Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a state Senate bill into law Friday that will require online political image and banner advertisements to clearly show their top funders on the ad itself.
Senate Bill 1360, the Disclosure Clarity Act, will be the first law in the country to require this in political advertisements. It will also require formatting changes to make the top three funders of television and video ad disclosures much more readable.
"People shouldn't have to pause their TVs or computers, squint, or run to the kitchen for their reading glasses to determine who is funding political ads," said Sen. Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana), the bill's author. "Transparency in our political process is more important than ever and voters deserve to be treated respectfully."
"Gov. Newsom's signature of the groundbreaking Disclosure Clarity Act and Ballot DISCLOSE Act will help ensure Californians are the most informed voters in the nation, no matter how lopsided the campaign spending," said Trent Lange, president of the non-partisan California Clean Money Campaign. "Every Californian who cares about fairness in democracy owes a debt of gratitude to Gov. Newsom, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, Senators Ben Allen, Henry Stern, and Tom Umberg, and to all the other leaders in the California Legislature who helped them pass."
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