AB 583 -- CLEAN MONEY/FAIR ELECTIONS

January 6, 2006

AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, will be voted on in the Assembly Elections Committee next Tuesday, January 10. It needs your help now! Because it is a two-year bill, it must leave the Assembly, its house of origin, by the end of January. So we need to work FAST!

The League of Women Voters of California supports AB 583, legislation that would provide competitive public financing to legislative and statewide candidates who qualify by showing a broad base of support. The bill, authored by Assembly Member Loni Hancock, allows candidates to compete more equitably for public office.

The League has been working closely with the California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, the Greenlining Institute and other reform organizations on this approach to campaign finance reform for several years. This session's version of the bill has incorporated several concepts that were proposed by the League. It is based on the highly successful Clean Money systems in Arizona and Maine, which are allowing voters to take control of politics because voters, not special interests, pay for election campaigns.

Learn more about AB 583 at http://www.caclean.org/progress/legislation.php

The first vote on AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act, will be on January 10 in the Assembly Elections Committee.

ACTION NEEDED: Please call or fax Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and your own Assembly Member. Tell them how important it is to change the way we finance election campaigns. (Go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html for contact information.)

If your Assembly Member is on the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee (Tom Umberg, chair; Mark Wyland, vice chair; Johan Klehs, Mark Leno, Lloyd Levine, and Michael Villines), it is urgent that you phone your representative's district or state Capitol office and indicate strong support for Clean Money before the hearing on January 10. If you see this alert at night or on the weekend, please call and leave a message. Then call again on Monday, January 9 "to make sure they got the message." Remember, the Elections Committee vote is on January 10, so time is of the essence!

As an individual, you can also sign the online petition for AB 583. It will be used to show Sacramento leaders how many people want public financing for California: http://www.caclean.org/petition/

POINTS TO MAKE:

-- Please vote yes on AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act.

-- Clean Money works in Arizona and Maine, and California needs it too.

-- Clean money increased both voter turnout and confidence in their government in Arizona and Maine.

-- A Clean Money system lets new people with good ideas run for office.

-- Elected officials don't have to worry that voters and the press will second-guess their votes based on who contributed to their election campaign.

-- Clean Money is popular with voters -- in Arizona 67% of voters approve of their Clean Money system.

-- Clean Money helps candidates spend time talking with voters, rather than having to concentrate on talking to donors.

-- 96 percent of Clean Money candidates in Maine said they were satisfied with the Clean Money system.

LEAGUE POSITION: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the methods of financing political campaigns should ensure the public's right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office and allow maximum citizen participation in the political process.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Donna Chipps, Campaign Financing Off-Board Program Director, cf@lwvc.org

KEEP US INFORMED: Send an e-mail to advocacy@lwvc.org to let us know what action you have taken and any responses you receive.