The Political Reform Act requires public agencies to file various reports or statements, such as the Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700), and periodic campaign statements for employees and elected officials, such as the Recipient Committee Campaign Statement (Form 460). These documents are required to be available for public inspection and reproduction under the Public Records Act. Cities have previously had discretion to post such records online, but state law now mandates online access to these filings in order to increase public access to campaign finance documents.
On September 28, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2151 (“AB 2151”) into law which requires public agencies to post all copies of the required filings on its website within 72 hours of the applicable filing deadline. If the final day of the 72-hour period is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the period is extended to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. The required filings must be made available for four years from the election date associated with the filing.
Once the City publishes the required filings on its website, it must redact the street name, building number and bank account information for any campaign donor (person or entity) named on the required filings.
The new requirements took effect on January 1, 2021. If there are any questions or comments pertaining to these requirements, please feel free to contact our office.