San Francisco may regulate blogging.

If a rightwing radio show spends over $1,000 promoting a Sanf Francisco candidate, that's their business.

But if a blogger does it, he or she has to register with the city, if a new regulation passes:

http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/501

Here is the proposed ordinance as a .pdf:
http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/committees/materials/041489.pdf

and besides nobody outside of SF will hear of this again (said the captain of the Titanic, put some more ice in drink please)

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

nt

and there's not a damn thing the city can do.

where the server is.

England or say France?

if the person and server are both in San Francisco, let alone if one or more is outside San Francisco.

State of California (commencing at Section 81000.)

Can anyone post that section in this thread?

CALIFORNIA CODES
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 81000-81016




81000. This title shall be known and may be cited as the "Political
Reform Act of 1974."



81001. The people find and declare as follows:
(a) State and local government should serve the needs and respond
to the wishes of all citizens equally, without regard to their
wealth;
(b) Public officials, whether elected or appointed, should perform
their duties in an impartial manner, free from bias caused by their
own financial interests or the financial interests of persons who
have supported them;
(c) Costs of conducting election campaigns have increased greatly
in recent years, and candidates have been forced to finance their
campaigns by seeking large contributions from lobbyists and
organizations who thereby gain disproportionate influence over
governmental decisions;
(d) The influence of large campaign contributors is increased
because existing laws for disclosure of campaign receipts and
expenditures have proved to be inadequate;
(e) Lobbyists often make their contributions to incumbents who
cannot be effectively challenged because of election laws and abusive
practices which give the incumbent an unfair advantage;
(f) The wealthy individuals and organizations which make large
campaign contributions frequently extend their influence by employing
lobbyists and spending large amounts to influence legislative and
administrative actions;
(g) The influence of large campaign contributors in ballot measure
elections is increased because the ballot pamphlet mailed to the
voters by the state is difficult to read and almost impossible for a
layman to understand; and
(h) Previous laws regulating political practices have suffered
from inadequate enforcement by state and local authorities.



81002. The people enact this title to accomplish the following
purposes:
(a) Receipts and expenditures in election campaigns should be
fully and truthfully disclosed in order that the voters may be fully
informed and improper practices may be inhibited.
(b) The activities of lobbyists should be regulated and their
finances disclosed in order that improper influences will not be
directed at public officials.
(c) Assets and income of public officials which may be materially
affected by their official actions should be disclosed and in
appropriate circumstances the officials should be disqualified from
acting in order that conflicts of interest may be avoided.
(d) The state ballot pamphlet should be converted into a useful
document so that voters will not be entirely dependent on paid
advertising for information regarding state measures.
(e) Laws and practices unfairly favoring incumbents should be
abolished in order that elections may be conducted more fairly.
(f) Adequate enforcement mechanisms should be provided to public
officials and private citizens in order that this title will be
vigorously enforced.



81003. This title should be liberally construed to accomplish its
purposes.


81004. (a) All reports and statements filed under this title shall
be signed under penalty of perjury and verified by the filer. The
verification shall state that the filer has used all reasonable
diligence in its preparation, and that to the best of his knowledge
it is true and complete.
(b) A report or statement filed by a committee which qualifies
under subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall be signed and verified
by the treasurer, and a report or statement filed by any other person
shall be signed and verified by the filer. If the filer is an
entity other than an individual, the report or statement shall be
signed and verified by a responsible officer of the entity or by an
attorney or a certified public accountant acting as agent for the
entity. Every person who signs and verifies any report or statement
required to be filed under this title which contains material matter
which he knows to be false is guilty of perjury.



81004.5. Any report or statement filed pursuant to this title may
be amended by the filer at any time. Amending an incorrect or
incomplete report or statement may be considered as evidence of good
faith.


81006. Except as provided in this title, no fee or charge shall be
collected by any officer for the filing of any report or statement or
for the forms upon which reports or statements are to be prepared.



81007. When a report or statement or copies thereof required to be
filed with any officer under this title have been sent by first-class
mail or by any other guaranteed overnight delivery service addressed
to the officer, it shall for purposes of any deadline be deemed to
have been received by him or her on the date of the deposit in the
mail or of receipt by that delivery service. It shall be presumed
until the contrary is established that any date stamped by the post
office on the envelope or contained on the delivery service receipt
containing the report or statement is the date it was deposited in
the mail or received by the delivery service. Mail which is not
received by the filing officer shall be presumed not to have been
sent unless the filer possesses a post office or delivery service
receipt establishing the date of deposit and the name and address of
the addressee.



81007.5. (a) Any report or statement or copies thereof required to
be filed with any official under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
84100) or Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 87100) may be faxed by
the applicable deadline, provided that the required originals or
paper copies are sent by first-class mail or by any other personal
delivery or guaranteed overnight delivery service within 24 hours of
the applicable deadline and provided that the total number of pages
of each report or statement faxed is no more than 30 pages.
(b) A faxed report or statement shall not be deemed filed if the
faxed report or statement is not a true and correct copy of the
original or copy of the report or statement personally delivered or
sent by first-class mail or guaranteed overnight delivery service
pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) A filing officer who receives a faxed report or statement
shall make the report or statement available to the public in the
same manner as provided in Section 81008. If the faxed report or
statement is requested prior to the receipt of the original or copy
of the report or statement by the filing officer, the filing officer
shall inform the requester that the faxed report or statement will
not be considered a filed report or statement if the requirements of
subdivision (b) have not been met by the filer.



81008. (a) Every report and statement filed pursuant to this title
is a public record open for public inspection and reproduction during
regular business hours, commencing as soon as practicable, but in
any event not later than the second business day following the day on
which it was received. No conditions whatsoever shall be imposed
upon persons desiring to inspect or reproduce reports and statements
filed under this title, nor shall any information or identification
be required from these persons. Copies shall be provided at a charge
not to exceed ten cents ($0.10) per page. In addition, the filing
officer may charge a retrieval fee not to exceed five dollars ($5)
per request for copies of reports and statements which are five or
more years old. A request for more than one report or statement or
report and statement at the same time shall be considered a single
request.
(b) Campaign statements shall be open for public inspection and
reproduction from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday preceding a
statewide primary or statewide general election in the offices of the
Secretary of State, Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County,
Registrar of Voters of San Diego County, and Registrar of Voters of
the City and County of San Francisco.



81009. (a) Statements of organization, registration statements, and
original campaign statements of persons holding elective state
office, candidates for any such office, committees supporting any
such officeholder or candidate, and committees supporting or opposing
statewide measures, shall be retained by filing officers
indefinitely.
(b) Original campaign statements of mayors, city council members,
county supervisors, candidates for any of these offices, and
committees supporting any officeholder or candidate shall be retained
indefinitely, except that original campaign statements of candidates
not elected to these offices and of committees supporting candidates
not elected to these offices shall be retained by filing officers
for a period of not less than five years.
(c) Original campaign statements of all other persons shall be
retained by filing officers for a period of not less than seven
years.
(d) Original statements of economic interests of persons holding
statewide elective office shall be retained by filing officers
indefinitely.
(e) Original reports and statements not specified above in this
section shall be retained by filing officers for a period of not less
than seven years.
(f) Copies of reports or statements shall be retained by the
officer with whom they are filed for a period of not less than four
years, provided, however, that a filing officer is not required to
retain more than one copy of a report or statement.
(g) After an original report or statement or a copy has been on
file for at least two years, the officer with whom it is filed may
comply with this section by retaining a copy on microfilm or other
space-saving materials available for public inspection instead of the
original report or statement or copy. Upon request, the officer
shall provide copies of such statements pursuant to Section 81008.



81009.5. (a) Any local government agency which has enacted, enacts,
amends, or repeals an ordinance or other provision of law affecting
campaign contributions and expenditures shall file a copy of the
action with the commission.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 81013, no local government agency
shall enact any ordinance imposing filing requirements additional to
or different from those set forth in Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 84100) for elections held in its jurisdiction unless the
additional or different filing requirements apply only to the
candidates seeking election in that jurisdiction, their controlled
committees or committees formed or existing primarily to support or
oppose their candidacies, and to committees formed or existing
primarily to support or oppose a candidate or to support or oppose
the qualification of, or passage of, a local ballot measure which is
being voted on only in that jurisdiction, and to city or county
general purpose committees active only in that city or county,
respectively.


81010. With respect to reports and statements filed with him
pursuant to this title, the filing officer shall:
(a) Supply the necessary forms and manuals prescribed by the
Commission;
(b) Determine whether required documents have been filed and, if
so, whether they conform on their face with the requirements of this
title;
(c) Notify promptly all persons and known committees who have
failed to file a report or statement in the form and at the time
required by this title;
(d) Report apparent violations of this title to the appropriate
agencies; and
(e) Compile and maintain a current list of all reports and
statements filed with this office.



81011.5. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the
election precinct of a person signing a statewide petition shall not
be required to appear on the petition when it is filed with the
county elections official, nor any additional information regarding a
signer other than the information required to be written by the
signer.



81012. This title may be amended or repealed by the procedures set
forth in this section. If any portion of subdivision (a) is declared
invalid, then subdivision (b) shall be the exclusive means of
amending or repealing this title.
(a) This title may be amended to further its purposes by statute,
passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal,
two-thirds of the membership concurring and signed by the Governor,
if at least 12 days prior to passage in each house the bill in its
final form has been delivered to the commission for distribution to
the news media and to every person who has requested the commission
to send copies of such bills to him or her.
(b) This title may be amended or repealed by a statute that
becomes effective only when approved by the electors.




81013. Nothing in this title prevents the Legislature or any other
state or local agency from imposing additional requirements on any
person if the requirements do not prevent the person from complying
with this title. If any act of the Legislature conflicts with the
provisions of this title, this title shall prevail.




81014. Whenever any reference is made in this title to a federal or
state statute and that statute has been or is subsequently repealed
or amended, the Commission may promulgate regulations to carry out
the intent of this title as nearly as possible.



81015. If any provision of this title, or the application of any
such provision to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid,
the remainder of this title to the extent it can be given effect, or
the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other
than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby, and to this end the provisions of this title are severable.




81016. Chapter 8 of this title shall go into effect immediately.
The Director of Finance shall make sufficient funds available to the
Secretary of State out of the emergency fund or any other fund of the
state for the immediate implementation of Chapter 8. The remainder
of this title shall go into effect on January 7, 1975. Wherever
reference is made in this title to the effective date of this title,
the date referred to is January 7, 1975.

in that, so how does that tell us what counts as a "payment?"

..."paid for by (insert the name of the person who paid for the communication)

Why would bloggers be paying for communications for a candidate?

The only place bloggers may have a problem, that I can see, is if they start counting traffic as in-kind contributions. Even then, I would think that would apply only if the blog is a business. People who incorporated as nonprofits might have some difficulties come election time.

Maybe. I'm not an expert, just going by what I've read and my understanding of election laws.

nt

It requires campaigns that pay bloggers more than $1,000 to register and requires bloggers to post "paid for by" under any advertising. It's treating bloggers exactly the way the media is treated, don't take money from campaigns and keep it a secret.

a compaign and not by a blogger?

What are thy trying to accomplish?

If this were a Bushico move, I guess Id at least understand their intentions (i.e. suppression)

But this is SF..It just doesnt add up!

nt