{"id":7450,"date":"2026-06-17T15:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/lawmakers-want-to-close-loophole-for-political-campaigns-that-pay-influencers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T15:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:32:41","slug":"lawmakers-want-to-close-loophole-for-political-campaigns-that-pay-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/lawmakers-want-to-close-loophole-for-political-campaigns-that-pay-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers want to close loophole for political campaigns that pay influencers"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Legislature wants to more stringently enforce rules requiring disclosure when political campaigns pay influencers to promote a ballot measure or person running for office.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/no-growth-davis-is-pushing-itself-toward-a-california-state-takeover-now-opinion-2\/\">No-growth Davis is pushing itself toward a California state takeover now | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, introduced legislation Friday that would require campaigns to say when they pay influencers to promote their cause online. It\u2019s designed to close a loophole in a 2023 law from Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Villa Park, that only mandates influencers to do so.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Influencers, people with large online followings, played a significant role in boosting both Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra and his rival Tom Steyer in the governor\u2019s race leading up to the June 2 primary.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Berman\u2019s bill, Assembly Bill 1130, would tighten existing law by requiring both parties to disclose when money has been exchanged to promote a candidate or initiative. Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, is a co-sponsor.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The bill would also require campaigns to more clearly state when and how much they\u2019ve paid influencers in state filings by making them label such disbursements as \u201cthird party social media posts,\u201d rather than online or digital communications.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It would also levy administrative penalties on both the poster and campaign for failure to disclose under the Fair Political Practices Act of 1974.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/assembly-democrats-unite-to-tax-software-health-plans-in-revenue-raising-package-2\/\">Assembly Democrats unite to tax software, health plans in revenue-raising package<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Steyer, who broke records for hosting the most expensive self-funded campaign in state history, paid influencers to post videos hyping him up on social media, while Becerra hired influencer Jay Gonzalez as a digital strategist.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>While both campaigns disclosed their payments, the people they paid sometimes did not reveal they had been paid, leading Becerra and Steyer to trade ethics complaints back and forth.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Becerra advanced out of the primary earlier this month and will face Republican Steve Hilton in the Nov. 3 general election.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Berman\u2019s bill, which was first reported by Politico, will now advance to the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/democrat-pan-frames-newly-independent-kiley-as-trump-aligned-in-6th-district-race-2\/\">Democrat Pan frames newly Independent Kiley as Trump-aligned in 6th District race<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Assemblymember Marc Berman\u2019s AB 1130 would require campaigns and influencers to disclose paid social posts, add clear payment labels and impose penalties under state law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitol-alert"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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