Brownley's Bill to Force Tougher Campaign Finance Rules Dies

A bill authored by Santa Monica Assemblywoman Julia Brownley that would have given California voters more insight into the funding of political advertisements has failed to pass the state Assembly due to nearly unanimous opposition from GOP legislators.

In the post-Citizens United era of unlimited spending by shadowy independent groups, the California DISCLOSE Act would have required all political ads to clearly state whether or not they were explicitly endorsed by a candidate ("I'm so-and-so and I approved this message"), list the names and/or corporate logos of the top three funders of the group producing the ad and provide a list of the organization's top five contributors over $10,000.

The legislation would also have required slate mailers to disclose if a candidate or ballot measure paid to be included on the advertisement.

The bill was a mere two votes shy of securing the two-thirds super-majority needed to make it though the Assembly. It had the support of every Democrat in the chamber, save for Stockton's Cathleen Gelgiani.

The only Republican to say "yes" to the bill or not abstain from voting on it was Nathan Fletcher of San Diego.

"The public is frustrated and fed up with wealthy donors who manipulate elections through anonymous campaign messages," Julia Brownley said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "Voters deserve to know clearly who are behind the ads."

Brownley's spokeswoman, Linda Rapattoni, said that after the vote, Fletcher issued a press release saying he wants to bring the bill back, indicating he is a very strong and active supporter.

"Brownley said late yesterday that she is planning to try again by introducing similar legislation this month," Rapattoni said.

Read the full story on the Huffington Post.

— Jenna Chandler contributed to this report.