[originally issued as a second issue #41; in issue #43 it was noted that the 2nd #41 should of course have been #42.] Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 14:56:30 -0700 Subject: GovAccess.042: PANIC ACTION ALERT! Digital campaign-$$$, last-chance!! Jun.29, 1994 UNLESS CITIZENS ACT *NOW*, COMPUTERIZED CAMPAIGN-FINANCE BILL WILL BE BURIED CRUCIAL VOTE SCHEDULED IN LESS THAN 2 DAYS! Although this concerns a Californica bill, it can easily precipitate action in many other states, IF it passes. California State Senate Bill 758 is a political reform bill that has been almost-completely rewritten (via bill-author amendments; not an uncommon event), since being introduced last year. It now authorizes and mandates that political candidates and campaigns receiving or spending more than $30,000 in a calendar year must file their already-required campaign-finance disclosures in *computerized* form. Its author is State Senator Tom Hayden (D, Los Angeles area). His legislative aides for this bill are Duane Peterson and Darryl Young -- who are apparently too swamped to provide any information at all about the bill or impending committee actions on it -- not even responding to numerous phone requests; at least not until it's too late for us to do anything useful to knowledgably support the bill. [I've just deleted an extended flame about this -- in a rare fit of personal dipolmacy.] Last Monday, IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC SHOWING OF SUPPORT, only TWO of the six members of the California State Assembly Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments voted for the bill. But, FOUR VOTES ARE NEEDED to pry it out of their death-grip. WORD JUST IN: FRIDAY, JULY 1st IS THE LAST POSSIBLE SB 758 ACTION DATE Thanks [only] to a hot-fax from Ruth Holton at California Common Cause, I have just found out that Hayden will seek reconsideration of SB 758 in that committee, THIS *FRIDAY*, JULY 1st!!! That is it's last chance this year. If it can't garner four committee-member votes on Friday, it's dead. IMMEDIATE FAXES AND PHONE CALLS ARE NEEDED to: 1. Each Committee member, 2. Every one of your perhaps-interested contacts in any member's District, 3. Reporters and editorial-page editors of newspapers in their Districts, and 4. And *COPY* by email or fax to Hayden, fax/916-324-4823; email to staffer: darryl.young@sen.ca.gov . In the Monday vote, only Tom Bates and Cruz Bustamente supported the bill. Ross Johnson would probably have supported it, but he never showed up. Martinez, Mountjoy and Klehs, along with Johnson, need our, uh, "attention." The Committee members are: Diane Martinez (D), Chair; 916-445-7852, fax/916-324-1393 represents Monterey Park, Alhambra, etc., primarily in ZIP-codes 90022, 90032, 90063, 91754, 91770, 91775-6, 91801, 91801-to-3 Ross Johnson (R), voice/916-445-7448; represents Fullerton, Placentia, etc., around ZIP-code 926xx & 928xx Richard Mountjoy (R), 916-445-7234, fax/818-445-3591 [in his Dist office] represents Arcadia, Monrovia, etc., around ZIP-codes 910xx & 917xx Johan Klehs (D), 916-445-8160, fax/916-445-0967 represents San Leandro, Hayward, Castro Vly, etc., around ZIP 9454x-9458x Tom Bates (D), 916-445-7554, fax/916-445-6434 represents Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, etc., around ZIP 946xx-948xx Cruz Bustamante (D), voice/916-445-8514, fax/916-324-7129 newly-elected, represents Fresno area, 932xx, 936xx, 937xx Address faxes to: The Honorable XXX [no matter what you think :-) ] California State Assembly State Capitol Sacramento CA 95814 USE THE ZIP-CODES TO CONTACT YOUR FRIENDS IN COMMITTEE MEMBERS' DISTRICTS Please scan your address books for (1) those friends and associates who live or work in or near any of the Committee members' districts, who might support such public access, and (2) those newspapers, reporters and editorial-page editors who cover or serve any of those districts. Please immediately email 'em, fax 'em or phone 'em and at least send 'em a copy of this missive with your comments urging that they act to contact their Assembly representatives demanding *modern* access to *modern* public records. EXCUSES/WHINES VOICED BY COMMITTEE OPPONENTS AT MONDAY'S HEARING These are the points you need to address with the committee members -- briefly and in your own words -- in one-page faxes and phone calls. 1. Not all political candidates have computers. But: The bill doesn't require computerized filings until a candidate receives at least $30,000 -- and Hayden was willing (as am I) to have that threshold raised to $50,000 or $75,000. And it's almost certain that the Treasurer (responsible for filing the finance disclosures) for a $50,000+ political campaign either has a computer, can borrow a computer, or can afford to rent time on one at Kinko's or the local computer store. Even Chairwoman Martinez admitted that her sister who was her Treasurer loaned her campaign the use of sis's computer. 2. Most candidates and Treasurers are not computer-literate. But: SB 758 mandates that the Secy of State's Office provide data-entry-and-filing software ("the electronic reporting process") to candidates, and "establish a training program on the electronic reporting process" for anyone interested in it. Additionally, candidates are welcome to use any other campaign software they may prefer (that creates computer files in a published, Secy-of-State-approved format). 3. The candidates might make mistakes in preparing computerized filings, and thus incur fines and political embarassment. But: In the very-unlikely event that they are preparing reports for a $50,000+ campaign by hand, they would be much *more* likely to make mistakes than if they were using a Secy-of-State-provided data-entry-and-reporting program or other proven campaign-filing software. 4. [The committee opponents were completely pre-occupied with possible inconvenience for the candidates. They ignored the inconvenience of access to campaign-disclosures for the voters! Torch 'em!, uh, politely.] 5. SB 758 will only make the information available to the minority of the public who uses computers; not to all of the public. But: Under the current paper system, the information is *only* available to those who go to the Secretary of State's Office in Sacramento, or the Registrar of Voters in San Francisco or Los Angeles -- the *only* places where all state-level disclosures are filed. And those special interests that can afford to pay $100s of dollars per *hour* to use the platinum-priced private information-providers of this data. Also: * In 1989, the Census Brueau reported that 37% of all adults and 46% of all students had regular daily contact with computers. * Reasonable estimates are that about 1.5-million Californians now have Internet access, usually without cost through work or school. * In the first several *weeks* of California's legislative information being available online, some Internet sites reported over 17,000 requests for it. * Internet hosts are being installed in more than 150 public libraries throughout the state, just in this year alone. * And finally, after all, California *is* SUPPOSED to be a leading high-tech state. Legislators should act like it. [Etc, etc. etc. -- flame at will!] PERSONAL ESTIMATE OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS (from multiple, knowledgable inputs) MARTINEZ was overheard saying she wasn't going to support the bill because Hayden didn't support some bill she was interested in on the Senate floor. Chair Martinez NEEDS to hear from EVERYONE - especially folks in her District! JOHNSON would probably have voted for the bill, but (1) he's one of the wee Republican minority, and (2) he never showed up for his Committee's meeting. He needs to be urged to (1) attend the Friday hearing, (2) support SB 758 and (3) personally request support from Republican Mountjoy. (Johnson is perhaps the most powerful Republican in the Assembly; Mountjoy would listen to him.) KLEHS needs to be TORCHED for his Monday vote against the public's interest -- especially by everyone in or near his District (north-east SF Bay Area). Fax and phone NOW! He needs to understand that far more than a million Californians now have access to the Internet, and we *want* access to our legislators' financial records. Now! MOUNTJOY needs to be sililarly ignited for his Monday vote against the public's right-to-know in this high-tech state. Better do it by phone to his Sacramento office, as well as by [possibly-ignored] fax to his District office, lest he fail to hear of faxes before his Friday vote. BUSTAMENTE could certainly use some praise for supporting the bill on Monday, and needs to be urged to continue his laudible support. Fax fast! BATES is already a solid and reliable supporter, but it's always nice for him to hear earned-praise from his constituents. (You can email to him via his staffer, Rachel Richman, rrichman@igc.apc.org .) &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& WARREN'S WHINE OF THE WEEK Week before last, I finished the Peninsula CivicNet Symposium that I was co-chairing. Last week, I visited Washingtoontown for as long as I could stand it. This week, I'm finding the top of my desk. Beginning next week, I will actually begin digging out from under three months of email -- or I'll have to find some other excuse for not responding. Phone-call for urgencies. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& "In every well-governed state, wealth is a sacred thing. In democracies it is the only sacred thing." -- Anatole France [ppjc@igc.apc.org ] Mo' as it Is. --jim Jim Warren, columnist for MicroTimes, Government Technology, BoardWatch, etc. 345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/415-851-2814 >> To join or drop the GovAccess list, email to jwarren@well.com . << >> Permission herewith granted for unlimited reposting and recirculation. <<