San Francisco Board of Supervisors Poised to Require Political Bloggers to Register?

The Southern California Law Blog is reporting this here:

"Personal Democracy.com reports here that:

Blogs that mention candidates for local office that receive more than 500 hits will be forced to pay a registration fee and will be subject to website traffic audits, according to Chad Jacobs, a San Francisco City Attorney.

I cannot verify that this story is true. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote at its next meeting concerning financial dislcosures in campaigning (see these materials here from the Supervisors next meeting’s agenda).

The proposed agenda item, No. 041489, did not contain any express reference to bloggers. However, the interpretation advanced by Personal Democracy and attorney Chad Jacobs seems to be a plausible one given the definitions of “electioneering communication” as including an internet communication, 90 days before an election, that mentions a local candidate that is “distributed” to 500 eligible voters. (How one proves that a blogger who gets more than 500 hits per day has had local eligible voters, as opposed to non-eligible voters, visit his or her site is beyond me).

(Hat Tip: Interocitor)."

Only in the City by the Bay!