BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1666| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1666 Author: Garcia (D), et al. Amended: 8/13/14 in Senate Vote: 27 SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 6/24/14 AYES: Padilla, Hancock, Jackson, Pavley NOES: Anderson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Political Reform Act: campaign funds: bribery fines SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill doubles the restitution fines for a member of the Legislature or any member of a local government legislative body who asks for or receives a bribe in exchange for influence over his/her official action, as specified. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/13/14 add double-jointing language with AB 1692 (Garcia) and SB 831 (Hill) to avoid chaptering out issues. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED AB 1666 Page 2 Existing law: 1.Provides that every 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, receives, or agrees to receive, any bribe, upon any understanding that his/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/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 $2,000, or not more than $10,000, 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 $2,000, whichever is greater, or any larger amount of not more than double the amount of any bribe received or $10,000, whichever is greater. The court, in imposing a fine under this provision, must consider the defendant's ability to pay the fine. 2.Prohibits, pursuant to the Political Reform Act, the use of campaign funds for an expenditure that confers a substantial personal benefit on any individual or individuals with authority to approve the expenditure unless the expenditure is directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose. This bill: 1.Doubles the restitution fines for a member of the Legislature or any member of a local government legislative body who asks for or receives a bribe in exchange for influence over his/her official action, as follows: A. In cases where no bribe was actually received, from a minimum of $2,000 to a minimum of $4,000 and from a maximum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000. CONTINUED AB 1666 Page 3 B. In cases where a bribe was received, from a minimum of the actual amount of the bribe received or $2,000, whichever is greater, and a maximum of up to double the amount of any bribe received or $10,000, or whichever is greater, to a minimum of the amount of the bribe received or $4,000, whichever is greater and a maximum of up to double the amount of any bribe received or $20,000, whichever is greater. 1.Amends the PRA to prohibit campaign funds from being used to pay the restitution fines provided for above. 2.Contains double-jointing language with AB 1692 (Garcia) and SB 831 (Hill) to avoid chaptering out issues. Background Restitution fines . According to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, restitution fines are required by law in every criminal case in which an adult offender is convicted of a crime, unless a judge finds compelling and extraordinary reasons that the offender should not pay a fine. Fines for adults convicted of misdemeanors range from $120 to $1,000. Adults convicted of felonies must pay between $240 to $10,000. All restitution fines paid by offenders go to the Restitution Fund which supports the California Victim Compensation Program. The court imposes a restitution order to cover actual crime related expenses incurred by a victim as a result of the crime. Related Legislation AB 1692 (Garcia) limits the use of campaign funds and legal defense funds to pay fines and penalties that are imposed for an improper personal use of campaign funds, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14) Secretary of State CONTINUED AB 1666 Page 4 ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this bill strengthens penalties associated with bribes by increasing the fines imposed and by ensuring those convicted must pay penalties out of personal funds, not out of accounts meant for running for office. Current statute prohibits the giving or offering of a bribe to a legislator, as well as the receiving, asking, or agreeing to receive a bribe, including vote trading, by a legislator. Violation of these laws law (Penal Code Section 85-86) is a felony and in cases where a bribe is actually received, the penalty may be comprised of the actual amount received or a fine ranging from $2,000-$10,000, whichever is greater. Instances where no bribe is received, penalties can range from $2,000-$10,000. These fines, established in 2001 by SB 923 (McPherson, Chapter 282) have not been updated and there is currently no prohibition on how the convicted must pay the fines. Essentially, this means that the fines can be paid out of campaign funds, not personal funds. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy RM:e 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 1666 Page 5 CONTINUED