There's good news for the cause of cleaner, more transparent politics in California. The State Senate just passed the Disclose Act, Senate Bill (SB) 52. Now it goes to the Assembly for its consideration. I urge everyone reading to communicate your support for this positive legislation to your State Assembly representative.
The Disclose Act would require what its name implies, that the real backers of campaign advertising reveal who they are. The disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision of 2010 has opened up the political process to unlimited and secret corporate and other spending on campaigns. In the absence of laws making specific requirements, voters may have no idea of who is trying to influence elections and the political process for their own special interests. Last year $475 million was spent in the state on advertising for ballot propositions alone, most of it unrevealed or under the misleading guise of euphemistic-sounding committee names.
The Disclose Act mandates that political ads in California have to prominently identify the top three contributors, and do so on the ads themselves. "Follow the money" requirements would make it illegal to hide the real funder or funders behind innocuous sounding front groups like "Citizens for a Wonderful Future," and would force disclosure of the original sources. There would be no more shell games. It applies to all types of political advertising, whether television, radio, print or web-based.
SB 52 was introduced by Senators Mark Leno and Jerry Hill. and is sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign. Go to their website here. You can sign the petition urging support here. After passing the Senate by an overwhelming 28-11 vote, it now goes to the 80-member Assembly. The Disclose Act is endorsed by a host of bipartisan and nonpartisan groups such as the League of Women Voters. To find your State Assembly representative to let them know of your support, click here.
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