Stop Hidden Taxes. California Jobs Initiative. Californians
against Higher Taxes. Citizens for an On-Time Budget.
Sounds pretty good, right? Who doesn't want to create jobs,
lower taxes or force legislators to do their jobs?
And that's just what the power players behind some of the
state's political action committees are betting on when
they sponsor political ad campaigns, spending millions to
influence Californians while shielding the names of their
largest donors.
A bill currently working its way through the Assembly would
put an end to all that. AB 1148, the California DISCLOSE
Act, sponsored by Los Angeles Assemblywoman Julia Brownley,
would stop major donors from hiding behind the
innocuous-sounding names of PACs in political ad
campaigns.
The bill aims to make it clear where PACs find their
funding, be it from large corporations, unions or private
donors.
Current law requires print, television and radio political
ads to identify the name of the committee that has paid for
them.
Under AB 1148, the three largest funders of an ad would be
identified.
Whether such a shift in campaign disclosures will have a
great impact on future elections is yet unknown, but the
time is right for AB 1148; the Assembly Appropriations
Committee passed it Thursday.
