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Dear Senator Hill, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for Senate Bill 21. SB 21 requires that nonprofits that make more than $10,000 in travel gifts to elected officials, or more than $5,000 to any one elected official, disclose the donor who paid for this gift and requires all officials to disclose the destination of any travel gifts they received in their annual Statement of Economic Interest.

Dear Assemblymember Gordon, On behalf of California Common Cause and our members, I am writing with a letter of support for Assembly Bill 1200, which will provide greater transparency in regards to who influences state government procurement spending.

The need for restructuring our campaign finance system has never been so dire. One reform with particular promise is the use of public funds to amplify the voice of everyday citizens in political campaigns. Public Financing helps to reduce corruption, hold politicians accountable and create a government of, by, and for the people.

Dear Assemblymember Ridley-Thomas, We are pleased to support AB 700, the California DISCLOSE Act. If its intent is implemented, it will significantly strengthen disclosure requirements for ballot measure ads.

Dan Walters' suggestion to eliminate limits on how much money California elected officials can raise from special interests would weaken disclosure, increase the power of wealthy donors, and take us back to the days of huge campaign contributions that led to the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.

Californians’ approval rating for their legislature has fallen to a historically low nine percent. Why then, don’t voters unelect them? Part of the reason may be that powerful interests who benefit from the current system have perfected techniques of directing huge sums of campaign funds toward candidates whose election will benefit them. As a result, candidates who aren’t favored by the donor class don’t raise much money and don’t win elections. When donors matter more than voters, low voter approval ratings don’t translate into electoral upheavals. This stark reality no doubt keeps many qualified candidates from even running in the first place.