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Three letters published today in SF Chronicle
06/04/2013 - 12:45pm

DISCLOSE volunteers from SF, Palo Alto and Berkeley wrote in response to a favorable editorial published June 1st. Read the letters here.

Who opposes disclosure?

Thank you for your editorial "Fuller disclosure" (June 1) urging the state Assembly to continue to advance SB52 (the California Disclose Act) after its passage through the Senate. I couldn't agree more.

Voters need to know, when they see or hear a political ad, who the top three funders of that ad really are. An informed electorate is essential to a functioning democracy.

One thing stopped me, though. You called the Senate voting results curiously close for a bill without a single listed official opponent. But that's the point of such a measure. Of course opponents of disclosure in political advertising don't want to be listed anywhere. I suspect that the opposing of SB52 has been done behind closed doors, promising or threatening who-knows-what to legislators despite overwhelming support for disclosure among said legislators' constituents. These are the same big-money political donors who hide behind a fake but nice-sounding committee name like Stop Hidden Taxes when trying to influence voters with advertising.

Joni Eisen, San Francisco

Follow the money

I agree we need to know who pays for political ads. Then we can follow the money, so to speak, to find out if the ad serves our public interest or just some private special interest.

The bill would prevent donors being camouflaged behind a fake feel-good name like Citizens for Lower Taxes.

Bill Walzer, Berkeley

Voters demand to know

Thank you for the excellent editorial about SB52, the California Disclose Act, passing the state Senate and moving to the Assembly. Sens. Mark Leno and Jerry Hill are to be commended for their leadership in garnering a two-thirds victory for SB52.

Although the issue faces a typical partisan divide in the Legislature, voters of every political stripe want better disclosure on political ads.

I salute Republican Sen. Anthony Cannella for his "yes" vote and hope that his Republican colleagues in the Assembly follow his lead. They can take courage from the fact that 78 percent of Republican voters favor this measure.

Nancy Neff, Palo Alto

Senate Passes the California DISCLOSE Act
05/29/2013 - 9:45pm

Press release from Senator Leno

SB 52 passes the Senate floor vote, 28-11
05/29/2013 - 4:30pm

A note from Trent Lange, president of California Clean Money Campaign:

"We expected to have the vote on Thursday, but Senator Leno saw the opportunity and took it! All Democrats except Rod Wright voted yes.  Anthony Cannella (R-Merced) voted yes, making SB 52 a bipartisan bill...[phone bankers'] efforts were crucial to our making it. The Assembly will be even harder, but today was a tremendous victory for the California DISCLOSE Act!"

On to Appropriations, and beyond
05/13/2013 - 8:00pm

After the successful Senate Elections Committee hearing, with many speakers formally representing supporting organizations, and over a hundred more just testifying as citizens in support, Committee Chair Lou Correa signed on as a Principal Co-Author of the bill. SB 52 was presented to the Senate Appropriations Committee today (May 13), but because our prospects look good there, it was determined that there would be no hearing per se. Presumably it went automatically into the "suspense" file, to be brought out and voted on Thursday, May 23. (May 23 update: SB 53 passes Senate Appropriations - also along party lines). But it is the full Senate floor vote, which will be sometime in the week of May 27th, that we have to focus on. Getting 2/3 of Senators to vote Yes will be a challenge that we all have to work together on. Read more.

How do we do that? Phone calls to constituents of key Senators, during office hours so that the constituent can be automatically connected to the legislator's office. The technology is the web-based CallFire system.
There are no toll calls involved (the system calls you), and all your interaction would be accomplished over the phone and via your computer. The best way to sign up for CallFire access and training is to send an email to [email protected]; trainings are at frequent intervals and they will let you know the choices.

Coming up after the Senate: Assembly Elections Committee in June (yes! another field trip); Assembly Appropriations and Assembly floor vote in August, deadline August 30.

SB 52 passes the Senate Elections Committee along party lines
04/30/2013 - 5:00pm

Nearly 120 people from all around the state came to Sacramento April 30th to testify in the Senate Elections Committee in favor of SB 52, the California DISCLOSE Act.  The bill passed the committee on a 4-1 vote: Senate Elections Committee Chair Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Senators Alex Padilla (D-Van Nuys), Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), and Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) all voted Yes.  Senator Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) voted no.

Joining author Senator Mark Leno and Trent Lange, President of CA Clean Money Campaign, at the table were Bob Stern, author of the original 1974 Political Reform Act, and Donald Simon, an attorney on the CCMC board of directors who has been assisting in drafting the language of the bill. Following them with testimony in support were the League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause, Consumer Federation of California, JERICHO for Justice, Friends Committee on Legislation in California,  the Redwood Empire Business Association, Maplight, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Money Out/Voters In, the Pacific Media Workers Guild, the Greenlining Institute, MoveOn councils throughout California, California Church IMPACT and many individuals. Especially impressive, noted Trent Lange, were those who made the long trip from Orange County (Senator Correa's district) and Los Angeles (Senator Padilla's district).

This was just the first in a series of battles, culminating, if all goes well, in the Governor's signing SB 52 into law in September. The next step is the Senate Appropriations Committee. They meet every Monday; stay tuned for news on when SB 52 is scheduled for a hearing.  

Senate Elections Committee Hearing Tuesday, April 30th
04/04/2013 - 10:45pm

Finally there is a solid date for the Senate Elections Committee hearing in Sacramento for SB 52: Tuesday, April 30th, starting at 1:30pm in room 3191. The initial language of the bill is now in print.  To see a summary of its provisions, download the two-page overview, a provisions overview, and see the official SB 52 language (all on the right-hand side of the page), go to: http://www.yesfairelections.org/about/

If you can join us in the morning, we'll be having a lobby day starting with a 10am orientation in the 6th Floor cafeteria of the Capitol building. We'll give you talking points, buttons and packets of information, and tell you how to answer some of the most important questions. Then we'll break into groups with experienced California DISCLOSE Act citizen lobbyists and convince Senators and their staff to support the bill.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE.  PLANS FOR THE HEARING MAY CHANGE, SO WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO KEEP YOU UPDATED ABOUT ANY CHANGES AND INSTRUCTIONS -- AND WE NEED TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COMING, ESPECIALLY FOR THE LOBBYING IN THE MORNING. There will be carpools from most parts of the state, so when you register, let us know if you need a ride or can offer to drive.

Trent Lange, President, California Clean Money Campaign

 

Nancy Pelosi to Bill Maher: Let's Disclose, Amend, Reform, and Empower
01/25/2013 - 10:00pm - 11:00pm

"On the subject of money and politics and the rest, I have a DARE: Disclose who are these people; Amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United; Reform: let's have public financing of campaigns; and Empower." -Nancy Pelosi More quotes here.

Congressional Democrats Unveil New Bills to Battle Big-Money Donors
01/16/2013 - 2:15pm

By Andy Kroll, Mother Jones

On Wednesday, Democrats in Congress took their first big step of the 113th Congress toward staunching the flow of money into US political campaigns. A group of House Democrats unveiled a trio of political money-themed bills, each proposing to establish new public campaign financing that would reward candidates for hauling in lots of small donations instead of fewer, larger ones, by matching small-dollar donations with public funds and tightening the rules governing super-PACs...original article

New California DISCLOSE ACT, SB 52, Introduced by Senators Leno and Hill
12/21/2012 - 6:45pm

By Trent Lange, California Clean Money Campaign
 
New California DISCLOSE ACT requires that political ads clearly disclose their top three funders...

SACRAMENTO - A new effort to give voters the information they need by requiring significantly greater transparency in political ads was launched with the introduction of a new California DISCLOSE Act by Senators Mark Leno and Jerry Hill. Over 350 organizations and leaders endorsed the last version, with over 84,000 Californians signing petitions urging the legislature to pass it.

 
SB 52 will require that the top three funders of political ads be clearly and unambiguously identified, on the ads themselves, as well as require committee websites to list their major funders. It applies to advertising for ballot measure campaigns, independent expenditures such as Super PACS, and issue advocacy.
 
"We are thrilled that Senators Leno and Hill are taking the lead to push this crucial transparency legislation", said Trent Lange, President of the California Clean Money Campaign, the sponsor of SB 52. "There is a growing movement of Californians demanding the California DISCLOSE Act because people want to know who is really paying for political ads, whether they are hidden out-of-state billionaires behind Super PACs or the largest special interests in California."

SB 52 builds on the progress made by the last version of the California DISCLOSE Act, AB 1648 (Brownley), which passed the Assembly on a vote of 50-26 in late August before running out of time to pass the Senate. AB 1648 had 49 legislative co-authors.

The need for serious reform of disclosure on political ads has increased since then. Over $421 million was spent this year in California on ballot measures alone, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Most of it was spent by committees hiding their funders with misleading names like "Stop Special Interest Money Now" or "The 2012 Auto Insurance Discounts Act."

"We saw evidence in the most recent election cycle of unnamed organizations throwing around large sums of money in order to confuse California voters," said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. "The only way to stop this covert financing of campaigns is to require the simple and clear disclosure of the top three funders of political ads so voters can make well-informed decisions at the ballot box."

Californians from all major political parties have overwhelmingly stated their support for greater disclosure. A Field Poll late last year indicated 84 percent of registered California voters favored legislation to increase public disclosure requirements of initiative sponsors, including 78 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Democrats and 88 percent of Independents.

"This legislation is vital to protecting the integrity of our democratic process and ensuring fair elections in our state," said Senator Hill, D-San Mateo. "After seeing billions of dollars flow into elections across our country after the Citizens United decision, we need the DISCLOSE Act now more than ever."

DISCLOSE is an acronym for Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections.
 
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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.
 

Exclusive: Nonprofit Funneled Money to Kochs' Voter Database Effort, Other Conservative Groups
12/21/2012 - 11:15am

By Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire and Russ Choma for "The Shadow Money Trail," an OpenSecrets.org series

This article is the latest in an exclusive series about the funding behind politically active tax-exempt organizations that don't disclose their donors. You can read the other stories in the series here.

Themis was a daughter of Heaven and Earth, the goddess of divine law and order in Greek mythology. More prosaically, Themis is also the name of a voter database project spearheaded by David and Charles Koch, the conservative billionaires of Koch Industries, early in the 2010 midterm election cycle. The idea was to reach GOP and libertarian voters more systematically and efficiently, to catch up with the voter microtargeting strategies Democrats had been developing over several years. Read more...