Legislature Approves Pair Of Campaign Finance Disclosure Bills

A pair of bills that would tighten California’s campaign finance disclosure laws has passed out of the legislature.

One would require the disclosure of the top five contributors to ballot measures; the other would require that paid actors appearing in campaign ads be identified as such.

Supporters of the top donor bill say voters have a right to know who is funding the petitions they are asked to sign.

“Our democracy should not be for sale. We all know that the vast majority of items that go up …go up because somebody has a couple of million dollars," says Bill Quirk, a Democratic Assemblyman. "The least we could do is let people know who’s supplying that couple of million dollars."

The bill would apply to the top five donors who give at least $100,000 dollars. Opponents of the bill say it would be an over regulation of political speech, and could interfere with the initiative process. Both bills cleared the Assembly and now go to the Governor’s desk.