(

a) The Legislature finds and declares that the voters of California are entitled to accurate representations in materials that are directed to them in efforts to influence how they vote. (

b) No person shall publish or cause to be published, with intent to deceive, any campaign advertisement containing a signature that the person knows to be unauthorized. (

c) For purposes of this section, “campaign advertisement” means any communication directed to voters by means of a mass mailing as defined in

Section 82041.5 of the Government Code, a paid television, radio, or newspaper advertisement, an outdoor advertisement, or any other printed matter, if the expenditures for that communication are required to be reported by

Chapter 4 (commencing with

Section 84100) of Title of the Government Code. (

d) For purposes of this section, an authorization to use a signature shall be oral or written. (

e) Nothing in this

section shall be construed to prohibit a person from publishing or causing to be published a reproduction of all or part of a document containing an actual or authorized signature, provided that the signature so reproduced shall not, with the intent to deceive, be incorporated into another document in a manner that falsely suggests that the person whose signature is reproduced has signed the other document. (

f) Any knowing or willful violation of this

section is a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding months, or pursuant to subdivision (

h) of

Section 1170, or by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. (

g) As used in this section, “signature” means either of the following:

(1) A handwritten or mechanical signature, or a copy thereof.

(2) Any representation of a person’s name, including, but not limited to, a printed or typewritten representation, that serves the same purpose as a handwritten or mechanical signature.