California AB 1788

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires a nonprofit organization that regularly organizes and hosts travel for elected officials and that makes payments, advances, or reimbursements for their travel that total more than $10,000 per year, or more than $5,000 per year for a single official, to disclose the names of donors to the organization who donated at least $1,000 and accompanied the official on their travel during the preceding year. This bill would additionally require the organization to disclose each payment for travel by the elected state or local official and the name of the person for whom the payment for travel was made. The bill would require the nonprofit organization to maintain detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts necessary to prepare the disclosures, and to retain these items for at least 5 years. A violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 is a misdemeanor. By expanding the category of nonprofit organizations subject to the act, and by expanding their disclosure requirements, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and therefore create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.