The California Secretary of State’s office provides several types of downloadable lists that can be useful for researchers, including behested payments and outstanding fines for candidates and committees who filed late paperwork required by the Political Reform Act.
Behested payments are donations made by corporations, individuals or organizations at the request of state legislators or statewide elected officers to charities or organizations of their preference. According to California law, an elected official who fundraises or otherwise solicits payments from one individual or organization to be given to another individual or organization is required to report those behested payments if they total $5,000 or more per calendar year from a single source. The elected official soliciting the payment must report the behested payments within 30 days of the date they are made. The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) provides lists of all behested payments reported in the state dating back to 2007 and also provides a database that is searchable by official, payor or payee, and can also be narrowed by year.
The list of outstanding fines for late campaign filings is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet list of late filers with unpaid fines who were sent fine notices from the Secretary of State's office. The list includes fines ranging from nearly $50,000 to only $10, with just over half of the fines falling under $100. The list is updated monthly by the Secretary of State’s office and includes fines dating back to 1999 through fines levied as recently as November 2020.