BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1083
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 1083
(Eggman) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Political Reform Act of 1974: local enforcement.
SUMMARY: Allows the City of Stockton (City) to enter into an
agreement with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
for the FPPC to administer and enforce the City's local campaign
finance ordinance. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that, upon mutual agreement between the FPPC and the
City Council (Council)
of the City, the FPPC is authorized to assume primary
responsibility for the impartial, effective administration,
implementation, and enforcement of a local campaign finance
ordinance passed by the Council.
2)Provides that the FPPC is authorized to be the civil
prosecutor responsible for the civil enforcement of the
ordinance described above. As the civil prosecutor, the FPPC
may do both of the following:
a) Investigate possible violations of the local campaign
finance reform ordinance; and,
b) Bring administrative actions in accordance with the
Political Reform Act (PRA) and the administrative
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adjudication provisions of the Administrative Procedure
Act.
3)Requires any local campaign finance reform ordinance of the
City that is enforced by the FPPC to comply with the PRA.
4)Requires the Council to consult with the FPPC prior to
adopting and amending any local campaign finance reform
ordinance that will be enforced by the FPPC.
5)Permits the Council and the FPPC to enter into any agreements
necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this
bill, including agreements pertaining to any necessary
reimbursement of state costs with city funds for costs
incurred by the FPPC in administering, implementing, or
enforcing a local campaign finance reform ordinance pursuant
to this bill.
6)Prohibits an agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions
of this bill from containing any form of a cancellation fee,
liquidated damages provision, or other financial disincentive
to the exercise of the right to terminate the agreement,
except that the FPPC may require the Council to pay the FPPC
for services rendered and any other expenditures reasonably
made by the FPPC in anticipation of services to be rendered
pursuant to the agreement, if the Council terminates the
agreement.
7)Permits the Council or the FPPC to terminate, at any time, by
ordinance or resolution, any agreement made pursuant to this
bill for the FPPC to administer, implement, or enforce a local
campaign finance reform ordinance or any other provisions
thereof.
8)Requires the FPPC, if an agreement is entered into pursuant to
the provisions of this bill, to report to the Legislature on
or before January 1, 2019, and submit that report in
compliance with current law. Requires the FPPC to develop the
report in consultation with the Council.
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9)Requires the report to include, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
a) The status of the agreement;
b) The estimated annual cost savings, if any, for the City;
c) A summary of relevant annual performance metrics,
including measures of utilization, enforcement, and
customer satisfaction;
d) Public comments submitted to the FPPC or the City
relative to the operation of the agreement; and,
e) Legislative recommendations.
10)Contains a January 1, 2020, sunset date.
11)Makes legislative findings and declarations as to the
necessity of a special statute for the City due to the need to
avoid an appearance of corruption in the City's electoral
process.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates the FPPC and makes it responsible for the impartial,
effective administration and implementation of the PRA.
2)Requires local government agencies that adopt or amend local
campaign finance ordinances to file a copy of the ordinance
with the FPPC.
3)Prohibits a local government agency from enacting a campaign
finance ordinance that imposes campaign reporting requirements
that are additional to or different from those set forth in
the PRA for elections held in its jurisdiction, unless the
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additional or different requirements apply only to the
candidates seeking election in that jurisdiction, their
controlled committees or committees formed or existing
primarily to support or oppose their candidacies, and to
committees formed or existing primarily to support or oppose a
candidate or to support or oppose the qualification or passage
of a local ballot measure being voted on only in that
jurisdiction, and to city or county general purpose committees
active only in that city or county.
4)Provides that nothing in the PRA shall nullify contribution
limitations or prohibitions of any local jurisdiction that
apply to elections for local elective office, except that
these limitations and prohibitions may not conflict with a
specified provision of the PRA dealing with "member
communications."
5)Provides that payments made for communications to members,
employees, shareholders, or families of members, employees, or
shareholders of an organization for the purpose of supporting
or opposing a candidate or a ballot measure, which are
referred to as "member communications," are not contributions
or expenditures, if those payments are not made for general
public advertising such as broadcasting, billboards, and
newspaper advertisements.
6)Makes violations of the PRA subject to administrative, civil,
and criminal penalties.
7)Allows the FPPC, upon mutual agreement between the FPPC and
the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, to have
primary responsibility for the impartial, effective
administration, implementation, and enforcement of a local San
Bernardino County campaign finance reform ordinance. The San
Bernardino County Board of Supervisors must consult with the
FPPC prior to adopting or amending any local campaign finance
reform ordinance that is subsequently enforced by the FPPC.
8)Allows the FPPC, pursuant to 7), above, to investigate
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possible violations of the San Bernardino County campaign
finance reform ordinance and bring administrative actions
against persons who violate the ordinance, as specified.
9)Allows the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and the
FPPC to enter into any agreements necessary and appropriate
for the operation of 7), above, including agreements for
reimbursement of state costs with county funds, as specified.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors or the FPPC
may, at any time, by ordinance or resolution, terminate any
agreement for the FPPC to administer, implement, or enforce
the local campaign finance reform ordinance or any provision
thereof.
10)Requires, if the FPPC enters into such an agreement with the
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, the FPPC to report
to the Legislature by January 1, 2017, the following
information:
a) The status of the agreement;
b) The estimated annual cost savings, if any, for San
Bernardino County;
c) A summary of relevant annual performance metrics,
including measures of utilization, enforcement, and
customer satisfaction;
d) Any public comments submitted to the FPPC or San
Bernardino County relative to the operation of the
agreement; and,
e) Any legislative recommendations.
11)Sunsets the provisions of 7) through 10), above, on January
1, 2018.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal.
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COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill expands a limited authority that
became effective in 2012, which allows San Bernardino County
and the FPPC to enter into an agreement for the FPPC to
administer and enforce San Bernardino County's local campaign
finance ordinance, until January 1, 2018. This bill extends
this authority to the City of Stockton, until January 1, 2020.
This bill is sponsored by the author.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "This bill seeks
to amend the Political Reform Act of 1974 in order to
authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to
enter into an agreement with the City of Stockton to enforce
campaign contribution limits.
"There is an ongoing, national debate about the role money
plays in campaigns, and particularly the effect that large
contributions have on candidates once they are elected.
Candidates for elected office typically rely on money to fund
effective campaigns; the amount and source of those donations
can vary greatly. The City of Stockton currently imposes no
limits on donations by individuals to campaigns for city
offices, so the City Council is considering the adoption of a
municipal ordinance setting individual campaign donation
limits.
"The city does not have the resources to oversee and enforce
such an ordinance, but the FPPC has, through past legislation,
arranged with the County of San Bernardino to do just that.
This bill would simply allow the City of Stockton to make the
same mutual arrangement with the FPPC."
3)Background. Current law, pursuant to AB 2146 (Cook), Chapter
169, Statutes of 2012, allows San Bernardino County and the
FPPC to enter into a mutual agreement that permits the FPPC to
enforce the County's local campaign finance reform ordinance.
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AB 2146 was prompted by several high-profile campaign finance
corruption cases in San Bernardino County, which subsequently
developed and enacted a campaign finance reform ordinance.
San Bernardino County asked for legislative authority to
contract with the FPPC to administer and enforce its campaign
finance ordinance instead of creating an ethics commission as
a means to avoid financial and conflict-of-interest
challenges. San Bernardino County also wished to retain the
services of the FPPC to provide for the enforcement and
interpretation of San Bernardino County's local campaign
finance ordinance because the FPPC has special skills,
knowledge, experience, and expertise in the area of
enforcement and interpretation of campaign laws necessary to
effectively advise, assist, litigate, and otherwise represent
the County on such matters. The FPPC and San Bernardino
County entered into a mutual agreement on January 1, 2013.
Prior to AB 2146, the FPPC did not enforce any local campaign
finance ordinances.
4)Local Campaign Ordinances and the PRA. Current law allows
local government agencies to adopt campaign ordinances that
apply to elections within their jurisdictions, though the PRA
imposes certain limited restrictions on those local
ordinances. For example, SB 726 (McCorquodale), Chapter 1456,
Statutes of 1985, limited the ability of local jurisdictions
to impose campaign filing requirements that differed from
those in the PRA, permitting such requirements only when they
applied only to candidates and committees whose activity is
restricted primarily to the jurisdiction in question. This
provision sought to avoid the necessity of a candidate or
committee active over a wider area being required to adhere to
several different campaign filing schedules. Similarly, AB
1430 (Garrick), Chapter 708, Statutes of 2007, prohibited
local governments from adopting rules governing member
communications that are different than the rules that govern
member communications at the state level.
Several cities and counties have adopted campaign finance
ordinances, some of which are very extensive. In some cases,
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those ordinances include campaign contribution limits,
reporting and disclosure requirements that supplement the
requirements of the PRA, restrictions on when campaign funds
can be raised, and voluntary public financing of local
campaigns, among other provisions. In many cases, local
campaign finance ordinances are enforced by the district
attorney of the county or by the city attorney. However, some
local jurisdictions have established independent boards or
commissions to enforce local campaign finance laws.
The FPPC does not currently enforce any local campaign finance
ordinances other than San Bernardino County's. However, the
FPPC brings enforcement actions in response to violations of
the PRA that occur in campaigns for local office, even in
cases where the local jurisdiction brings separate enforcement
actions for violations of a local campaign finance ordinance.
5)Penalties Under Local Campaign Ordinances and the PRA.
Violations of the PRA are subject to administrative, civil,
and criminal penalties. Generally speaking, the Attorney
General (AG) and district attorneys have responsibility for
enforcing the criminal provisions of the PRA, though any
elected city attorney of a charter city also has the authority
to act as the criminal prosecutor for violations of the PRA
that occur within the city. The FPPC, the AG, district
attorneys, and elected city attorneys of charter cities all
have responsibility for enforcement of the civil penalties and
remedies provided under the PRA, depending on the nature and
location of the violation, while any member of the public also
has the ability to file a civil action to enforce the civil
provisions of the PRA, subject to certain restrictions. The
FPPC has the sole authority to bring administrative
proceedings for enforcement of the PRA. When the FPPC
determines on the basis of such a proceeding that a violation
of the PRA has occurred, it has the authority to impose
monetary penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, in addition
to ordering the violator to cease and desist violation of the
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PRA and to file any reports, statements, or other documents or
information required by the PRA.
In the case of local campaign ordinances, there is no single
approach as to the types of penalties that are available for
the violations of those ordinances. Many local ordinances
provide for misdemeanor or civil penalties for violations,
while some ordinances do not establish any penalties for
violations. In some local jurisdictions that have independent
boards or commissions to enforce the local campaign finance
ordinances, those boards or commissions have the authority to
bring administrative enforcement proceedings, similar to the
authority the FPPC has under the PRA.
6)Related Legislation. AB 910 (Harper) allows any city or
county to enter into an agreement with the FPPC for the FPPC
to administer and enforce a local campaign finance ordinance.
AB 910 was referred to the Assembly Elections and
Redistricting Committee, but was not heard at the request of
the author.
7)Previous Legislation. SB 1226 (Correa) of 2014, authorized
any city or county to enter into an agreement with the FPPC to
administer and enforce a local campaign finance ordinance.
The bill was gutted and amended in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 2146 (Cook), Chapter 169, Statutes of 2012, permitted San
Bernardino County and the FPPC to enter into an agreement that
provides for the FPPC to enforce the County's local campaign
finance ordinance.
8)Arguments in Support. None on file.
9)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
10)Two-thirds vote. California voters in 1974 passed
Proposition 9, commonly known as the PRA, which created the
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FPPC and codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. Amendments to the
PRA that are not submitted
to the voters, such as those contained in this bill, must
further the purposes of the PRA and require a two-thirds vote
of each house of the Legislature.
11)Double-Referral. This bill is scheduled to be heard in the
Elections and Redistricting Committee on April 29, 2015, and
will be heard by this Committee pending referral.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
AB 1083
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