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California PACs Reveal Secret Spending To Help Oust Incumbent Democrats

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- More than six months after the November election, two major California political action committees are revealing their joint role in ousting two incumbent Democrats from the state Assembly.

Committees working on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce and an agriculture trade association filed amended campaign finance reports in the last two weeks showing they secretly shared hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The complex web of spending illustrates how difficult it has become to track the true sources of political money.

Jobs PAC, run by the chamber, and Family Farmers Working for a Better California filed amended campaign reports showing how they cooperated to oust Betsy Butler and Michael Allen.

The state's political watchdog agency could levy substantial fines if it finds they deliberately failed to report the exchange.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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