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- Wrote Landmark Ethics Law: Jerry Brown wrote and passed the landmark California Political Reform Act which introduced the nation's toughest disclosure and campaign finance laws. The unprecedented legislation also established strict new ethical guidelines for conflict of interest law and required more lobbyist reporting.
- Sued Against Big Corporations for Failing to Disclose Campaign Donations: Brown personally argued before the California Supreme Court, the case of Brown v. Superior Court, 5 C.3rd 509 (Aug. 19, 1971). The case involved Proposition 18 on the 1970 ballot and the failure of three major oil companies to report $85,000 in campaign donations.
- Required Secretary of State to Publish Lobbyist Statements: Brown required the secretary of state to publish lobbyist registration statements, instead of the Legislature.
- Required Campaign Advertising Transparency: Brown required labels for all paid political advertisements in newspapers.
Ethics Reform
- Eliminated Reporting Exemptions: Brown removed exemptions which previously allowed politicians to avoid reporting their campaign contributions.
- Extended State and Local Officials' Financial Disclosure: Brown extended the financial disclosure provisions of the Political Reform Act to additional state and local officials.
- Expanded Expenditure Committee Reporting Requirements: Brown expanded the campaign reporting laws to require reporting by independent expenditure committees.
- Required Campaign Committee Audits: Brown created a system for mandatory audits of all political campaign committees.
- Tightened Campaign Contribution Laws: Brown tightened campaign contribution laws by prohibiting politicians from accepting contributions of $250 or more from people who have business before state boards or commissions.
- Expanded Campaign Finance Disclosures: Brown signed a major expansion of campaign finance disclosures by requiring more thorough reporting of independent committees and tightening many other reporting requirements
- Enacted Stricter Campaign Loan Rules: Brown enacted a stricter rule for the reporting of loans to political campaigns.
Campaign Finance
- Increased Open Meetings: Brown broadened the state open-meeting law.
Open Meetings and Records
Promoted Open Records: Brown mandated open access to records in the Legislature and Governor's office. Brown also signed a bill increasing the number of available public records in the Governor's office, courts and Legislature.
Recent Endorsements
