AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Boerner

February 10, 2026

An act to amend Section 89506 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, requires a nonprofit organization that regularly organizes and hosts travel for elected officials and that makes payments, advances, or reimbursements for their travel that total more than $10,000 per year, or more than $5,000 per year for a single official, to disclose the names of donors to the organization who donated at least $1,000 and accompanied the official on their travel during the preceding year.

This bill would instead apply these disclosure requirements to any nonprofit organization that makes expenditures for travel by elected state and local officials in the amounts specified above. The bill would additionally require the organization to disclose each payment for travel by the elected state or local official and the name of the person for whom the payment for travel was made. The bill would require the nonprofit organization to maintain detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts necessary to prepare the disclosures, and to retain these items for at least 5 years.

A violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 is a misdemeanor. By expanding the category of nonprofit organizations subject to the act, and by expanding their disclosure requirements, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and therefore create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a ⅔ vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 89506 of the Government Code is amended to read:

89506.

(a) Payments, advances, or reimbursements for travel, including actual transportation and related lodging and subsistence that is reasonably related to a legislative or governmental purpose, or to an issue of state, national, or international public policy, are not prohibited or limited by this chapter if either of the following applies:

(1) The travel is in connection with a speech given by the elected state officer, local elected officeholder, candidate for elective state office or local elective office, an individual specified in Section 87200, member of a state board or commission, or designated employee of a state or local government agency, the lodging and subsistence expenses are limited to the day immediately preceding, the day of, and the day immediately following the speech, and the travel is within the United States.

(2) The travel is provided by a government, a governmental agency, a foreign government, a governmental authority, a bona fide public or private educational institution, as defined in Section 203 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or by a person domiciled outside the United States who substantially satisfies the requirements for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(b) Gifts of travel not described in subdivision (a) are subject to the limits in Section 89503.

(c) Subdivision (a) applies only to travel that is reported on the recipient’s statement of economic interests.

(d) For purposes of this section, a gift of travel does not include any of the following:

(1) Travel that is paid for from campaign funds, as permitted by Article 4 (commencing with Section 89510), or that is a contribution.

(2) Travel that is provided by the governmental agency of a local elected officeholder, an elected state officer, member of a state board or commission, an individual specified in Section 87200, or a designated employee.

(3) Travel that is reasonably necessary in connection with a bona fide business, trade, or profession and that satisfies the criteria for federal income tax deduction for business expenses in Sections 162 and 274 of the Internal Revenue Code, unless the sole or predominant activity of the business, trade, or profession is making speeches.

(4) Travel that is excluded from the definition of a gift by any other provision of this title.

(e) This section does not apply to payments, advances, or reimbursements for travel and related lodging and subsistence permitted or limited by Section 170.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(f) (1) A nonprofit organization that makes expenditures regularly organizes and hosts travel for elected officials and that makes payments, advances, or reimbursements that total more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in a calendar year, or that total more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in a calendar year for a single person, for travel by an elected state officer or local elected officeholder as described in subdivision (a) shall disclose to the Commission both of the following:

(A) The names of donors who did both of the following in the preceding year:

(i) Donated one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more to the nonprofit organization.

(ii) Accompanied an elected state officer or local elected officeholder, either personally or through an agent, employee, or representative, for any portion of travel described in subdivision (a).

(B) Each expenditure for travel by an elected state officer or local elected officeholder and the name of the person for whom the expenditure for travel was made.

(3) A nonprofit organization that is required to make disclosures pursuant to paragraph (1) shall maintain detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts necessary to prepare the disclosures. The accounts, records, bills, and receipts shall be retained by the nonprofit organization for at least five years.

(4) This subdivision does not preclude a finding that a nonprofit organization is acting as an intermediary or agent of the donor. If the nonprofit organization is acting as an intermediary or agent of the donor, all of the following apply:

(A) The donor to the nonprofit organization is the source of the gift.

(B) The donor shall be identified as a financial interest under Section 87103.

(C) The gift shall be reported as required by Section 87207.

(D) The gift shall be subject to the limitations on gifts specified in Section 89503.

(5) For purposes of this subdivision, a nonprofit organization includes an organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) or Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.