Lawmakers want to close loophole for political campaigns that pay influencers
The Legislature wants to more stringently enforce rules requiring disclosure when political campaigns pay influencers to promote a ballot measure or person running for office.
Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, introduced legislation Friday that would require campaigns to say when they pay influencers to promote their cause online. It’s designed to close a loophole in a 2023 law from Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Villa Park, that only mandates influencers to do so.
Influencers, people with large online followings, played a significant role in boosting both Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra and his rival Tom Steyer in the governor’s race leading up to the June 2 primary.
Berman’s bill, Assembly Bill 1130, would tighten existing law by requiring both parties to disclose when money has been exchanged to promote a candidate or initiative. Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, is a co-sponsor.
The bill would also require campaigns to more clearly state when and how much they’ve paid influencers in state filings by making them label such disbursements as “third party social media posts,” rather than online or digital communications.
It would also levy administrative penalties on both the poster and campaign for failure to disclose under the Fair Political Practices Act of 1974.
Steyer, who broke records for hosting the most expensive self-funded campaign in state history, paid influencers to post videos hyping him up on social media, while Becerra hired influencer Jay Gonzalez as a digital strategist.
While both campaigns disclosed their payments, the people they paid sometimes did not reveal they had been paid, leading Becerra and Steyer to trade ethics complaints back and forth.
Becerra advanced out of the primary earlier this month and will face Republican Steve Hilton in the Nov. 3 general election.
Berman’s bill, which was first reported by Politico, will now advance to the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments.
