AB 2255 CA Passed One Chamber
Political Reform Act of 1974: candidate controlled committees: campaign statements.
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Summary
This bill would expand campaign finance disclosure requirements under California's Political Reform Act of 1974. It would require candidate-controlled committees to report additional details on their campaign statements when the candidate will not appear on the next ballot and the committee makes large expenditures (over $20,000 in aggregate) to a single person during a reporting period. The additional required information would include the recipient's full name and street address, the amount of each expenditure, and a description of what was provided in exchange. The bill makes violation of these new reporting requirements a misdemeanor, consistent with existing penalties under the Political Reform Act.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.
Official abstract
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring elected officials, candidates for elective office, and committees to file periodic campaign statements. The act requires that these campaign statements contain prescribed information related to campaign contributions and expenditures of the filing entities. This bill would require a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office for the controlling candidate, with specified exceptions, to report additional information on its campaign statement if (1) the candidate will not appear on the ballot at the next election and (2) the committee makes expenditures to a single person exceeding $20,000 in the aggregate during the reporting period. If the candidate controlled committee is required to report this information, its campaign statement must include the full name and street address of the person to whom the expenditures were made, the amount of each expenditure, and a description of any consideration for which each expenditure was made. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. By requiring certain candidate controlled committees to report additional information on their campaign statements, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and impose 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. 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. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Sponsor (1)
- Pellerin Democratic · author
Action history (14)
- Feb 19, 2026 Read first time. To print. · lower
- Feb 20, 2026 From printer. May be heard in committee March 22. · lower
- Mar 9, 2026 Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS. · lower
- Apr 7, 2026 From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ELECTIONS. Read second time and amended. · lower
- Apr 8, 2026 Re-referred to Com. on ELECTIONS. · lower
- Apr 15, 2026 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. · lower
- May 6, 2026 From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 6). · lower
- May 7, 2026 Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. · lower
- May 14, 2026 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 5055.) · lower
- May 14, 2026 In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. · upper
- May 27, 2026 Referred to Com. on E. & C.A. · upper
- Jun 23, 2026 From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A. · upper
- Jun 30, 2026 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. · upper
- Jul 22, 2026 In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. · upper
Full text
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