Clean Money Scorecard

Transcription

1 California Clean Money Scorecard A review of legislators votes for campaign finance reform by the Which Side Are You On?

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3 The Clean Money Scorecard for the Session Holding Legislators Accountable for Campaign Finance Votes Big Money special interests have dominated California for far too long. Although California has some of the strongest campaign finance laws in the country, they are in dire need of updating. New laws are needed because voters voices are drowned out by billions of dollars spent by special interests. A new era of unlimited spending by corporations, unions, and billionaires has been unleashed across the nation by the Supreme Court s Citizens United decision. This spending is corrupting our democracy and can be considered a form of legalized bribery. Good government organizations like the California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, California Public Interest Research Group, and the League of Women Voters of California regularly work with thoughtful legislators to propose strong new bills to improve campaign disclosure and to lessen the dominance of Big Money in California politics. Campaign finance bills are also proposed by the state s Fair Political Practices Commission and other organizations that recognize the damage caused by our broken campaign finance system. Unfortunately, such bills are often opposed by the Big Money special interests whose undue influence they are meant to curb. Many legislators have received thousands of dollars or more in campaign contributions from these interests. Even legislators who haven t received money have reason to fear the huge amounts special interests will spend against them if they don t agree to lobbyists demands. This climate makes it much tougher to pass strong campaign finance laws. Sunlight Is the Best Disinfectant That s why the, the 501(c)(4) political advocacy arm of the California Clean Money Campaign, produces the California Clean Money Scorecard which we issue at the end of every legislative session. This session s scorecard is our third. Voters need to know which legislators are Clean Money champions the strongest advocates for the Big Idea that regular voters should have more information and power in elections and which instead side more often with Big Money special interests against campaign finance reform. Clean Money Champions Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) and Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) join Assemblymember Christina Garcia, CCMC President Trent Lange, and a roomful of Clean Money supporters and coalition partners at the Senate campaign kickoff for AB 700 (Gomez-Levine), the California DISCLOSE Act, and SB 1107 (Allen), the bill legalizing Clean Money public financing of campaigns. Volunteers like these helped get over 100,000 signatures from Californians urging legislators to pass AB 700 and SB Clean Money Scorecard Page 1

4 How We Score Them This session s Scorecard comprises seven bills endorsed by the California Clean Money Campaign that were written to address the problems that arise when Big Money dominates politics. One of the two top priority bills was AB 700, the California DISCLOSE Act, authored by Assembly members Jimmy Gomez and Marc Levine and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign. AB 700 required political ads to clearly show their top three true funders, not front groups. The other top priority bill was SB 1107, authored by Senator Ben Allen and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign. and California Common Cause. SB 1107 amends the 28 year old ban on public financing of campaigns to allow them as long as they meet certain requirements. The other bills were SB 1349 (Hertzberg), to modernize the Cal-Access online disclosure website; AB 976 (Bonilla) to improve disclosure on political mailers; AB 1200 (Gordon), to require government contract lobbyists to register; and AB 2523 (Mullin) for local contribution limits. Last, but not least, SB 254 (Allen) put Proposition 59 on the ballot to let voters instruct Congress and the legislature to pass a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United. Insider Scores What happens behind the scenes can be just as important, if not even more important, than individual legislators votes themselves. The Clean Money Scorecard takes this into account by giving a positive Insider Score to legislators who author or co-author the bills we track or who otherwise make an extra effort to pass them. On the other hand, when individual legislators are known to have blocked progress behind the scenes, they earn a negative Insider Score. Insider Scores allow the scorecard to go beyond public voting records and let us highlight legislators who stand out as real Clean Money Champions. Insider Scores applied on this scorecard are described in the detailed tables starting on page 9. Scoring Their Clean Money Votes, Not Their Fundraising This scorecard does not say anything about how clean a legislator s fundraising is or their voting record on non-clean Money bills. Until we have Clean Money public financing of campaigns, all candidates have to obtain their campaign contributions from private sources. Instead, the Clean Money Scorecard focuses exclusively on how often legislators advocate and vote for campaign finance reform to help fix our broken campaign system. Page Clean Money Scorecard

5 Priority Bill on the Clean Money Scorecard: AB 700 (Gomez-Levine): The California DISCLOSE Act One of the most important campaign finance bills of was the California DISCLOSE Act, authored by Assemblymembers Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) and Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) and sponsored by the California Clean Money Campaign. AB 700 would have stopped ballot measure ads and independent expenditure ads about candidates from deceiving voters about who paid for them. 84% of voters supported this kind of reform in the Oct 2013 Field Poll. AB 700 required all TV and print ads for and against ballot measures to clearly and prominently list their top three funders, with radio ads and robocalls clearly stating their top two funders. Most importantly, ads must show their true, original funders, not misleading front groups. Details at Status of AB 700: AB 700 passed the Assembly on an overwhelming bipartisan vote of with all Democrats and 9 Republicans voting Yes. It was poised to pass the Senate with the needed 2/3 vote when Senate Minority Leader Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) ran a party fire drill demanding that no Republican Senators vote Yes. It consequently fell one vote short on a party-line vote of 26-11, with all Democrats voting Yes and no Republicans voting for it. Scoring on AB 700: Because AB 700 was one of our top two priority bills, it counts double on the scorecard. Republican Minority Leader Fuller receives an insider score penalty of -15 points, equal and opposite to the principal coauthor bonus for a top priority bill, because she effectively killed AB 700 with her instructions to Republicans not to vote Yes. Asssemblymember Jimmy Gomez Assemblymember Marc Levine Senator Ben Allen, the Senate floor manager for AB 700, and Assemblymember Gomez both earn a 20 point insider score bonus for going above and beyond the call of duty trying to pass AB 700, even staging a last-minute sit-in before the final midnight hour. Joint AB 700 author Assemblymember Levine and Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) earn 10 point insider bonuses for their own extraordinary efforts to help pass AB 700. Support for AB 700: More than 100,000 Californian signed petitions for AB 700. More than 300 organizations and leaders endorsed AB 700 Endorsed by the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle Clean Money Scorecard Page 3

6 Priority Bill on the Clean Money Scorecard: SB 1107 (Allen): Public Financing of Campaigns The other top priority campaign finance bill of was SB 1107, the bill to legalize public financing of campaigns in California, authored by Senators Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) and sponsored by California Common Cause and the California Clean Money Campaign. Candidates spend way too much time fundraising, and the voices of regular voters are drowned out by big contributions from the wealthy and other special interests. That's why we need public financing of campaigns to amplify the voices of small donors and get politicians out of the fundraising game. Unfortunately, in California public financing of campaigns has been banned in counties, non-charter cities, and state races since Senator Ben Allen SB 1107 amends the ban to allow local governments and the state to explore public financing systems that work best for them. SB 1107 does not enact public financing, but simply removes the ban and permit local governments or the state to create their own voluntary systems if they want to. Status of SB 1107: SB 1107 was signed into law by Governor Brown on September 29 th after passing the Senate on a bipartisan vote of and passing the Assembly on a bipartisan vote of Scoring on SB 1107: Because SB 1107 was one of our top two priority bills, it counts double on the scorecard. Senate Minority Leader Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) and Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes (R-Rancho Mirage) receive insider score penalties of -15, equal and opposite to the principal coauthor bonus for a top priority bill, for running party fire drills demanding that Republicans vote No. SB 1107 passed despite demands that no Republicans vote for it due to the courageous votes of Assemblymembers Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), Ling Ling Chang (R-Chino Hills), and David Hadley (R-Torrance), plus Senators: Anthony Cannella (R-Merced) and Bob Huff (R-Brea). All five receive insider score bonuses of 15 points, equal to the principal coauthor bonus. Senator Bob Hertzberg (D- Van Nuys) receives a 10 point bonus for effective inside efforts that helped lead to SB 1107 s passage. Support for SB 1107.: More than 56,000 Californian signed petitions for AB 700. Organizations endorsing SB 1107 include Page Clean Money Scorecard

7 Other Bills on the Clean Money Scorecard SB 254 (Allen) Overturn Citizens United Act Authored by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and sponsored by Money Out Voters In, SB 254 put a measure on the ballot to ask California elected officials whether to advise Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United and other applicable judicial precedents to to ensure that all citizens, regardless of wealth, may express their views to one another, and to make clear that corporations should not have the same rights as human beings. The measure that SB 254 puts on the ballot is only advisory, but the last advisory Senator Ben Allen measure that was put on the ballot helped pass the 17 th amendment to the constitution. Support: Money Out Voters In (sponsor), California Clean Money Campaign, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California Common Cause, California Labor Federation, California Teachers Association, CALPIRG, Consumer Watchdog, Courage Campaign, Democracy for America, Free Speech for People, Friends of the Earth, Move to Amend, Public Citizen. More than 39,000 Californians signed petitions for SB 254. Status: SB 254 is on the ballot as Proposition 59 after Governor Brown allowed it to go to the ballot. It passed the Senate on a party-line vote of and passed the Assembly on a bipartisan vote of SB 1349 (Hertzberg) Modernizing Online Campaign Finance Disclosure Authored by Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and sponsored by Secretary of State Alex Padilla and the Political Reform Act Modernization Coalition, SB 1349 charts a course for modernizing the state's obsolete Cal-Access campaign finance and lobbyist disclosure system. A crucial step for transparency and disclosure, SB 1349 implements one of the key parts of Jim Heerwagen's Voters Right to Know initiative that circulated until the legislature took up SB Senator Support: Secretary of State Alex Padilla, CA Business Roundtable, CA Common Bob Hertzberg Cause, CA Chamber of Commerce, CA Church IMPACT, CA Clean Money Campaign, CA Forward, CA Labor Federation, CA League of Conservation Voters, CA Newspaper Publishers Association, CA Political Treasurers Association, CA School Employees Association, CA Council of SEIU, CA Teachers Association, CALPIRG, Campaign Legal Center, Courage Campaign, FPPC, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, League of Women Voters of California, MapLight, Public Citizen, Small Business Majority, UFCW Western States Council, and Voices for Progress. More than 6,700 Californians signed petitions for SB Status: SB 1349 was signed into law by Governor Brown on September 29th after passing the Senate unanimously 38-0 and the Assembly unanimously Clean Money Scorecard Page 5

8 Other Bills on the Clean Money Scorecard AB 990 (Bonilla) Disclosure on Political Mailers by Independent Expenditures Authored by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) and sponsored by the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters, AB 990 requires better disclosure on political mailers by requiring all campaign mailers paid for by independent expenditures to include an easily identifiable statement that the mailer was not paid for or authorized by the candidate running for office. Support: Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder and CA Clean Money Campaign More than 8,200 Californians signed petitions in support of AB 990. Assemblymember Susan Bonilla Status: Signed into law by Governor Brown after passing the Assembly and the Senate AB 1200 (Gordon) Requiring Registration of Government Contract Lobbyists Authored by Assemblymember Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), AB 1200 was meant to close the illogical loophole that allows people trying to influence government procurement contracts not to register as lobbyists. AB 1200 would have expanded the definition of lobbying to include governmental procurement, thereby requiring those parties hired to assist/lobby for a procurement contract to report this aspect of their business, as well as require lobbying firms and lobbyist employers to report the procurement lobbying contracts. This bill would have to provided greater sunshine on an area of government where a significant amount of taxpayer money is dedicated. Assemblymember Rich Gordon Support: Secretary of State Alex Padilla, California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, CALPIRG, Legislative and Public Policy Clinic of the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. More than 5,000 Californians signed the s petitions for AB Status: Governor Brown vetoed AB 1200 on May 13 th, saying Given that the laws regulating state procurement are voluminous and already contain ample opportunity for public scrutiny, I don t believe this bill is necessary. The supporters of AB 1200 strongly disagreed. AB 1200 had passed the Assembly on a unanimous 72-0 vote and passed the Senate on a nearly unanimous 38-1 vote. AB 2523 (Mullin) Local Contribution Limits Authored by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) and sponsored by California Common Cause, AB 2523 would have established a $4,200 cap on contributions to campaigns for local elected office in jurisdictions that have not adopted any local limits. Currently many cities and counties have no limits on campaign contributions for their races at all, unlike state races, which have a $4,200 cap on contributions to legislative races. Support: California Common Cause, California Clean Money Campaign, League of Women Voters of California, Money Out Voters In, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Assemblymember Kevin Mullin Status: After passing the Assembly on a bipartisan vote of 51-26, AB 1200 fell two votes short of the required 2/3 in the Senate, on a vote of All but one Democrat voted for it, but no Republicans. Page Clean Money Scorecard

9 How Cleanly Did Assembly Members Vote? The vast majority of Assembly Democrats voted Yes on all Clean Money bills, with the other five voting Yes on all but one. Counting insider bonuses for authorship and other leadership, the average Democrat scored 103. Seven Democrats stood out as Clean Money Champions for their strong leadership. Republicans scored better than in the session, but still averaged only 41, voting against most (but not all) Clean Money bills. For the first time, three Republicans stood out as Clean Money Champions by voting Yes on all top priority Clean Money bills and scoring over 90 points showing extraordinary leadership despite pressure from their party to vote No Average Clean Money Score Democrats Republicans Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Democratic Assembly Members Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) 140 Author AB700 Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) 125 Manager SB1107, Coauthor SB254, SB1349 Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) 119 Author AB700 Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) 118 Author AB2523, Principal SB1349 David Chiu (D-San Francisco) 115 Principal SB1107 Bill Dodd (D-Napa) 115 Author AB1828, Coauthor SB1349 Richard Gordon (D-Menlo Park) 115 Author AB1200, Coauthor AB990 Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Republican Assembly Members Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) 104 AB 700, SB1107 David Hadley (R-Torrance) 104 AB 700, SB1107 Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) 93 AB 700, SB1107 Lowest-Scoring Assembly Members Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley): 7 Allen Travis (R-Huntington Beach): 11 Franklin Bigelow (R-Jackson): 22 Rocky Chávez (R-Oceanside): 22 Brian Dahle (R-Bieber): 22 Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach): 22 Devon Mathis (R-Visalia): 22 Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia): 22 Marie Waldron (R-Escondido): Clean Money Scorecard Page 7

10 How Cleanly Did Senators Vote? All but 2 Senate Democrats voted Yes on all Clean Money bills, with the other two voting Yes on all but one. Counting insider bonuses for authorship and other leadership, the average Democrat scored 105. Six Democrats stood out as Clean Money Champions for their strong leadership. Republicans scored better than in the session, but still averaged only 31, voting against most (but not all) Clean Money bills. Two Republicans provided the deciding votes for SB 1107, one of the top two priority Clean Money bills: Senator Anthony Cannella (R- Merced) and Bob Huff (R-Brea). They didn t vote for enough of the other bills to be Clean Money Champions, but their leadership on this crucial bill deserves kudos nonetheless Average Clean Money Score Democrats Republicans Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Democratic Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) 185 Author SB1107, SB254 Floor Manager 4 Bills, Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) 123 Principal Coauthor SB1107, SB254 Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) 120 Author SB1349 Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) 113 Principal SB254 Coauthor SB1349 Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) 110, Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) 110 Author SB254 Highest-Scoring Republican Senators (None high enough to be Champions * ) Anthony Cannella (R-Merced): 71 Voted Yes on SB 1107 despite pressure from party to vote No. Bob Huff (R-Brea): 59 Voted Yes on SB 1107 despite pressure from party to vote No. Andy Vidak (R-Fresno): 43 Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel): 38 Tom Berryhill (R-Twain Harte): 38 * To be Clean Money Champions, must vote Yes on all top priority Clean Money bills and have a minimum score of 90. Lowest-Scoring Senators Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield): 0 Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga): 11 Jeff Stone (La Quinta): 11 Joel Anderson (R-La Mesa): 22 Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado): 22 Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber): 22 Page Clean Money Scorecard

11 Assemblymember Votes on Scored Bills = Voted Yes = Coauthor = Principal Coauthor or Floor Manager = Voted No * = Present but no vote (counts as Voted No) --- = Wasn t present *Insider Score Bonuses: Priority Clean Money bills (AB 700 and SB 1107): 20 points for authors, 15 for principal coauthors and floor managers, and 10 for regular coauthors. Other bills are scored half of those for each. *Republican Assemblymembers Catharine Baker, Ling Ling Chang, and David Hadley each receive a 15 point insider score bonus (same as for principal coauthors) for courageously voting for SB 1107 despite the Republican leadership fire drill demanding that Republicans vote no. **Assemblymember Bill Dodd receives a 10 point bonus for authoring AB 1828 for stronger conflict of interest rules at the Board of Equalization. It was endorsed by Clean Money but only made it through one committee so can t be scored. ***Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, author of AB 700, went above and beyond the call of duty in his efforts to pass it, so gets a 20 point score bonus in addition to his author bonus Clean Money Scorecard Page 9

12 Assemblymember Votes on Scored Bills = Voted Yes = Coauthor = Principal Coauthor = Voted No * = Present but no vote (counts as Voted No) --- = Wasn t present *Insider Score Bonuses: Priority Clean Money bills (AB 700 and SB 1107): 20 points for authors, 15 for principal coauthors and floor managers, and 10 for regular coauthors. Other bills are scored half of those for each. **Republican Minority Leader Chad Mayes led a leadership fire drill demanding that Republicans vote no on SB 1107, so gets a negative insider score penalty equal and opposite to that of a principal coauthor bonus. ***Assemblymember Marc Levine, joint author of AB 700, went above and beyond the call of duty in his efforts to pass it, so gets a 10 point score bonus in addition to his author bonus. Page Clean Money Scorecard

13 Senator Votes on Scored Bills = Voted Yes = Coauthor = Principal Coauthor = Voted No * = Present but no vote (counts as Voted No) --- = Wasn t present or no opportunity *Insider Score Bonuses: Priority Clean Money bills (AB 700 and SB 1107): 20 points for authors, 15 for principal coauthors and floor managers, and 10 for regular coauthors. Other bills are scored half of those for each. *Republican Senators Anthony Cannella and Bob Huff receive 15 point insider score bonuses (same as for principal coauthors) for courageously voting Yes on SB 1107 despite the Republican leadership fire drill against it. **Senator Andy Vidak receives a 10 point bonus for authoring SB 976 to stop legislators who resign in the middle of sessions from taking early lobbyist jobs. It was endorsed by Clean Money but only made it through one committee so can t be scored. ***Senator Ben Allen went above and beyond the call of duty in his efforts to pass AB 700, so gets a 20 point bonus in addition to his floor manager bonus. Senator Jerry Hill receives a 10 point bonus for his extra inside efforts to pass AB 700. Senator Robert Hertzberg was instrumental behind the scenes in passage of SB 1107 on its final day, so receives a 10 point bonus. **Republican Minority Leader Jean Fuller led leadership fire drills demanding that Republicans vote no on both AB 700 and SB 1107, so gets a negative insider score penalty equal and opposite to that of a principal coauthor bonus on both Clean Money Scorecard Page 11

14 What is the? The is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(4) organization that is the political advocacy arm of the 501(c)(3) California Clean Money Campaign. The California Clean Money Action Fund has over 150,000 supporters from around the state who care deeply about the problems of money in politics. We ve been fighting for legislation and ballot measures to limit the undue influence of Big Money in politics in California since The is funded entirely by donations from individuals and foundations, and does not accept any funds from corporations or unions. Board of Directors of the Kevin Wolf, Chair Co-Founder of Wind Harvest International (WHI) Founder of Wolf and Associates Trent Lange, PhD., President and Executive Director CEO of Lange Fund Management, LLC and founder of Non-Profit Catalyst Wayne Williams, Secretary Treasurer Photographer and political activist The Honorable Sally Lieber Former Assembly Speaker pro Tempore and State Assemblymember from the 22nd District Former Mayor of Mountain View Brad Parker Recording artist and activist President, Valley Democrats United David Schmidt Owner and Tour Leader for California Nature Tours Regional Volunteer Coordinator 3916 Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 208 Culver City, CA Info@CACleanAction.org * (800) * Fax: (888) Page Clean Money Scorecard

15 Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Democratic Assembly Members Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) 140 Author AB700 Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) 125 Manager SB1107, Coauthor SB254, SB1349 Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) 119 Author AB700 Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) 118 Author AB2523, Principal SB1349 David Chiu (D-San Francisco) 115 Principal SB1107 Bill Dodd (D-Napa) 115 Author AB1828, Coauthor SB1349 Richard Gordon (D-Menlo Park) 115 Author AB1200, Coauthor AB990 Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Republican Assembly Members Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) 104 AB 700, SB1107 David Hadley (R-Torrance) 104 AB 700, SB1107 Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) 93 AB 700, SB1107 Clean Money Champions: Highest-Scoring Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) 185 Author SB1107, SB25. Floor Manager 4 Bills, Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) 123 Principal Coauthor SB1107, SB254 Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) 120 Author SB1349 Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) 113 Principal SB254 Coauthor SB1349 Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) 110 Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) 110 Author SB254 Lowest-Scoring Senators Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield): 0 Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga): 11 Jeff Stone (La Quinta): 11 Joel Anderson (R-La Mesa): 22 Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado): 22 Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber): 22