Statement on Voters' Right to Know Act
and New Legislation

Secretary of State Alex Padilla speaks at press conference introducing SB 1349.  Sen. Bob Hertzberg is immediately to the left.  Jim Heerwagen, proponent of the Voters' Right to Know Act, is to the right.

Introduction of Campaign Finance Database Modernization Bill (SB 1349)

After hundreds of thousands of Californians — showing they strongly want to know the true source of political spending — signed petitions to put the Voters' Right to Know Act (VRTK) on the ballot, the legislature is introducing a new campaign finance database modernization bill that puts in place one of the most important parts of the VRTK initiative.

SB 1349, authored by Senator Bob Hertzberg, will modernize the state’s lobbying and campaign filings database known as Cal-Access.  The bill mirrors ideas in VRTK such as a unique identifier for each donor plus modern search tools for the public to access these important disclosures.

SB 1349 is the third active bill with tough disclosures similar to parts of the Voters' Right to Know initiative.  AB 700 (Gomez-Levine), our California DISCLOSE Act, establishes a first-in-the-nation requirement that political ads clearly disclose their top three true funders, and uses language nearly identical to the initiative.  AB 1200 (Gordon), extends laws on lobbying to include attempts to influence government procurement which is another key part of the initiative.

Voters' Right to Know Act withdraws signature-gathering efforts

With the introduction of SB 1349, Jim Heerwagen, proponent of Voters' Right to Know, announced the VRTK campaign will cease seeking the signatures needed to get on the November 2016 ballot.

"Voters Right to Know was written to address systemic issues in California’s campaign finance and disclosure system, and to make the state a national leader in these issues. Working with a tremendous team of legal and campaign experts, we developed and introduced a package of reforms that set that bar," said Heerwagen. "Our team, along with volunteers from the California Clean Money Action Fund and hundreds of committed Californians, are proud to have advanced this proposal across the state and made a direct and immediate impact on the dialogue around these issues in the Capitol.  I thank Senator Hertzberg, Secretary of State Padilla and all of Voters Right to Know’s supporters."

The California Clean Money Action Fund, which has been organizing and leading volunteers in support of the Voters' Right to Know, will also stop gathering signatures for it.

The California Clean Money Action Fund has mobilized thousands of Californians who want true disclosure of money in politics, and support both AB 700 and the initiative.  We have been proud to support the initiative, and will redouble our efforts to pass AB 700, plus the new SB 1349.

We're excited to say that Jim Heerwagen and his Voters' Right to Know team are now working with us to help ensure AB 700 becomes law.  They're a powerful addition to our efforts!  We're also working together with Senator Hertzberg and the coalition in support of SB 1349.

You can read more details about SB 1349 and the end of signature gathering for VRTK in the Voters' Right to Know press release.   The importance of SB 1349, how it works with AB 700 and AB 1200, and how they all relate to the Voters' Right to Know Act is further described in a good article in the Sacramento Bee "California lawmakers finally pushing campaign sunshine".

A heartfelt "thank you" to everybody who gathered signatures for VRTK!

We can't say "thank you" enough to our members and volunteers who worked so hard and accomplished so much by gathering signatures, making calls, entering data, using social media, and  donating to push forward Voters' Right to Know and our fight against Dark Money in many ways.

Volunteers like you gathered nearly 16,000 signatures for Voters' Right to Know in a very short time, getting signatures from 55 of the 58 counties in California!  With an ever increasing number of trained volunteer teams, we were well on the way to achieving Clean Money's goal of gathering at least 50,000 signatures in support of VRTK.

Along with the paid signature-gathering of Jim Heerwagen's Californians for the Right to Know committee, our amazing volunteers helped VRTK quickly pass the 25% threshold to trigger legislative hearings which really helped boost the prospects of both AB 700 and the crucial new SB 1349.

At the same time, you also gathered thousands of new signatures for AB 700, increasing pressure for the legislature to pass the California DISCLOSE Act and the landmark bipartisan 60-15 Assembly victory — plus positioning for a Senate victory if we keep up the momentum!

My heartfelt thanks to you all.  Your efforts have created the possibility of a momentous legislative victory against unlimited secret money by passing AB 700, AB 1200, and the new SB 1349.

Join with the next steps!

With so much attention and pressure on the legislature to act against Dark Money, we must turn up the heat even more so they have no choice but to pass all three bills and fulfill voters' right to know!

Sign the petition for AB 700!  AB 700, the California DISCLOSE Act, would let voters know who REALLY is paying for ballot measure ads — on the ads themselves.

Join with others in your area to support AB 700. 

Last, and certainly not least, much of the support for AB 700's historic Assembly victory came from social media.  Please help AB 700 become law by supporting it on social media!