FPPC votes to sponsor 10 legislative proposals including candidate training and AI-ad rules
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Summary
The Fair Political Practices Commission voted unanimously to sponsor a package of 10 legislative proposals covering candidate and treasurer training, emergency filing extensions, nonprofit travel disclosure, AI-ad disclaimers and other campaign transparency reforms.
The Fair Political Practices Commission voted on Jan. 15 to sponsor a package of 10 legislative proposals staff described as priorities for 2026, including a candidate-and-treasurer training requirement, clarifications for campaign reporting during declared emergencies, and proposed standards for ads altered by artificial intelligence.
Senior Legislative Counsel Lindsay Nacano presented the package and highlighted two early items: AB 1560 (introduced by an Assembly member last week) would bar a person convicted of public-corruption crimes from acting as a lobbyist and void a lobbyist certification for convicted persons, and a proposal to require FPPC-developed training for candidates and treasurers as a condition of appearing on the ballot. Nacano said staff are still refining scopes and will coordinate with the Secretary of State’s office on implementation and systems changes.
The package also includes proposals to update FPPC regulations for the anticipated CARS filing system, require nonprofit donor disclosure for sponsored travel and recordkeeping, expand reporting on campaign expenditures to single recipients during non-ballot periods, and clarify when campaign committees must report cryptocurrency ownership. A separate proposal would strengthen prohibitions on creating a fictitious appearance of grassroots support (often called astroturfing), noting staff research on AI-enabled astroturfing.
Chair Silver moved to sponsor proposals 1 through 10; the motion received a second and passed by roll call. Commissioner Brandt and other commissioners commended staff and singled out the scale of the package as significant; staff noted the commission’s priority to modernize enforcement and disclosure rules in light of emerging technology.
What’s next: staff will continue drafting bill language, coordinate with legislative authors and agency partners (including Secretary of State staff), and bring implementation details and fiscal estimates to future meetings.
