(a) A committee primarily formed to support or oppose a state ballot measure or state candidate that raises one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more for an election shall maintain an accurate list of the committee’s top 10 contributors, as specified by Commission regulations. A current list of the top 10 contributors shall be provided to the Commission for disclosure on the Commission’s Internet Web site, as provided in subdivision (c).
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the list of top 10 contributors shall identify the names of the 10 persons who have made the largest cumulative contributions to the committee, the total amount of each person’s contributions, the city and state of the person, the person’s committee identification number, if any, and any other information deemed necessary by the Commission. If any of the top 10 contributors identified on the list are committees pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013, the Commission may require, by regulation, that the list also identify the top 10 contributors to those contributing committees.
(2) (A) A committee primarily formed to support or oppose a state ballot measure shall count the cumulative amount of contributions received by the committee from a person for the period beginning 12 months prior to the date the committee made its first expenditure to qualify, support, or oppose the measure and ending with the current date.
(B) A committee primarily formed to support or oppose a state candidate shall count the cumulative amount of contributions received by the committee from a person for the primary and general elections combined.
(3) The aggregation rules of Section 85311 and any implementing regulations adopted by the Commission shall apply in identifying the persons who have made the top 10 cumulative contributions to a committee.
(4) A person who makes contributions to a committee in a cumulative amount of less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall not be identified or disclosed as a top 10 contributor to a committee pursuant to this section.
(c) (1) The Commission shall adopt regulations to govern the manner in which the Commission shall display top 10 contributor lists provided by a committee that is subject to this section, and the Commission shall post the top 10 contributor lists on its Internet Web site in the manner prescribed by those regulations. The Commission shall provide the top 10 contributor lists to the Secretary of State, upon the request of the Secretary of State, for the purpose of additionally posting the contributor lists on the Secretary of State’s Internet Web site.
(2) A committee shall provide an updated top 10 contributor list to the Commission when any of the following occurs:
(A) A new person qualifies as a top 10 contributor to the committee.
(B) A person who is an existing top 10 contributor makes additional contributions to the committee.
(C) A change occurs that alters the relative ranking order of the top 10 contributors.
(3) The 10 persons who have made the largest cumulative contributions to a committee shall be listed in order from largest contribution amount to smallest amount. If two or more contributors of identical amounts meet the threshold for inclusion in the list of top 10 contributors, the order of disclosure shall be made beginning with the most recent contributor of that amount.
(4) The Commission shall post or update a top 10 contributor list within five business days or, during the 16 days before the election, within 48 hours of a contributor qualifying for the list or of any change to the list.
(d) In listing the top 10 contributors, a committee shall use reasonable efforts to identify and state the actual individuals or corporations that are the true sources of the contributions made to the committee from other persons or committees.
(e) In addition to any other lists that the Commission is required to post on its Internet Web site, the Commission shall compile, maintain, and display on its Internet Web site a current list of the top 10 contributors supporting and opposing each state ballot measure, as prescribed by Commission regulations.
(Added by Stats. 2014, Ch. 16, Sec. 7. (SB 27) Effective May 14, 2014. Operative July 1, 2014, by Stats. 2014, Ch. 16, Sec. 10.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018