill from a committee that voted to hold it is a dramatic move on Jackie Speier's part. The withdrawal motion requires 54 votes in order to pass; if it does, then the Assembly will take a vote on the bill itself, which will also require 54 votes in order to pass.

The withdrawal motion achieves two things: first, it provides a chance to keep the electronic filing legislation moving; second, it will create a public record of Assembly votes on this bill, which will help all of us determine just where the Assembly Members stand on this issue.

If you care about electronic filing in California, now, more than ever, you need to share your concerns with your elected representatives in the California State Assembly. Call or fax your Assembly Member - their contact information is available through the California State Assembly's web page at http://www.assembly.ca.gov/DOlist.html -- remember: time is of the essence!

Kim Alexander, Executive Director, California Voter Foundation
cvf@netcom.com
916/325-2120

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