20250SB__143297AMD INTRODUCED 2026-03-05 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-04-14 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-06-18 2025 SB AMD Introduced by Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments (Senators Wiener (Chair), Allen, Cervantes, Choi, and Umberg) LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments Senators Wiener (Chair), Allen, Cervantes, Choi, and Umberg

An act to amend Sections 83109, 85200, and 86112.3 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974. the Political Reform Act of Political Reform Act of 1974.

(1) The Political Reform Act of establishes the Fair Political Practices Commission and authorizes the commission to appoint officers, counsel, and employees consistent with applicable civil service laws. The act prohibits the commission from including a nonclerical position in the same civil service class as any position of any other department or agency. This bill would instead authorize the commission to do so.

(2) The act requires an individual, before becoming a candidate for a specific office, to file a statement of intention to be a candidate. The act requires an individual who intends to be a candidate for elective state office to file the statement of intention online or electronically with the Secretary of State. This bill would expand the state offices for which a candidate must file their statement of intention online or electronically with the Secretary of State to include judicial offices.

(3) Under the act, lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers who send any written or printed invitation to an elected state officer, candidate for elective state office, legislative official, or agency official, are required to include on the invitation or on a letter attached to the invitation a statement that “Attendance at this event by a public official will constitute acceptance of a reportable gift.” The statement must be typed, printed, or handwritten at least as large and readable as 8-point Roman boldface type, in a color or print that contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible.

This bill would increase the minimum text size of the required statement to 10-point Roman boldface type. (4)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The bill would make other nonsubstantive changes.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(5)</xhtml:p>"?>

(4) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. TWO_THIRDS NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section of the Government Code is amended to read: 83109. For purposes of

Section 19818.6, the Commission may include a nonclerical position in a class in the civil service classification plan that is separate and distinct from any position of any other department or agency.

SEC. 2.

Section of the Government Code , as amended by

Section of

Chapter of the Statutes of 2025, is amended to read: 85200. (

a) Before becoming a candidate for a specific office, an individual shall file a statement of intention to be a candidate, signed under penalty of perjury.

(1) An individual who intends to be a candidate for elective state office, or for any other office listed in subdivision (

a) of

Section 84215, shall file the statement of intention online or electronically with the Secretary of State.

(2) An individual who intends to be a candidate for any other elective office shall file the statement of intention with the same filing officer and in the same location as the individual would file an original campaign report pursuant to subdivisions (b), (c), and (

d) of

Section 84215. (

b) Candidates and officeholders who do not intend to qualify as a committee pursuant to subdivision (

a) of

Section shall indicate this status on the statement of intention.

(1) Each candidate or officeholder who has indicated their intention to not qualify as a committee pursuant to this subdivision, but thereafter qualifies as a committee by receiving contributions or making expenditures totaling two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more in a calendar year, shall amend their statement of intention with the Secretary of State or their local filing officer within hours of qualifying and register as a committee pursuant to

Section 84101.

(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, in calculating whether two thousand dollars ($2,000) in expenditures have been made, payments for a filing fee or for a statement of qualification shall not be included if the payments are made from the candidate’s personal funds. (

c) For purposes of this section, “contribution” does not include any payments from the candidate’s personal funds for a candidate filing fee or a candidate statement of qualifications fee.

SEC.

Section 86112.3 of the Government Code is amended to read: 86112.3. (

a) Each person filing a report pursuant to this

article who sends any written or printed invitation to an elected state officer, candidate for elective state office, legislative official, or agency official, shall include on the invitation or on a letter attached to the invitation the following typed, printed, or handwritten statement that is at least as large and readable as 10-point Roman boldface type, in a color or print that contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible: Attendance at this event by a public official will constitute acceptance of a reportable gift. (

b) The notice specified in subdivision (

a) shall not be required to appear on any invitation wherein attendance at the event described in the invitation will not constitute acceptance of a reportable gift by an elected state officer, candidate for elective state office, legislative official, or agency official, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (

a) of

Section 87207. (

c) The remedies provided in

Chapter 3 (commencing with

Section 83100) constitute the exclusive penalty for a violation of this section. The remedies provided in

Chapter 11 (commencing with

Section 91000) do not apply to this section. <caml:Num>SEC. 4.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:GOV:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'9.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'6.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'ARTICLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'1.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'86116.'%20and%20.%2F*%2F%40id%3D'id_da547516-7cbb-11ed-acb9-a59a0646e1a6'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION||version: Amended (as amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 50,

Sec. 187) by Stats. 2022, Ch. 873,

Sec. 2. [id_da547516-7cbb-11ed-acb9-a59a0646e1a6]" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Government Code</caml:DocName>, as amended by

Section of

Chapter of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_789F3EF7-5EF0-4F59-8005-825BFF4B750D"><caml:Num>86116.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_E2A74966-EE05-4464-8200-302799ADEE4A"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>Every person described in

Section shall file periodic reports containing the following information:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The name, business address, email address, and telephone number of the lobbyist employer or other person filing the report.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The total amount of payments to each lobbying firm.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The total amount of all payments to lobbyists employed by the filer.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The information required by subparagraph (

B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (

a) of

Section 86114. A person described in

Section may, in a manner authorized by the commission, refer to and incorporate by reference the information contained in a report filed by the person’s lobbying firm pursuant to

Section to meet the requirement of this subdivision.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(e)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A periodic report completed and verified by each lobbyist employed by a lobbyist employer pursuant to

Section 86113.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(f)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Each activity expense of the filer. A total of all activity expenses of the filer shall be included.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(g)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The date, amount, and the name of the recipient of any contribution of one hundred dollars ($100) or more made by the filer to an elected state officer, a state candidate, or a committee controlled by an elected state officer or state candidate, or a committee primarily formed to support or oppose the officer or candidate.

If this contribution is reported by the filer or by a committee sponsored by the filer in a campaign report filed pursuant to

Chapter which is required to be filed with the Secretary of State, the filer may report only the name of the committee, and the identification number of the committee.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(h)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Except as set forth in paragraph (2), the total of all other payments to influence legislative or administrative action including overhead expenses and all payments to employees who spend more than percent of their compensated time in any one month in activities related to influencing legislative or administrative action.

Any payment to influence legislative or administrative action totaling two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more to a payee during a reporting period that was made in connection with an issue lobbying advertisement must include the identification number or, if none exists, the official title, popular name, or description of any legislative or administrative action clearly referred to in the issue lobbying advertisement as well as one of the following descriptions of the position of the filer who paid for the advertisement: “support,” “oppose,” “support if amended,” “oppose unless amended,” “neutral,” “neutral seeking amendment,” “neutral expressing concerns,” “no position,” or similar description.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A filer that makes payments to influence a ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, as defined in subdivision (

b) or (c), respectively, of

Section 82002, may, in lieu of reporting those payments pursuant to paragraph (1), report only the portion of those payments made to or for the filer’s attorneys for time spent appearing as counsel and preparing to appear as counsel, or to or for the filer’s witnesses for time spent testifying and preparing to testify, in this type of Public Utilities Commission proceeding.

This alternative reporting of these payments made during a calendar month is not required to include payments made to an attorney or witness who is an employee of the filer if percent or less of the attorney’s or witness’s compensated time in that month was spent appearing, testifying, or preparing to appear or testify before the Public Utilities Commission in a ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding.

For the purposes of this paragraph, time spent preparing to appear or preparing to testify does not include time spent preparing written testimony.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Any other information required by the commission consistent with the purposes and provisions of this chapter.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>

SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of within the meaning of subdivision (

a) of

Section of the Government Code.