Disclosure & Transparency

A typical political ad for a ballot measure in California might include something like this: "Paid for by Yes on Proposition 99 — Good Jobs and Safe Streets, with major funding by People for Good Jobs and Safe Streets." This meets the legal requirement of disclosure under current rules, but it doesn't give voters any help at all identifying the real people, organizations and industries propping up this fictional initiative. In fact, it may even be misleading. And in this post-Citizens United world, where campaign spending has soared, clear disclosure of who is funding measures and candidates is more important than ever.

“This is the most important campaign-finance law before the Legislature this year,” Nicolas Heidorn of the citizens’ watchdog group California Common Cause said. “When you know who the messenger is you can more effectively evaluate the message. By removing the veil of anonymity, we force groups to put their brand next to their words, which will help nudge our politics slowly towards the ideals of an open legislature. This is a ‘We the People’ issue.”

Today, Governor Jerry Brown signed bipartisan legislation to bring greater transparency to money in California politics. Senate Bill 1349, by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, will direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, California’s online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure. California Common Cause was a sponsor of the bill, along with the California Business Roundtable.

Today, the Legislature passed SB 1349 (Hertzberg), which would direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, California’s online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure.

Dear Chair Allen, The undersigned organizations write to support Senate Bill 1349, which would direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, California’s online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure. This necessary upgrade would make the system more reliable, better inform voters, and simplify compliance by campaigns. Modernizing Cal-Access would increase the transparency of campaign financing without requiring new disclosure rules, simply by providing easier public access to the information that campaigns already report.

Dear Senator Hertzberg, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for Senate Bill 1349, which would direct the Secretary of State to modernize Cal-Access, the online system for campaign finance filing and disclosure. Thank you for your leadership on this bill.