In Hays v. Wood (1979) 25 Cal.3d 772, the California Supreme Court held equal protection was denied by a provision of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code, 81000 et seq.) requiring public officials who are also attorneys or brokers to disclose the names of clients paying them $ 1,000 or more in fees a year, while officials practicing any other professions were required to disclose only clients paying them $ 10,000 or more in annual fees. (25 Cal.3d at pp. 778-779.) The court could find no rational basis for creating different financial disclosure levels for "lawyers and brokers on the one hand and, on the other hand ... members of other professions" or others "whose relative profit margin is comparable to theirs." (Id. at pp. 789-790.) The Attorney General advanced four conceivable bases for the distinction, each of which was rejected by the court. As relevant here, the Attorney General urged that the "classification here in question finds a rational basis on the ground of strengthening public confidence in the political process." (Id. at p. 794.) The argument, as the court understood it, "rested upon the rather curious assertion that the public, seeing an attorney advocate a position in his role as public official, 'may believe, more so than for persons in other professions,' that he is really promoting the interests of a private client." (Ibid.) "To disabuse the public of this pernicious and misguided notion," the court was advised that "more stringent disclosure requirements have been placed upon the attorney." (Id. at pp. 794-795.) The court rejected the contention, reasoning that although a concern about the appearance of impropriety involving public officials may support public disclosure laws in general, this concern does not justify "significantly different standards of disclosure for members of different professions." (Id. at p. 795.)