OKAY I'M GONNA CALL THIS MEETING
TO ORDER GOOD MORNING AND
WELCOME TO THE JANUARY 10TH 2024
HEARING OF THE ASSEMBLY
ELECTIONS COMMITTEE. BEFORE WE
PROCEED. LET'S CALL THE ROLL AND
ESTABLISHED A QUORUM. LAURIE
THANK YOU, HALLORAN. HERE HERE.
BLACKIE. JANET. IT'S HERE,
FURMAN BONTA. A DAILY. HELLO.
HELLO HERE, WEBER HERE WHEREVER
HERE WE HAVE A QUORUM. WONDERFUL
FOR THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S
HEARING. ALL WITNESS TESTIMONY
WILL BE IN PERSON. THE COMMITTEE
HAS ONE ITEM ON ITS AGENDA.
THERE IS NOTHING ON CONSENT. WE
WILL HAVE A MAXIMUM OF TWO
PRIMARY WITNESSES AND SUPPORT
AND TO PRIMARY WITNESSES AND
OPPOSITION OF THE BILL WITH A
LIMIT OF TWO MINUTES PER
WITNESS. SO OTHER WITNESSES ARE
LIMITED TO PROVIDING THEIR NAME
THEIR ORGANIZATION THEY
REPRESENT, IF ANY, AND THE THEIR
POSITION ON THE BILL. ADDITIONAL
COMMENTS WILL BE RULED OUT OF
ORDER. BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE
AGENDA. I HAVE AN ADDITIONAL
ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE. WE HAVE
BEEN INFORMED THAT
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S SALLY IS UNABLE
TO ATTEND TODAY'S HEARING, AND
THAT VACANCY HAS NOT BEEN
FILLED. WITH THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS
OUT OF THE WAY WE WILL NOW MOVE
ON TO THE COMMITTEE'S AGENDA.
THE ONLY ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A
B 1170 BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S
VALENCIA ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S THANK
YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. YOU
MAY PRESENT YOUR BILL.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND WHEN
I WAS A S COMMITTEE MEMBERS, A B
1170 WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR
INDIVIDUALS TO FILE THEIR
STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS
, ALSO KNOWN AS THEIR FORM SEVEN
HUNDREDS AS ELECTED OFFICIALS
WERE ALL AWARE OF THAT FORM.
THANK YOU TO TRIPLE CHAIR.
PELLERIN ALSO THE COMMITTEE TEAM
FOR THEIR DILIGENCE ON THIS
BILL. SINCE JANUARY 2017, THE
FAIR PRESS POLITICAL PRACTICES
COMMISSION HAS OPERATED AND
MAINTAINED AN ELECTRONIC FILING
SYSTEM PERFORMS SEVEN HUNDREDS.
FILING THROUGH THE E FILING
SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY VOLUNTARY,
AND THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS
HAVE SUCCESSFULLY FATHER FORMED
700 THROUGH THE FILING SYSTEM.
FINANCE SUBMITTED BY PAPER
REQUIRE MORE STAFF TIME. AS
THESE FILINGS MUST BE MANUALLY
PROCESSED. PAPER FILINGS CAN
ALSO INCLUDE MORE AND
INADVERTENT ERRORS, WHICH
REQUIRES STAFF TIME FOR OUTREACH
AND CORRECTIONS. IN ADDITION TO
CREATING EFFICIENCIES FOR THE
BBC AND SAVING THE STATE
RESOURCES E FILING HAS ALL HAS
OTHER BENEFITS AS WELL. FILING
ELECTRONICALLY IS MORE
CONVENIENT. AND ONCE THE FILE IS
INFORMATION IS SAVED SECURELY ON
THE SYSTEM, THEN TYPICALLY, THE
FATHER ONLY NEEDS TO ADD OR EDIT
NEW INFORMATION. SINCE THE LAST
FILING. A B 1170 BALANCES
IMPORTANT NEED FOR PUBLIC
TRANSPARENCY WITH POTENTIAL
SAFETY CONCERNS BY EXPANDING THE
REDACTION PROVISIONS IN EXISTING
LAW TO ADDITIONALLY PROTECT THE
CONFIDENTIALITY OF SENSITIVE
INFORMATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES. THE BILL WILL ALSO
PROMOTE EFFICIENCY BY ALLOWING
OTHER STATEMENTS AND REPORTS
UNDER THE POLITICAL REFORM ACT.
THAT ARE FILED BY PAPER TO BE
RETAINED UNDER AN ELECTRONIC
COPY. BY SHIFTING TO A FOUR USE
ABOUT URBAN ELECTRONIC FILING
SYSTEM AND ALLOW ELECTRONIC
ATTENTION OF OTHER FILINGS. A B
1170 WILL HELP TO MODERNIZE THE
STATE'S PROCESSES, INCREASED
AGENCY EFFICIENCY AND
STREAMLINED THE FILING PROCESS
OF SWARM SEVERAL HUNDREDS WITH
ME TODAY I HAVE THIS LINDSAY
CANO, SENIOR LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
AT THE FAIR POLITICAL ACT ACTION
PRACTICES COMMISSION TO GIVE
TESTIMONY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S VALENCIA AND
GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR AND
MEMBERS AGAIN. I'M LINDSAY
MCCONNELL, SENIOR LEGISLATIVE
COUNSEL WITH THE F PPC
STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS
, ALSO KNOWN AS FORMS. SEVEN.
HUNDREDS ARE CRUCIAL INSTRUMENTS
FOR TRANSPARENCY IN THE CONTEXT
OF FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF
INTEREST THAT MAY ARISE DURING
THE GOVERNMENTAL DECISION MAKING
PROCESS. THOUSANDS OF
INDIVIDUALS FILE FORM SEVEN
HUNDREDS WITH THE COMMISSION
EACH YEAR. AND SINCE 2017. THE
COMMISSION HAS MAINTAINED A VERY
SUCCESSFUL ELECTRONIC FILING
SYSTEM, UH, THAT MANY FILERS
HAVE OPTED TO USE OVER THE
YEARS. MAYBE 1170 WOULD COMPLETE
THE TRANSITION FROM PAPER TO
ELECTRONIC FILING ABOUT
REQUIRING USERS TO FILE THEIR
FORM 700 THROUGH THE
COMMISSION'S E FILING SYSTEM.
THE BILL WOULD REDUCE THE
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN OF
PROCESSING, SCANNING AND
MANUALLY RID ACTING PAPER
FILINGS AND WOULD ALSO
STREAMLINED THE PROCESS FOR
FILERS. THANK YOU TO THIS
COMMITTEE FOR YOUR TIME AND
ATTENTION TODAY. THANK YOU. SO
MUCH MEMBER OF VALENCIA FOR YOUR
LEADERSHIP AND YOUR STEWARDSHIP
OF THIS BILL, I RESPECTFULLY ASK
FOR I VOTE. WE HAVE A MOTION AND
A SECOND. THANK YOU. THERE WAS A
MOTION BY BERMAN AND SECOND
BITE. CERVANTES. RIGHT. OKAY.
THANK YOU. UM SO THANK YOU. UM
WE NOW WILL MOVE ON TO THE
PRIMARY WITNESSES AND SUPPORT AS
A REMINDER. EACH PRIMARY WITNESS
HAS A MAXIMUM OF TWO MINUTES. IS
THERE ANYONE HERE IN THE ROOM?
YES. COME ON. JUST BRIEFLY,
MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS MATTHEW
CYBERLINK ON BEHALF OF THE
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF CLERKS
AND ELECTION OFFICIALS IN
SUPPORT OF THE BILL. THANK THE
AUTHOR FOR HIS DILIGENT WORK ON
THIS AND CONTINUING HIS EFFORT
INTO THE SECOND YEAR, THE TWO
YEARS SESSION AND WE HOPE TO SEE
IT PASSED THIS COMMITTEE. THANK
YOU. HMM. ANYONE ELSE IN SUPPORT
HERE IN THE ROOM? SEE NONE. WE
WILL NOW MOVE ON TO, UM ANYONE
WHO IS AN OPPOSITION TO THE
BILL. PLEASE COME FORWARD. YES,
YOU CAN SIT DOWN. GOOD MORNING.
MEMBERS OF THE CHAIR. MY NAME IS
CYNTHIA VALENCIA. I AM A
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCATE WITH THE A
C L U CALIFORNIA ACTION. WE ARE
IN BETWEEN ON THIS BILL. WE ARE
NOT FORMAL OPPOSITION. WE REALLY
HAVE APPRECIATED THE
CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH THE
AUTHOR'S OFFICE. UM WE JUST HAVE
SOME TRANSPARENCY CONCERNS ABOUT
AN EXTREMELY NARROW PART OF THE
BILL REGARDING TRANSPARENCY. THE
BILL AS CURRENTLY WRITTEN, THERE
IS A PART THAT IT WOULD
AUTOMATICALLY REDACT ESSENTIALLY
ALL OF THE INFORMATION. UM THAT
IS THAT WOULD BE FILED IN THE
FORM 700. WE HAVE A LOT OF
CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, BUSINESS
ADDRESSES AND ALL REAL PROPERTY
INTERESTS BEING AUTOMATICALLY
REDACTED SO AS CURRENTLY WRITTEN
FORM WOULD IMMEDIATELY ONCE HE
FILED BE REDACTED FOR THE PUBLIC
TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT
INFORMATION. SO WE LOOK FORWARD
TO FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH
THE AUTHOR SO THAT WE CAN
MAINTAIN THE PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY
AND ACHIEVED THE MAIN GOALS OF
THE BILL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. ARE THERE ANY OTHER
WITNESSES WHO WOULD LIKE TO
REGISTER YOUR OPPOSITION OR IN
BETWEEN ON THE BILL? SEEN IN,
MOVE IT BACK TO THE COMMITTEE
HERE. UM, ANY OF THE MEMBERS
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO OKAY,
WELL, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A
SECOND AND, UM, CERTAINLY
REQUIRING STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC
INTERESTS THAT ARE FILED WITH
THE VPC WILL BE FILED.
ELECTRONIC LEE IS A REASONABLE
WAY TO MODERNIZE THE FILING
PROCESS. I DID THAT MYSELF AS A
COUNTY CLERK WHEN I WAS SERVING
IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, AND IT WAS
AMAZING TO HAVE THAT EFFICIENCY
IN THE OFFICE. SO I REALLY DO
APPRECIATE THAT. I ALSO BELIEVE
THAT THE EXPANDED REDUCTION
REQUIREMENTS IN THE BILL ARE
IMPORTANT TO ENSURE FILERS,
PRIVACY AND SAFETY. I LIKE TO
SHARE THAT THAT WHILE FILLING
OUT THE FORM 700 I EXPERIENCED A
TECHNICAL ISSUE. THE FORM
INCLUDED PRE POPULATED DATES
THAT WERE INCORRECT AND CANNOT
BE CHANGED ON THE FORUM. AND I
UNDERSTAND THAT THE PPC THAT
THIS DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN YOU'RE
FILING ELECTRONICALLY, BUT
HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE A
COMMITMENT FROM THE PPC THAT YOU
WILL FIX THIS PROBLEM IN THE
FUTURE FOR ANY PAPER FILERS, SO
WITH THAT I AM RECOMMENDING A
SUPPORT POSITION DO PASS AND RE
REFERRED TO APPROPRIATIONS
COMMITTEE. GO AHEAD AND CALL THE
VOTE. THE MOTION IS DO PASS AND
BE REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON
APPROPRIATIONS. PELLERIN HELEN.
I LACKEY LUCKY I. BENNETT
BENNETT. I BERMAN BERMAN, I
CERVANTES CERVANTES, I SALLY LOW
LOW I WEBER WHOEVER I. 77
MEASURE PASSES 70 THANK YOU ALL
FOR SHOWING UP THIS MORNING.
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY I ADJOURN.
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU.