Petition DISCLOSE Act Introduced by Senator Ben Allen
SB 47 Will Require Initiative Signature Gatherers to Clearly Disclose Their Top 3 Funders Before Voters Sign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from the California Clean Money
Campaign
December 5, 2018
Contact: Trent Lange, (310) 428-1556
Petition DISCLOSE Act Introduced by Senator Ben Allen
SB 47 Will Require Initiative Signature Gatherers to
Clearly Disclose Their Top 3 Funders Before Voters Sign
SACRAMENTO, CA -- A new California bill to require
initiative signature gatherers to disclose to voters the
top 3 funders of their signature-gathering before they sign
petitions to put measures on the ballot was launched with
the introduction of SB 47, the Petition DISCLOSE Act,
authored by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and
sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign.
"Every election season, voters are bombarded with
requests to sign initiative petitions by paid signature
gatherers who aren't required to disclose or even know
who's paying for the initiatives they've been hired to
qualify," said Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa
Monica), author of SB 47. "The Petition
DISCLOSE Act will build on the California DISCLOSE Act to
make sure voters know who's behind the initiatives they're
being asked to help put on the ballot."
37 initiatives qualified for circulation for the 2018
election, with 12 qualifying for the ballot. This follows a
dizzying 115 initiatives qualified for circulation in the
2016 election, with a near-record 17 measures actually
appearing on the November 2016 ballot. Both elections, the
propositions that qualified by signature gathering all did
so only after their sponsors spent a million dollars or
more on paid signature gatherers, with voters rarely
knowing who they were.
SB 47 would require initiative signature gatherers to show
voters an "Official Top Funders Sheet" listing the top
three funders of the committee paying for the petition
circulation before they sign. The top funders must be
calculated the same way that the California DISCLOSE Act
(AB 249, now in effect) calculates funders of political ads
about ballot measures, including AB 249's nation-leading
follow-the-money earmarking rules that identify the true
source of funds even if they pass through multiple front
groups. The top funders sheets must be updated monthly, and
can also list up to three endorsers.
As introduced, SB 47 is similar to last session's SB 651,
also authored by Senator Allen and sponsored by the
California Clean Money Campaign, but addresses stakeholder
concerns about possible petition reprinting costs. SB 651
required the top 3 funders to be shown on the initiative
petitions themselves, which would need to be reprinted if
the funders change. SB 47 allows the option to instead use
a separate "Official Top Funders" sheet that can be printed
by anybody with a regular printer.
"California's initiative process was created over 100
years ago to allow voters to bypass the special interests
who had a stranglehold on Sacramento," said
Trent Lange, President of the California Clean
Money Campaign, sponsor of SB 47.
"Unfortunately, special interests now often abuse the
very process that was meant to limit their power by
spending millions to qualify deceptive initiatives. Voters
deserve to know who they are before being asked to
sign."
Californians from all major political parties have
overwhelmingly stated their support for greater disclosure
of who funds initiatives. A March 2018 poll by the
California Clean Money Campaign found that 79% of likely
voters favored requiring initiative signature gatherers to
show voters the top funders paying for their signature
gathering. Those in favor include 73% of Republicans, 84%
of Democrats, and 78% of independents. Last year's SB 651
passed the Senate on an overwhelming vote of 28-9 with
bipartisan support.
#####
The California Clean Money Campaign is a non-partisan
501(c)(3) organization that has been dedicated to educating
the public about the need to lessen the unfair influence of
Big Money on election campaigns since 2001. For further
information, visit www.CAclean.org.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)