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Frequently Asked Questions
Campaign FAQ’s
Lobbying FAQ’s
General FAQ’s
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Campaign FAQ's
Q: What is the dollar
amount or threshold that would trigger the duty to electronically
file campaign statements?
If a filer has raised or spent a cumulative amount of $50,000
or more, the filer is required to file electronically.This figure
includes monetary and non-monetary contributions as well as
loans received, when calculating contributions received, and
loans made, accrued expenses, and all cash payments as well
as contributions or independent expenditures made when calculating
expenditures.
Q: What is the aggregation or cumulation period for determining
the $50,000 electronic filing threshold?
State major donor and independent expenditure committees must
file electronically if they make expenditures of $50,000 or
more in a calendar year. All other state filers must file electronically
if they receive contributions or payments of $50,000 or more,
or make expenditures of $50,000 or more since 1/1/2000.
Q: What campaign entities are subject to electronic filing
requirements?
Providing that the $50,000 campaign electronic thresholds specified
below are met, the following entities are subject to electronic
filing requirements:
- All statewide, legislative, Board of Equalization, appellate
court, Supreme Court, and PERS Board candidates and officeholders,
as well as their controlled committees, including committees
primarily formed to support or oppose such candidates or
officeholders;
- All state measure committees that are primarily formed
to support or oppose a state initiative, referendum or recall;
- All state PAC’s or general purpose recipient committees
(which includes party committees and small contributor committees);
- All state major donor and state independent expenditure
committees;
- All state slate mailer organizations; and
- Any person who makes a payment of $50,000 for an “issue-advocacy”
communication that identifies a candidate for an elective
state or statewide office but does not expressly advocate
the election or defeat of that candidate.
Q: What campaign statements and reports are required to be
filed electronically?
Once a filer has met the filing threshold that mandates electronic
filing, all subsequent reports for that filer must be filed
electronically and on paper, regardless of the amount or level
of activity in any future report. Reports filed pursuant to
Chapter 4, Title 9 of the Government Code are covered by this
electronic filing requirement.
Q: If a filer is subject to electronic filing, will paper
copies still be required to be filed with the Secretary of State
as well as appropriate local filing officials? Will the original
and one copy continue to be required to be filed with the Secretary
of State?
Yes, although at some point in the future the paper filing requirement
will be eliminated at the state level.
Q: Are all controlled committees of a state candidate or
officeholder included or aggregated together (rather than cumulated
individually) to determine whether the candidate has met the
electronic filing dollar threshold for cumulative receipts or
expenditures?
Yes. All disclosure statements for all committees controlled
by the same person are aggregated together. The electronic qualifying
threshold is determined by adding all cumulative receipts or
all cumulative expenditures across all controlled committees.
Q: Are all controlled committees of a state candidate or
officeholder subject to electronic filing?
Yes. Once a state candidate or state officeholder is subject
to electronic filing, all his/her controlled committees must
file electronically regardless of the purpose or level of activity.
A state officeholder who runs for a local office (or a local
officeholder who runs for a state office) must file all applicable
state and local controlled committees’ reports electronically
with the Secretary of State’s Political Reform Division.
Q: Once a filer has met the qualifying activity threshold,
would a filer ever be required to electronically file any statements
or amendments retroactively?
No. But all future reports (and amendments to those future reports)
must be filed electronically.
Q: Since state major donors and state independent expenditure
committees do not file pre-election statements, what is the
first electronic filing deadline for such filers?
Whatever report takes the aggregate total of the filer’s activity
to $50,000 or more in a calendar year must be filed electronically,
such as a late contribution or independent expenditure report,
the special quarterly report, or a semi-annual statement.
Q: If I do not meet the qualifying activity threshold, can
I electronically file campaign statements with the Secretary
of State on a voluntary basis at any time?
Yes. Any filer who is required to file disclosure statements
or reports with the Secretary of State may voluntarily file
these statements electronically. However, once a candidate or
committee files electronically, the filer will incur ongoing
electronic filing requirements and must file all subsequent
reports electronically pursuant to Government Code Section 84605
(f) & (g). This law prevents non-mandated electronic state filers
from selecting which disclosure statements and reports to electronically
file and which to withhold from public disclosure on the web.
Selectively filing late contribution reports, for example, could
be misleading and defeat the purpose of full and accurate disclosure.
Q: When is the electronic report for contributions received
of $5,000 or more filed?
This electronic-only report must be filed within 10 business
days of receiving $5,000 or more beyond or before the beginning
of the 90-day state election cycle. This report only applies
to state or statewide candidates/officeholders and state ballot
measure committees that have met the $50,000 electronic filing
threshold.
Q: When is the 90-day election-cycle electronic report for
contributions received of $1,000 or more filed?
This electronic-only report must be filed within 24 hours of
receiving contributions of $1,000 or more during the 90 days
before a state election. This 90-day filing requirement only
applies to state or statewide candidates/officeholders and state
ballot measure committees that have met the $50,000 electronic
filing threshold.
Q: When is the 90-day election-cycle electronic report disclosing
the making of independent expenditures of $1,000 or more filed?
This electronic-only report must be filed within 24 hours of
making independent expenditures of $1,000 or more to support
or oppose a candidate for elective state/statewide office or
a state ballot measure during the 90 days before a state election.
This report only applies to state committees that have met the
$50,000 electronic filing threshold.
Q: When is the online issue advocacy report filed?
This online-only report must be filed within 48 hours of making
a payment of $50,000 or more for an “issue-advocacy” communication
that clearly identifies a candidate for an elective state or
statewide office, but does not expressly advocate the election
or defeat of that candidate. This report only applies to persons
who make “issue advocacy communications” of $50,000 or more
within 45 days of a state election. This report is filed by
logging onto the Secretary of State web site (https://cafile.ss.ca.gov/e530/login.asp)
and completing the form and submitting it on line.
Q: If a late contribution report or a late independent expenditure
report is filed electronically during the 16 days immediately
preceding an election, is it necessary to file another paper
copy by fax, personal delivery or guaranteed overnight mail?
State/statewide candidates and state ballot measure committees,
which electronically report the receipt of contributions of
$1,000 or more during the 90 days before a state election, and
state committees, which electronically report independent expenditures
of $1,000 or more during the 90 days before a state election,
are not required to file an additional paper or faxed copy of
a late contribution report or late independent expenditure report
during the 16 days prior to a state election because the 90-day
report overlaps and replaces the 16-day late report.
Q: How are payments to a spokesperson, who appears in advertisements
for ballot measures, disclosed?
A committee that pays an individual $5,000 or more to appear
in an advertisement, which supports or opposes a ballot measure
or its qualification, must file a Form 511 - Paid Spokesperson
Report within 10 days of the expenditure. This report is filed
by any recipient or major donor committee and shall identify
the state or local measure, including the name, number or letter,
and jurisdiction of the measure supported or opposed in the
advertisement, the date of the expenditure, the name of the
individual who was paid $5,000 or more to appear in the advertisement,
and the amount of the expenditure.
Lobbying FAQ's
Q: As a lobbying entity,
how do I know if I have a requirement to electronically file
my lobbying reports?
Entities including a) lobbying firms; b) lobbyist employers;
c) lobbyists; d) lobbying coalitions; and e) all other persons
who spend $5,000 or more to influence legislative or state agency
administrative action who meet the threshold requirements listed
below are only required to file their disclosure reports electronically.
However registration documents must still be filed both electronically
and on paper.
Q: What specific lobbying reports am I required to file electronically?
Once a filer reaches the $5,000 threshold that triggers electronic
filing, all subsequent filings are required to be filed electronically.
These reports include those filed by lobbyist employers, lobbying
coalitions, lobbying firms, and persons spending $5,000 or more
to influence legislative or administrative action.
Q: If I am required to file electronically, am I still required
to file paper copies with the Secretary of State? Are both the
original and one paper copy still required to be filed?
If you are a qualified lobbying e-filer whose payments made
or received exceed $5,000 in a calendar quarter, you need only
file the required quarterly disclosure reports electronically
(or online). However, all lobbying registration documents must
still be filed both electronically and by paper (an original
and one copy).
Q: Once I have met the qualifying activity threshold, would
I ever be required to electronically file any reports retroactively?
No, but all future reports must be filed electronically.
Q: If I do not meet the qualifying activity threshold, can
I electronically file lobbying reports with the Secretary of
State on a voluntary basis at any time?
Yes. You may voluntarily file electronic lobbying reports through
an approved electronical filing vendor or online at any time.
You will need to get a logon password and ID from the Secretary
of State in order to electronically file. The application for
obtaining these passwords and ID's is on the Secretary of State’s
web site at www.sos.ca.gov/prd/electronic_filing_info.htm.
However, once you file electronically, all subsequent reports
must be filed electronically.
Q: What is my first deadline to file electronically?
Assuming that you have met the $5,000 activity threshold, the
report is due 30 days after the close of the quarter in which
the qualifying activity occurred. Filing deadline dates are
April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.
Q: Do lobbyists incur separate electronic filing obligations?
No. Lobbyists file their required Form 615 as an attachment
to either the report of lobbyist employer (Form 635) or lobbying
firm (Form 625) (See Gov. Code §86114 (a) (4) and Gov. Code
§86116 (e)). As a result, if a lobbyist employer or lobbying
firm is required to file electronically, it also must file any
attached Form 615's electronically.
Q: Do the clients of a lobbying firm incur separate electronic
filing obligations?
When a lobbying firm incurs electronic filing obligations, the
clients of such a firm do not automatically incur separate electronic
filing obligations. Rather, the client must qualify on its own
by meeting the dollar activity threshold for that quarter before
incurring separate electronic filing obligations apart from
the firm. Once qualified, the electronic filing obligation is
on-going.
Q: Must a lobbying firm or employer count contributions previously
disclosed on their major donor or sponsored PAC campaign statement
toward the qualifying dollar threshold for purposes of determining
the firm’s or employer’s electronic filing duties?
It depends on whether the information has already been reported
on a campaign statement on file with the Secretary of State.
If a lobbying firm or lobbyist employer is a major donor or
has a sponsored committee, and if all the campaign contributions
made by the lobbying firm or lobbyist employer were already
disclosed, then the total amount of the campaign contributions
previously disclosed are not required to be itemized on the
lobbying firm’s or lobbyist employer’s quarterly report and,
therefore, don't trigger electronic filing requirements. Conversely,
contributions which have not previously been reported, and which
are required to be itemized on the lobbying report are still
counted toward the qualifying dollar or activity threshold for
electronic filing.
Q: If a firm or employer does not meet the $5,000 threshold
for electronic filing, are reports still required to be filed
on paper?
Yes, absolutely. The filing requirements and schedules have
not changed. Electronic filing is simply a new, additional way
of filing.
General FAQ's:
Q: What is electronic
filing?
Although there are many views of what is considered an electronic
transmission, the Secretary of State considers a document to
have been electronically filed if it successfully comes in through
the available port using a TCP/IP method of uploading into the
specified filing server. The filed document must be in the Secretary
of State’s current version of the Cal Format. (You can find
a copy of the current version of the format at www.sos.ca.gov/prd/electronic_filing_info.htm).
Note: The following methods are not considered nor accepted
as electronic filing with our office: fax, email, floppy diskettes
or CD’s.
Q: Where on your web site can I look up my I.D. number?
Once an I.D. number has been issued, you can look it up on the Cal-Access website at http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/default.aspx . Simply start by clicking in the Cal-Access "search field" at the upper left-hand portion of the screen, type in the name you would like to look up and click "go". A page will then show the results with the name and its assigned I.D. number.
Q: Who should I contact if I have a question or concern?
You should always first contact the electronic filing vendor
that provides you with your filing software. If your filing
vendor cannot assist you with your questions or concerns, you
should next contact the Secretary of State. Depending on the
nature of your question, Secretary of State staff will determine
who can best respond to your needs. Please call the Political
Reform Division at (916) 653-6224 and explain your problem.
Your question will then be assigned to the appropriate person.
Q: Who should I contact if my electronic filing is being
rejected?
If your problem has to do with your electronic filing being
rejected and your vendor is not able to correct your filing,
please call the Cal Online Help Desk at 1-877-745-3453.
Copyright ©2000 California Secretary of State. Privacy
Statement
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