A Message to All IGA Members About SB 459 Now on the Assembly Floor
●IGA has led the opposition to SB 459 for a year-and-a-half since its introduction in 2021.
●IGA, and a very small coalition of opponents, has secured extensive mitigating amendments to the worst features found in the earliest versions of the bill. And, the operation of this bill – should it pass and be signed into law – is conditioned on the certification of an electronic reporting system certified by the Secretary of State as capable of handling the remaining changes proposed in SB 459. As you know, the Secretary of State recently completely scrapped a reporting replacement system that had been in the works for years, and now starts from scratch on development of, and procurement for, a new system.
●IGA remains philosophically opposed to the bill and its position reflects that – the organization believes there is full and timely lobbying and lobbying payment activity disclosure already in place – with the bill sufficiently watered down, we will not be pursuing a Floor action.
●SB 459 is a 2/3 Vote bill. It has been amended (8/15/22) and must remain in print for 12 Days in final form prior to passage because it amends the Political Reform Act.
●IGA and opponents secured the deletion of all the Lobbyist and Lobbyist Employer reporting of bill positions in the final 60-days of each legislative year.
●IGA effectively secured the deletion of a constitutionally defective proposal to require disclosure of amounts contracted “to be paid” by Lobbyist Employers, rather than disclosure of amounts actually paid to and received by a Lobbyist as is current law.
●There is, as of yet, no Secretary of State cost estimate to produce a system that responds to the necessary forms production and electronic disclosure requirements of SB 459, even with the bill conditioned on SoS certification of a capable system sometime in the future.
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Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions regarding our work on SB 459.
Board of Directors
Institute of Governmental Advocates
