Political Reform Act of 1974: filing deadlines: emergency situations

Emergencies can disrupt required financial-disclosure filings and trigger $10-per-day late penalties. The law creates limited deadline relief while protecting pre-election campaign-reporting timelines.

What the law does ​

• Authorizes the Fair Political Practices Commission to extend Political Reform Act filing deadlines for people living in an area affected by a declared emergency when it is reasonably likely to impair timely filing.
• Limits an extension to 60 days after the original deadline.
• Bars extensions of campaign-statement or campaign-report deadlines during the 90 days before an election.
• Defines an emergency as one proclaimed by the Governor or a local governing body under the California Emergency Services Act.

Who it affects ​

• Candidates, political committees, lobbyists, slate mailer organizations, public officials, and others required to file under the Political Reform Act who live in an affected area.
• The Fair Political Practices Commission.

Context ​

The Legislature states that the change furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974.