California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1666

Introduced by Assembly Member Garcia

February 12, 2014

An act to amend Sections 83124 and 89513 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 86 of the Penal Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1666, as introduced, Garcia. Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: bribery fines.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay or reimburse fines, penalties, judgments, or settlements, except as specified. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties.

Existing law subjects any member of the Legislature or any member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other special district who asks for or receives a bribe in exchange for influence over his or her official action to imprisonment in a state prison and imposes prescribed restitution fines based on whether a bribe has actually been received.

This bill would increase the restitution fines to twice the original amount and prohibit the use of campaign funds to pay for the restitution fines. By introducing a new prohibition, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, the bill would create a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the Fair Political Practices Commission to adjust the fine amounts on January 1 of each odd-numbered year to reflect any increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2⁄3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 83124 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

83124.  

The commission shall adjust the contribution limitations
and voluntary expenditure limitations provisions in Sections 85301,
85302, 85303, and 85400 begin insert and the fine amounts specified in Section
86 of the Penal Code end insert in January of every odd-numbered year to
reflect any increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index. Those
adjustments shall be rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars
($100) for limitations on contributions begin delete and end delete begin insert , end insert one thousand dollars
($1,000) for limitations on expenditures begin insert , and ten dollars ($10) for
fine amounts end insert .

SEC. 2.  

Section 89513 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

89513.  

This section governs the use of campaign funds for the
specific expenditures set forth in this section. It is the intent of the
Legislature that this section shall guide the interpretation of the
standard imposed by Section 89512 as applied to other expenditures
not specifically set forth in this section.

(a) (1) Campaign funds shall not be used to pay or reimburse
the candidate, the elected officer, or any individual or individuals
with authority to approve the expenditure of campaign funds held
by a committee, or employees or staff of the committee or the
elected officer’s governmental agency for travel expenses and
necessary accommodations except when these expenditures are
directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose.

(2) For the purposes of this section, payments or reimbursements
for travel and necessary accommodations shall be considered as
directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose
if the payments would meet standards similar to the standards of
the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to Sections 162 and 274 of
the Internal Revenue Code for deductions of travel expenses under
the federal income tax law.

(3) For the purposes of this section, payments or reimbursement
for travel by the household of a candidate or elected officer when
traveling to the same destination in order to accompany the
candidate or elected officer shall be considered for the same
purpose as the candidate’s or elected officer’s travel.

(4) Whenever campaign funds are used to pay or reimburse a
candidate, elected officer, his or her representative, or a member
of the candidate’s household for travel expenses and necessary
accommodations, the expenditure shall be reported as required by
Section 84211.

(5) Whenever campaign funds are used to pay or reimburse for
travel expenses and necessary accommodations, any mileage credit
that is earned or awarded pursuant to an airline bonus mileage
program shall be deemed personally earned by or awarded to the
individual traveler. Neither the earning or awarding of mileage
credit, nor the redeeming of credit for actual travel, shall be subject
to reporting pursuant to Section 84211.

(b) (1) Campaign funds shall not be used to pay for or reimburse
the cost of professional services unless the services are directly
related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose.

(2) Expenditures by a committee to pay for professional services
reasonably required by the committee to assist it in the performance
of its administrative functions are directly related to a political,
legislative, or governmental purpose.

(3) Campaign funds shall not be used to pay health-related
expenses for a candidate, elected officer, or any individual or
individuals with authority to approve the expenditure of campaign
funds held by a committee, or members of his or her household.
“Health-related expenses” includes, but is not limited to,
examinations by physicians, dentists, psychiatrists, psychologists,
or counselors, expenses for medications, treatments or medical
equipment, and expenses for hospitalization, health club dues, and
special dietary foods. However, campaign funds may be used to
pay employer costs of health care benefits of a bona fide employee
or independent contractor of the committee.

(c)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Campaign funds shall not be used to pay or reimburse
fines, penalties, judgments, or settlements, except those resulting
from either of the following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  Parking citations incurred in the performance of an activity
that was directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental
purpose.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  Any other action for which payment of attorney’s fees from
contributions would be permitted pursuant to this title.

begin insert

(2) Campaign funds shall not be used to pay a restitution fine
imposed under Section 86 of the Penal Code.

end insert

(d) Campaign funds shall not be used for campaign, business,
or casual clothing except specialty clothing that is not suitable for
everyday use, including, but not limited to, formal wear, if this
attire is to be worn by the candidate or elected officer and is directly
related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose.

(e) (1) Except where otherwise prohibited by law, campaign
funds may be used to purchase or reimburse for the costs of
purchase of tickets to political fundraising events for the attendance
of a candidate, elected officer, or his or her immediate family, or
an officer, director, employee, or staff of the committee or the
elected officer’s governmental agency.

(2) Campaign funds shall not be used to pay for or reimburse
for the costs of tickets for entertainment or sporting events for the
candidate, elected officer, or members of his or her immediate
family, or an officer, director, employee, or staff of the committee,
unless their attendance at the event is directly related to a political,
legislative, or governmental purpose.

(3) The purchase of tickets for entertainment or sporting events
for the benefit of persons other than the candidate, elected officer,
or his or her immediate family are governed by subdivision (f).

(f) (1) Campaign funds shall not be used to make personal gifts
unless the gift is directly related to a political, legislative, or
governmental purpose. The refund of a campaign contribution
does not constitute the making of a gift.

(2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of campaign
funds to reimburse or otherwise compensate a public employee
for services rendered to a candidate or committee while on
vacation, leave, or otherwise outside of compensated public time.

(3) An election victory celebration or similar campaign event,
or gifts with a total cumulative value of less than two hundred fifty
dollars ($250) in a single year made to an individual employee, a
committee worker, or an employee of the elected officer’s agency,
are considered to be directly related to a political, legislative, or
governmental purpose. For purposes of this paragraph, a gift to a
member of a person’s immediate family shall be deemed to be a
gift to that person.

(g) Campaign funds shall not be used to make loans other than
to organizations pursuant to Section 89515, or, unless otherwise
prohibited, to a candidate for elective office, political party, or
committee.

SEC. 3.  

Section 86 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

86.  

Every Member of either house of the Legislature, or any
member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county,
school district, or other special district, who asks, receives, or
agrees to receive, any bribe, upon any understanding that his or
her official vote, opinion, judgment, or action shall be influenced
thereby, or shall give, in any particular manner, or upon any
particular side of any question or matter upon which he or she may
be required to act in his or her official capacity, or gives, or offers
or promises to give, any official vote in consideration that another
Member of the Legislature, or another member of the legislative
body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other
special district shall give this vote either upon the same or another
question, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for
two, three, or four years and, in cases in which no bribe has been
actually received, by a restitution fine of not less than begin delete two thousand
dollars ($2,000) end delete begin insert four thousand dollars ($4,000) end insert or not more than
begin delete ten thousand dollars ($10,000) end delete begin insert twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) end insert
or, in cases in which a bribe was actually received, by a restitution
fine of at least the actual amount of the bribe received or begin delete two
thousand dollars ($2,000) end delete begin insert four thousand dollars ($4,000) end insert ,
whichever is greater, or any larger amount of not more than double
the amount of any bribe received or begin delete ten thousand dollars ($10,000) end delete
begin insert twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) end insert , whichever is greater.

In imposing a fine under this section, the court shall consider
the defendant’s ability to pay the fine.

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

SEC. 5.  

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
Code.