Golden State Today

Senator Tom Umberg of Santa Ana has introduced a new bill, SB 42, which aims to allow local governments and the state of California to implement public financing for election campaigns. This legislation is co-authored by Assemblymember Alex Lee from San Jose and Senator Ben Allen from El Segundo.

Currently, five charter cities in California offer public financing options like matching funds or democracy vouchers. However, existing state law prevents counties, districts, general law cities, and the state itself from using public funds for election campaigns. SB 42 seeks to change this by placing a measure on the November 2026 ballot that would lift this restriction.

"In historic votes, overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both Houses of the Legislature voted nine years ago to give local governments and the State the option to enact public financing laws," said Senator Umberg. "It’s long past time for California voters to have their say in the matter and SB 42 will do exactly that on next year’s ballot."

The initiative is backed by several organizations including the California Clean Money Campaign, California Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters of California. These groups support public financing as a way to empower voters and increase candidate diversity while reducing the influence of big money in politics.

"Public financing of campaigns is the best way to empower voters, increase diversity of candidates running for office, and give voters confidence that Big Money can’t just buy their elections," stated Assemblymember Alex Lee.

A recent poll conducted by the California Clean Money Campaign revealed that 81% of likely voters believe big money contributors hold too much sway over elected officials. Meanwhile, 63% feel ordinary voters have too little influence. Historically, charter city voters have shown strong support for public financing measures.

SB 42 follows previous legislative efforts such as SB 24 (Umberg-Allen) and AB 270 (Lee-Cervantes), which aimed at putting similar measures on ballots but were halted last August. Trent Lange from the California Clean Money Campaign expressed optimism about building on past efforts: "Though it was disappointing that SB 24 and AB 270 didn’t get to the Governor’s desk last year, a lot of progress was made building the coalition for Fair Elections."

David Shor from California Common Cause highlighted how public financing can democratize candidacies: "Public financing of campaigns empowers candidates from all walks of life to compete for public office without having to rely on wealthy donors."

Dora Rose from the League of Women Voters noted concerns about financial influences in politics: "The escalating role of money in politics poses a significant threat to the health of our democracy... Public financing is a proven tool that levels the playing field."

The bill will be reviewed by the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee either in March or April.