This section officially names the law as the 'Political Reform Act of 1974.'

This section emphasizes the importance of equal treatment by state and local government for all citizens, regardless of wealth. It states that public officials should act without bias from financial interests. It highlights concerns about increased election campaign costs, forcing candidates to rely on big contributions from lobbyists and organizations, leading to unequal influence over government. The law points out that existing campaign finance disclosure is inadequate, and lobbyists often give to incumbents, who have an unfair advantage due to election laws and practices. Additionally, wealthy contributors extend their sway through lobbyists, with complex ballot pamphlets being hard to understand for voters. Lastly, there's a call out on poor enforcement of previous political practice regulations.

This section outlines several goals of the law related to campaign finance, lobbying, and public official conduct. It aims to ensure that all campaign receipts and expenses are transparently reported to keep voters informed and reduce unethical behavior. Lobbyists' activities need regulation with financial disclosures to prevent undue influence on public officials. Public officials must disclose any assets or income that could affect their decision-making to avoid conflicts of interest, and they may need to step back from certain actions when conflicts arise.

The state ballot pamphlet should give voters clear, unbiased information about state measures rather than relying solely on paid ads. The law also seeks to remove any practices that unfairly benefit current officeholders to ensure fairer elections. Finally, it emphasizes the necessity for strong enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and accountability from both officials and citizens.

This law requires that reports and statements filed under its guidelines must be signed under penalty of perjury, ensuring the signer has made an effort to be accurate and honest. If filed by a committee, the treasurer must sign; if filed by an entity, a responsible officer or agent must sign. Filing false information knowingly is perjury. Digital filing with the Secretary of State is allowed, including by email, with a proper digital signature. Once filed, the digital version is considered the original for auditing and legal purposes.

This law requires that all reports and statements be signed under penalty of perjury, confirming the signer used reasonable care and believes the information is accurate. Reports by committees must be signed by the treasurer, while others are signed by the individual or a responsible representative. Filing false information knowingly is perjury. Online submissions need a secure electronic signature, and any filings by an authorized vendor are considered filed under penalty of perjury by the filer.

If you've filed a report or statement and realize it's incorrect or incomplete, you can amend it anytime. Fixing it may show you acted in good faith.

If a law requires a statement or report by a certain date, and that date is on a weekend or holiday, you can file it the next business day. However, this extension doesn't apply to certain contributions and independent expenditure reports that are due immediately before an election.

This section states that no fees or charges should be collected by any officer for filing reports or statements, or for the forms needed to prepare those reports or statements, unless specified otherwise in this title.

This law explains how documents that are required to be filed by mail or overnight delivery are considered received by the officer on the date they are mailed or given to the delivery service. A post office stamp or delivery service receipt showing the date and address serves as evidence of this. If the filing officer never receives the document, it is assumed not sent unless there is proof of mailing with a receipt.

This rule explains how deadlines are calculated for reports or statements that must be filed with a government officer. If you send your documents through first-class mail or a guaranteed overnight delivery service, they are considered received on the day you mail them, not when they actually arrive. The postmark or delivery receipt date is used as proof of mailing. However, if the officer never receives your mail, it's assumed you didn't send it, unless you can present a receipt showing when, where, and to whom it was mailed.

You can send a required report or statement by fax by its due date, but you must also mail the original or a paper copy by first-class mail or personal delivery within 24 hours. The faxed document must be 30 pages or less. If the faxed version isn't identical to the mailed version, it's not considered officially filed.

Filing officers will make the faxed report available to the public, but if someone requests it before the original arrives, they'll be told that the fax doesn’t count as officially filed if it doesn’t match the real thing.

This law explains how reports or statements, required under certain chapters, can be submitted via email or fax before the deadline. While you can submit these electronically, you must also send the original copy by mail or guaranteed delivery within 24 hours. An emailed or faxed document is only valid if it accurately matches the original, and it can't exceed 30 pages. Once received, the filing officer must make these documents publicly accessible as outlined by law.

This law states that any report or statement filed under this title is a public record that anyone can look at or copy during regular business hours. It must be available by the second business day after it's received. People do not need to provide any personal information or meet any conditions to access these documents. Copies can be made, costing no more than ten cents per page. Additionally, there can be a retrieval fee of up to five dollars for documents that are over five years old. Multiple reports or statements requested at one time count as a single request.

This law states that any report or statement filed as required by this title is a public record, meaning anyone can look it up and copy it during normal business hours. The filing officer has to make digital files accessible online as soon as they get them, following certain rules. There shouldn't be any barriers or requirements for people who want to see or copy these documents. Each printed copy costs up to ten cents per page, and any old reports, five years or older, can have an extra retrieval fee of up to five dollars per request. Asking for several documents at once is treated as a single request.

This law outlines how long various campaign and financial statements must be kept by filing officers. If you're holding or running for state office, your organization and campaign statements have to be kept forever. This rule also applies to statements from those supporting or opposing statewide measures. For mayors, city council members, and county supervisors, their campaign statements are kept forever too, but if they're not elected, the records are kept for at least five years. Statements from everyone else need to be kept for at least seven years. Statements about economic interests for people in statewide positions are kept indefinitely. Any copies of these documents must be kept for at least four years, but only one copy is needed. Officers can choose to keep them in paper, on microfilm, or electronically.

This law outlines how long campaign-related documents and statements of economic interests must be kept by filing officers in California. For elected state officials and those running for office, filing officers must retain organization and campaign statements indefinitely. For city and county offices, records of elected officials and their supporting committees are also kept indefinitely, but records for unelected candidates are only required to be kept for five years. Other types of campaign statements must be kept for at least seven years, and any non-specified reports should be kept for at least four years. If filed on paper, a paper or electronic copy must be available for public inspection. Online or electronic filings follow different archival rules.

This law requires local government agencies in California to submit a copy to the commission whenever they create, change, or remove rules about campaign contributions and spending.

It also prevents these agencies from imposing additional or different filing requirements for elections in their area, unless those rules apply only to candidates and committees involved in those specific local elections.

Section 81010 outlines the responsibilities of filing officers regarding reports and statements submitted under this title. Filing officers must provide the necessary forms and guides, check if the documents are submitted and meet the required standards, and promptly alert anyone who hasn't filed correctly or on time. They must also report any suspected violations to the proper authorities and keep an up-to-date list of all filed documents.

This law section outlines the responsibilities of a filing officer when handling reports and statements as per this title. The officer must provide required forms, check if documents are submitted and meet basic requirements, and inform anyone who hasn't filed properly on time. They should also report any obvious breaches of the rules to the proper authorities. Additionally, the officer has to keep an updated list of all documents submitted.

This law states that even if the official responsible for informing someone about their need to file certain documents fails to do so, the responsibility to file those documents still lies with the individual. It means you are obligated to file required statements and reports, even without receiving a reminder or notification.

This law states that when someone signs a statewide petition in California, the election precinct where they are registered does not need to be included on the petition when it's submitted to county election officials. Only the information that the signer is required to write down themselves is necessary.

This law talks about how the title can be changed or removed. To change it, a bill must be passed by at least two-thirds of both the California State Assembly and State Senate, and signed by the Governor. The bill must be shared with the commission and the media 8 or 12 days before it's passed. If this method isn't valid, the only way to change or repeal it is by letting voters decide and approve the change.

This law requires that the general public can sign up for email alerts about any legislative actions related to changes in specific legal titles. These alerts should be provided through a public information system. Whenever a new bill is introduced, amended, or when existing bills change to affect this title, subscribers will receive an email notification. These emails must be sent as soon as possible, but no later than 9 a.m. the next day after the legislative change occurs.

The subject line of these emails must include 'Political Reform Act Bill' for bills amending this title, ensuring clarity and consistency in communication.

This law states that the California Legislature or other agencies can add extra requirements for people, as long as these don't stop them from following existing rules in this title. If there is ever a conflict between this title and a new law passed by the Legislature, the rules in this title take priority.

If a federal or state law mentioned in this title is changed or removed, the Commission can create new rules to stay true to the original purpose of this title.

This section says that if a part of this law is found to be invalid or doesn't apply to a particular person or situation, the rest of the law still stands and is enforceable. The law is designed so that parts can be removed without affecting the whole.