Section 86119.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 86119.
in effect(a)
(1)
“Issue lobbying advertisement” means any advertisement as defined in paragraph (2) made for purposes of influencing a clearly identified legislative or administrative action, including an advertisement soliciting or
urging a person to communicate directly with an elective state official, agency official, or legislative official for the primary purpose of attempting to influence a clearly identified state legislative or administrative action. An issue lobbying advertisement does not include a communication described in Section 85310, an advertisement expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or ballot measure, an advertisement that qualifies as a contribution or independent expenditure, or any communication made by a political party or candidate-controlled committee.
(2)
For purposes of this section, “advertisement” means any general or public communication and does not include communications exempted from the definition of advertisement in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 84501.
(3)
A legislative or administrative action is clearly identified if the communication states a legislative or administrative identification number, official title, or popular name associated with the action or if the communication refers to the subject matter of the action and states that the measure is before an elective state official, agency official, or legislative
official for a vote or
decision.
(b)
(1)
An issue lobbying advertisement shall clearly and conspicuously identify the person
that authorized and paid for the advertisement by either of the following:
(A)
Including the words “Paid for by” or “Ad paid for by” followed by the legal name of the person who authorized and paid for the advertisement in a manner that is easily readable by the average viewer. For video advertisements disseminated on television or via the internet, the words “Paid for by” or “Ad paid for by” shall be followed by the legal name of the person who authorized and paid for the advertisement and shall be displayed for at least 5 seconds of an advertisement that is 30 seconds or less or at least 10 seconds of an advertisement that is more than 30 seconds.
(B)
Satisfying the requirements of Sections 84504 to 84504.7, inclusive, for the applicable medium of distributing the advertisement.
(2)
The requirements of Section 84503 shall not apply to issue lobbying advertisements.
(c)
(1)
A person
that
pays or makes enforceable promises to pay five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more during a calendar quarter for issue lobbying advertisements shall file a report with the Secretary of State within 72 hours. The report shall be filed with the Secretary of State by online or electronic transmission using the online filing system described in subdivision (b) of Section 84602 each time a person pays or makes an enforceable promise to pay five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more during the calendar quarter.
(2)
The report required by this subdivision shall include the following information:
(A)
The total payments made and enforceable promises to pay incurred in connection with each issue lobbying advertisement required to be disclosed by this subdivision. The cost of an issue lobbying advertisement shall include actual costs attributable to the advertisement but shall not include the payment of compensation for staff time or travel expenses paid by an organization to members or staff.
(B)
The date that each issue lobbying advertisement was or will be first publicly disseminated.
(C)
The identification number of the legislative or administrative
action that was the subject of the issue lobbying advertisement or, if there is no identification number, the official title, popular name, or description of the action.
(D)
For each
legislative or administrative action for which there were issue lobbying advertisements, the position on the legislative or administrative action urged on the lobbying issue advertisement, which may include “support,” “oppose,” “support if amended,” “oppose unless amended,” “neutral,” “neutral seeking amendment,” “neutral expressing concerns,” “no position,” or a similar description.
(E)
The method of distributing the issue
lobbying advertisement, including direct mail, text messages, television advertisements, radio advertisements, social media advertisements, search engine advertisements, or other types of online advertisements.
(F)
The name of any Member of the Legislature or candidate for Member of the Legislature that is clearly identified in the issue lobbying advertisement.
(3)
Payments for issue lobbying
advertisements shall be disclosed on reports filed pursuant to Section 86115 notwithstanding any disclosure pursuant to this subdivision.
(d)
This section is not intended and shall not be construed to expand the meaning of “lobbyist” as defined in Section 82039 or “lobbyist employer” as defined in Section 82039.5.
(e)
This section does not apply to a placement agent, as defined in Section 82047.3.
References
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 85310.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 84501.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 84504.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 84503.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 84602.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 86115.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 82039.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 82039.5.
referencesCal. Government Code - GOV § 82047.3.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026