Loupe one hundred dollars banknotes on keyboard. Finding financial earnings on the internet conceptWhile California campaigns and election regulators like the California Fair Political Practices Commission have generally succeeded in providing transparency to the contribution side of the campaign finance ledger, they’ve fallen comparatively short when it comes to expenditures.
Lobbyists numbers in decline, image by fotogestoeberSomething strange seems to have happened this cycle: the number of registered lobbyists decreased for the first time in 14 years. But here’s the thing: nobody’s exactly sure what’s behind it or what it means.
Marketing campaign brand advertisement business strategyAB 868 would seem to be just the kind of proposal the California Clean Money Campaign would support. But on June 19, 2023, Lange wrote to Wilson, telling her that his organization was opposing the bill unless amended because it called for campaign committees to report their online political ads to the FPPC.
Outnumbered, image by Hernan E. SchmidtDuring one unremarkable time period of four weeks, the number of political filings was roughly 12 times greater than the total number of people working for the agency charged with overseeing the accuracy and legality of those very filings. And that was a slow month.
Image by iQoncept via ShutterstockThe system established by the Political Reform Act is still so complex and so confusing that it’s difficult – if not downright impossible – to drill down on how much a special interest has spent to specifically influence a specific issue.
Photo illustration, political cash on the move: IQoncept, via ShutterstockThe Disclose Act, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed earlier this month, passed the Legislature after years of negotiations with labor unions and other interest groups. Supporters call it the strongest campaign money transparency law in the nation, but others say interest groups had too much sway over the bill.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, viewed from 10th Street toward the West Steps.(Photo: Timothy Boomer)Love ’em or hate ’em, reporters play an important role in the legislative process — as well as with legislative strategy and ethics — in California. Because of this influence, the media in many ways are commonly viewed as a fourth branch of government (or “fourth estate,” as the cliché goes). They don’t approve or reject legislation, but their coverage affects those who do and they often influence the fate of bills.
A photo illustration of an ad campaign program on a laptop. (Photo: Tashatuvango, via Shutterstock)California’s political watchdog, which fights to reveal the political money trail, is opposing legislation that appears to do exactly that. The Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign rules, has come out against two bills aimed at disclosure.
Galena West, a veteran lawyer at the Fair Political Practices Commission, has been named chief of enforcement at the agency, which serves as the state’s campaign ethics watchdog. West replaces Gary Winuk, who left earlier to go into private practice. West, who has been on the FPPC staff for 10 years, has served as acting enforcement chief since March.
State Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Wikimedia)ANALYSIS: The 2014 Legislative Session produced a number of bills that would have substantially changed the rules that affect lobbying activity. The Legislature passed legislation that would have zeroed out lobbyist gifts and lowered the gift limits for all public officials to $200, as well as eliminated gifts of golf, spa treatments and a host of perks for public officials. However, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed all these bills.