By Trent Lange
California Clean Money Campaign
Last week, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee voted AB 1148, the California DISCLOSE Act, to the Assembly floor for a full vote next Tuesday, January 31st. Coming two days before the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s infamous Citizens United decision that unleashed unlimited anonymous spending on campaigns across the country, the vote moves forward a bill that would shine a spotlight on political spending so voters know who is behind the ads they’re seeing.
Over $235 million was spent on ballot measures in 2010, almost all of it by veiled actors hiding behind innocuous-sounding names that deliberately mislead voters about who is paying for them. Independent expenditures have increased more than 6,000% since 2000. It will come as no surprise that a recent study by the New York City Public Advocate showed that such anonymous spending groups are significantly more likely to fund negative advertisements.
