Senate Appropriations advances AB 596 to show top funders on initiative ballots despite county cost concerns

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Oct. 25 approved AB 596 by a 3-2 vote, advancing a measure that would require the top three funders of a qualified statewide initiative or referendum to be listed on the ballot label. Authors and sponsors said the change would improve transparency for voters; election officials cautioned the change would impose significant unfunded county costs.

Assemblymember Ortega, the bill's sponsor, said AB 596 is a narrowly tailored update to prior proposals that adds funder disclosure to the ballot label for initiatives and referenda that qualify for the ballot. "This bill simply puts that information on the top part of the ballot," Ortega said, and emphasized statutory rules in the bill to shorten long contributor names and permit registrars to reduce font size where necessary.

Trent Lange, president of the California Clean Money Campaign and a bill sponsor, told the committee the bill would typically add about 125 characters per ballot measure and that name-shortening rules (for example abbreviating organizational names) should limit the need for extra ballot sheets. "AB 596 will typically only add about a 125 characters for each ballot measure, which means only about a 10 to 15% increase over the current length of titles and summaries on the ballot," Lange said.

Opponents, including the California Chamber of Commerce and county elections officials, argued the change would create substantial translation, printing and processing costs at the county level that the state would not fund. Rob Grossklauser of the California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials provided county estimates included in committee materials: roughly $119,000 in Yolo County, $209,000 in Sonoma County, about $500,000 in Fresno County and likely more than $1 million in large counties such as Contra Costa and Orange County. Grossklauser also noted accessibility and readability concerns if counties reduce font size to fit additional text.

The committee heard additional opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce, which said the change could mislead voters by highlighting only top supporters and not providing a full picture of backers and opponents. Supporters said the state's voter information guide contains more detail, but that the ballot label is the most visible place for voters to see who funded placing a measure on the ballot.

Department of Finance staff took no file on the measure. The committee approved a motion to send AB 596 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation by a recorded vote of 3 yes to 2 no; the roll was left open for absent members.

Authors and sponsors noted they reduced the prior bill's footprint and worked with stakeholders on name-shortening language to limit ballot length. Clerks and elections officials urged the committee to consider the voter pamphlet or other alternatives and asked for state funding to cover county costs if the change is adopted.

AB 596 moves to the Senate floor with a recommendation from Appropriations; authors and county officials signaled they expect further negotiations on cost mitigation and ballot formatting.