Ed Tabacco: Disclose Act will tell us who is behind propositions
We must support the California Disclose Act AB 700. On April 29, 129 people from all over California, including some from the Modesto area, were in Sacramento to testify in support of AB 700 – the California Disclose Act, authored by Jimmy Gomez, D-Los Angeles, and Marc Levine, D-San Rafael. If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, it will require the three largest funders of ballot-measure ads (two largest for radio ads and robocalls) to be clearly identified so voters will know who is truly paying for them.
A 2013 poll of California voters found that 84 percent favored legislation to increase public disclosure of funding sources in initiative campaigns, so it’s not the voters but the members of the Senate and Assembly who we have to worry about. Many will be influenced by the companies, millionaires and unions that do not want full disclosure. Contact your state Assembly member and senator and tell them you expect them to vote for this bill.
Ed Tabacco, Riverbank
This story was originally published May 4, 2015 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Ed Tabacco: Disclose Act will tell us who is behind propositions."