(a) The candidate shall submit the following to the Secretary of State:
(1) (A) Two copies of each tax return required by Section 8902. One copy of each tax return shall be identical to the version submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, without redactions. The second copy of each tax return shall be redacted pursuant to this paragraph. The tax returns shall be provided to the Secretary of State in hard-copy form.
(B) The candidate shall redact the following information from the redacted version of each tax return:
(i) Social security numbers.
(ii) Home address.
(iii) Telephone number.
(iv) Email address.
(v) Medical information.
(C) The candidate may also redact the following information from the redacted version of each tax return:
(i) Names of dependent minors.
(ii) Employer identification number.
(iii) Business addresses.
(iv) Preparer tax identification number, address, telephone number, and email address of paid tax return preparers.
(2) A written consent form, signed by the candidate, granting the Secretary of State permission to publically release a version of the candidate’s tax returns redacted pursuant to this section. The Secretary of State shall prepare a standard consent form consistent with this paragraph.
(b) The Secretary of State shall review the redacted copy of each tax return submitted by the candidate to ensure that the redactions comply with subdivision (a). If the Secretary of State determines that the candidate has redacted information other than that permitted by subdivision (a), the Secretary of State shall prepare a new version of the tax return with only the redactions permitted by that subdivision.
(c) (1) Within five days of receipt of the candidate’s tax returns, the Secretary of State shall make redacted versions of the tax returns available to the public on the Secretary of State’s internet website. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall make public the redacted versions of the tax returns submitted by the candidate pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2) If the Secretary of State is required to prepare a redacted version of a tax return pursuant to subdivision (b), the Secretary of State shall make public that version.
(3) The public versions of the tax returns shall be continuously posted until the official canvass for the direct primary election is completed. Upon completion of the official canvass, the Secretary of State shall remove the public versions of the tax returns.
(4) The Secretary of State shall retain the paper copies of the submitted tax returns until the completion of the official canvass of the ensuing general election. Thereafter, the paper copies of the submitted tax returns shall be destroyed as soon as practicable, unless the Secretary of State has received a court order, or a lawful written request from a state or federal governmental agency, directing the Secretary of State to preserve the submitted tax returns.
(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 121, Sec. 2. (SB 27) Effective July 30, 2019.)