California Legislature sends “The California Disclose Act” to the Governor’s desk

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Media Contacts
Emily Rusch

Vice President and Senior Director of State Offices, The Public Interest Network

Political advertisements will more clearly share their top funders under AB 249, the California Disclose Act authored by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, which passed out of the Assembly on Friday and heads to the Governor’s desk. Nearly a half billion dollars, $485 million, was spent on campaigns for and against ballot measures in the 2016 election cycle.[1]

Statement by Emily Rusch, CALPIRG Executive Director: 

“Sunshine and transparency is essential to an informed electorate and a well-functioning democracy. Voters want and deserve clear information about who is funding political ads. The messenger matters as much as the message to help voters understand the issues they are being asked to vote on.  

AB 249 would make the funder disclosures on ads easier to read and understand. Furthermore, it would make it much harder for major contributors to hide behind made-up, innocuous-sounding committee names.

CALPIRG works on issues including stopping threats to public health, making sure the marketplace rules are fair for consumers, and reducing pollution. Time and again, we are up against well-financed special interest opposition in the legislature and on the ballot.  We applaud our friends at the California Clean Money campaign for sponsoring this bill, and urge Governor Brown to sign AB 249 without delay.”   

  

Emily Rusch speaking at the California Clean Money rally for AB 249 in August 2017. 

 

  

 

 

[1] http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article1301…