(a) A publicly funded nonprofit organization that makes contributions or expenditures, either directly or through the control of another entity, shall establish and deposit into a separate bank account all funds that will be used to make contributions and expenditures, and those contributions and expenditures shall come from that separate bank account.
(b) In addition to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 84222, a publicly funded nonprofit organization is a recipient committee within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 82013 if any of the following occur:
(1) It makes contributions or expenditures totaling fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more related to statewide candidates or ballot measures or makes contributions or expenditures totaling two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more related to local candidates or ballot measures, either directly or through the control of another entity, during the prior quarter.
(2) By January 31 of each odd-numbered year, it makes contributions or expenditures totaling one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more related to statewide candidates or ballot measures or makes contributions or expenditures totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more related to local candidates or ballot measures, either directly or through the control of another entity, during the previous two years.
(c) If a publicly funded nonprofit organization qualifies as a recipient committee pursuant to subdivision (b), it shall comply with the registration and reporting requirements of Section 84222.
(d) Each publicly funded nonprofit organization that makes contributions or expenditures, either directly or through the control of another entity, shall provide to the Commission, and display on the organization’s Internet Web site, the information it is required to disclose under this section. The information shall be clearly described and identified on a separate Internet Web page that is linked from the homepage of the organization’s Internet Web site. The link to this Internet Web page from the homepage shall be as visible as all similar links.
(e) The Commission may require an audit of a publicly funded nonprofit organization that is required to provide records to the Commission pursuant to this section. The Commission shall require an audit of any publicly funded nonprofit organization that makes contributions or expenditures in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in a calendar year. The publicly funded nonprofit organization shall provide records to the Commission to substantiate the information required to be disclosed by this section.
(f) If the Commission determines at the conclusion of an audit that a publicly funded nonprofit organization has violated this section, the Commission, the Attorney General, or the district attorney for the county in which the organization is domiciled may impose a civil fine upon the organization in an amount up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation.
(g) The definitions in subdivision (b) of Section 54964.5 apply to this section.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 825, Sec. 3. (AB 2318) Effective January 1, 2017.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018