AB 700, the California DISCLOSE Act, falls short by one vote. SB 1107 to allow public campaign financing passes!You may have heard the disappointing news — AB 700, the California DISCLOSE Act, fell one vote short of passing the Senate despite all our best efforts and a dramatic last-minute vote just before midnight. Though it had passed the Assembly with 9 Republican votes, Senate Republican leadership ensured that not a single Senate Republican broke ranks and voted for it. The good news is this year's DISCLOSE Act set a new milestone — and it's not over! AB 700 authors Assemblymembers Jimmy Gomez and Marc Levine immediately vowed to re-introduce the California DISCLOSE Act with the California Clean Money Campaign on the first day of the next legislative session, December 5th. If it passes next year, it will still apply to the 2018 election, just like AB 700 would have. As Assemblymember Gomez said in our press release, "It shouldn't be legal to mislead California voters — And I won't rest until it is stopped. The California DISCLOSE Act will be back". We're in a stronger position than ever to pass the California DISCLOSE Act. All our hard work has paid off so that when we introduce the new bill it will start with a full version of the Act including all the earmarking language needed to force political ads to show their true funders. This means that unlike with AB 700, there will be plenty of time to make any necessary amendment tweaks to address people's concerns. We're already preparing for the introduction of the new bill! SB 1107 passed to allow public financing of campaigns in California!As you know, candidates spend way too much time fundraising, and the voices of regular voters are drowned out by big contributions from the wealthy and other special interests.That's why we need public financing of campaigns to amplify the voices of small donors and get politicians out of the fundraising game. Unfortunately, in California public financing of campaigns is banned in counties, non-charter cities, and state races. But SB 1107 opened the door to changing that by passing in unprecedented bipartisan votes of 55-22 (Assembly) and 27-12 (Senate)! SB 1107, authored by Senator Ben Allen and sponsored by California California Clean Money Campaign and California Common Cause, will amend the ban to allow for optional methods of public financing of campaigns that meet reasonable requirements for fairness and accountability. The effect of SB 1107 could be huge! Public campaign financing is a strong antidote to Big Money by making elected official accountable to voters, not millionaires and special interests. SB 1107 doesn't put public financing into place, but amends the ban so jurisdictions can choose to begin using it if they want. We're already started our campaign to convince the Governor Brown to sign SB 1107, and soon we'll ask you to participate. But first: How did your legislators vote on AB 700 and SB 1107?After big votes like this, it's important to thank legislators who voted the right way and to express disappointment in legislators who voted the wrong way.Sign the petition to see how your legislators voted on SB 1107 and AB 700 — and to show them you're watching!
3 of our 4 top Clean Money high priority bills passed! AB 700 and SB 1107 weren't the only bills supported by the California Clean Money Campaign and California Clean Money Action Fund. Two of our other top priority bills also passed: SB 1349 is also on Governor Brown's desk! Authored by Senator Bob Hertzberg and co-sponsored by Secretary of State Alex Padilla and the Political Reform Act Modernization Coalition, SB 1349 charts a course for modernizing the state's obsolete campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure system called "Cal-Access". A crucial step for transparency and disclosure, SB 1349 implements one of the most important parts of Jim Heerwagen's Voters Right to Know initiative that circulated until the legislature took up SB 1349. SB 1349 passed unanimously in both the Senate and Assembly! SB 254, the Overturn Citizens United Act, is on the ballot as Proposition 59! Authored by Senator Ben Allen, sponsored by Money Out Voters In, and supported by the California Clean Money Campaign and many other organizations, SB 254 put Prop 59 on the ballot so Californians can vote whether to instruct Congress and the legislature to amend the U.S. constitution to overturn Citizens United and say that corporations aren't people and money isn't speech. It passed the Assembly and Senate in party-line votes of 51-26 and 26-12, respectively. With the help of Clean Money supporters like you, 3 of 4 of the California Clean Money Campaign's top priority bills passed the legislature — and the fourth, the California DISCLOSE Act, is in very good shape for next year. Soon we'll announce our Clean Money Scorecard where you can read about all the bills we supported this year, including who voted for them and who didn't. Strong leadership on Clean Money bills These major wins in the fight against big secret money in politics would never have happened without three groups of people: Legislators who took major leadership roles, our coalition partners we worked side-by-side with, and regular people like you who took action when we asked (and we asked a lot!).  First and foremost is AB 700 author Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles). His unwavering fight to pass the California DISCLOSE Act — going so far as to stage a sit-in on the Senate floor with Senator Allen in the final hour (picture above) — helped the bill set a milestone unmatched by any political ad disclosure bill this strong. AB 700 joint author Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) was also crucial to AB 700's progress. Senator Ben Allen (D-Redondo Beach), chair of the Senate Elections Committee, demonstrated unparalleled leadership on a full suite of great campaign finance bills, not only authoring the successful SB 1107 and SB 254, but also floor managing and leading for AB 700. The authors of SB 52, the previous California DISCLOSE Act (2013-2014), Senators Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), helped build the movement, and stepped in at key moments to help push AB 700 forward. Senator Leno was also a joint author of SB 254. Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) not only authored the successful SB 1349; he also played vital roles in passing SB 1107. Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Los Angeles), and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) also played key roles in passing SB 1107 and the other campaign finance reform bills. Assemblymember Kevin Mullin's (D-San Mateo) own bill, AB 2523, unfortunately fell one vote short, but we applaud his leadership. Assemblymember Bill Dodd's (D-Woodland) AB 1828 for stronger conflict of interest rules also fell short but was an important effort. Also deserving of praise are Republican legislators without whom SB 1107 couldn't have passed including Senators Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres) and Bob Huff (R-Brea). But some of the biggest praise goes to three Republican Assemblymembers who courageously stood for their constituents by voting for both SB 1107 and AB 700: Assemblymembers Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), Ling Ling Chang (R-Brea), and David Hadley (R-Torrance). Sign the petition now to see how your legislators voted on AB 700 and SB 1107 — show them you're watching!
I give heartfelt thanks to all of you for everything you've done to fight with us against big secret money in politics — whether you participated by signing petitions, on social media, gathering signatures, entering data, making phone calls, packing hearings in Sacramento, or supporting our efforts with one-time donations or as a member. We needed all 150,000 Clean Money supporters like you, working closely with us and our coalition and legislative partners to achieve these great victories. Together, we passed the first ever bipartisan bill to allow public financing of campaigns in California — and achieved a milestone for the California DISCLOSE Act that puts us in the best position ever to pass this nation-leading bill next year. So please click the button above to tell your legislators what you think of their votes. And stay tuned for ways you can help us convince Governor Brown to sign SB 1107 and SB 1349 into law! Trent Lange President, California Clean Money Action Fund P.S. Many people ask where we get our funding. The answer is from people like you. Our average donation is $25. Become a Clean Money member now!
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