California Democratic Party Endorses AB 1648, the California DISCLOSE Act

ANAHEIM - Yesterday, less than two weeks after Republicans in the U.S. Senate filibustered the national DISCLOSE Act, the California Democratic Party added its voice to the statewide effort to pass the California DISCLOSE Act to allow voters in California to make better informed decisions by requiring the top funders of political ads to disclose their identity - on the ads themselves.

"The California Democratic Party strongly endorses AB 1648, the California DISCLOSE Act," said John Burton, Chair of the California Democratic Party. "We agree with the overwhelming percentage of California voters who favor more disclosure of who is paying for political ads. Our democracy is at risk when special interests can dominate politics while hiding their influence."

A Field Poll last October found that 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.

Authored by Assemblymember Brownley and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign, AB 1648 will require political television, radio, and print ads to clearly identify their three largest funders of $10,000 or more with their names and logos so voters know who is actually paying for them. Committee websites will be required to list their top ten funders. These requirements will apply to both ads for or against ballot measures and independent expenditure ads for or against candidates.

"The California DISCLOSE Act is fiercely opposed in the Legislature by organizations representing some of the largest-spending special interests in the state who would rather keep their political spending hidden from voters," said Trent Lange, President of the California Clean Money Campaign, the sponsor of the California DISCLOSE Act. "But all the voters who called for the California Democratic Party's endorsement, together with the voices of the 65,000 regular citizens of all political parties who have signed petitions for AB 1648, should send a message to every legislator to put people above politics and pass it."

AB 1648 is endorsed by the League of Women Voters of California, the California Alliance for Retired Americans, the California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, California Church IMPACT, the California League of Conservation Voters, the California State Retirees, CALPIRG, Consumer Federation of California, Courage Campaign, Greenlining Institute, the Planning and Conservation League, Public Citizen, Redwood Empire Business Association, Sierra Club California, Public Citizen, the William C. Velasquez Institute, and over 300 other organizations and leaders.

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The California Clean Money Campaign is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to lessening the unfair influence of Big Money on election campaigns. For further information, visit www.CAclean.org.