BILL NUMBER: AB 2284 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Patterson
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to add Section 10708 to the Elections Code, and to amend
Sections 89510 and 89519 of the Government Code, relating to
elections.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2284, as introduced, Patterson. Special elections to fill
vacancies.
The California Constitution requires the Governor to immediately
call an election to fill a vacancy in the Legislature. Existing law
provides specific procedures for the nomination and election of
candidates at any special election to fill a vacancy in the office of
State Senator or Member of the Assembly.
Exiting law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides that
contributions deposited into a campaign account are deemed to be held
in trust for expenses associated with the election of a candidate or
for expenses associated with holding office. The act provides that
campaign funds under the control of a former candidate or elected
officer are considered surplus campaign funds at a prescribed time,
and it prohibits the use of surplus campaign funds except for
specified purposes.
This bill would prohibit a State Senator or Member of the Assembly
who decides to resign from office before the expiration of his or
her term from subsequently using campaign funds held in trust for any
purpose other than paying outstanding campaign debts or reasonable
expenses. The bill would amend the list of specified purposes
allowable for the use of surplus campaign funds to include the
payment of expenses to hold a special election to fill the vacancy
created by the Member's resignation and would require the former
Member to pay from his or her surplus campaign funds such
election-related expenses, to the extent he or she has funds
available to do so. Once election-related expenses are paid, this
bill would limit the use of excess surplus funds to charitable
purposes.
This bill would further provide that a member who, after deciding
to resign, uses campaign funds for purposes other than those
authorized in that circumstance shall be personally liable for
expenses to hold the special election.
A violation of the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974
is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 10708 is added to the Elections Code, to read:
10708. (a) A State Senator or Member of the Assembly who resigns
from office before the expiration of his or her term shall reimburse
from his or her surplus campaign funds the county or counties that
hold a special election pursuant to this chapter to fill the vacancy
for any expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in the
preparation for, and conduct of, the special election.
(b) Expenses for which reimbursement is required pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be paid from the former officeholder's surplus
campaign funds, as defined by Section 89519 of the Government Code,
to the extent he or she has funds available to do so; however, if a
former officeholder violates subdivision (c) of Section 89510 of the
Government Code, he or she shall be personally liable for those
expenses to the extent he or she lacks sufficient surplus campaign
funds to pay them.
(c) If the legislative district encompasses more than one county,
the surplus campaign funds shall be prorated among the counties
conducting the special election in proportion to the percentage of
the district each county composes.
SEC. 2. Section 89510 of the Government Code is amended to read:
89510. (a) A candidate for elective state office may only accept
contributions within the limits provided in Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 85100).
(b) All contributions deposited into the campaign account shall be
deemed to be held in trust for expenses associated with the election
of the candidate or for expenses associated with holding office.
(c) If a State Senator or Member of the Assembly decides to resign
from office before the expiration of his or her term, he or she
shall subsequently only use funds held pursuant to this section to
pay outstanding campaign debts or reasonable expenses. Funds held
pursuant to this section shall be governed by Section 89519 to the
extent they become surplus funds.
(d) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a State Senator
or Member of the Assembly decided to resign six months before he or
she vacated office. The presumption may be rebutted by, among other
things, evidence indicating that the former officeholder initiated or
responded to an offer of employment more than six months before
vacating office.
SEC. 3. Section 89519 of the Government Code is amended to read:
89519. (a) Upon the 90th day after leaving an elective office, or
the 90th day following the end of the postelection reporting period
following the defeat of a candidate for elective office, whichever
occurs last, campaign funds under the control of the former candidate
or elected officer shall be considered surplus campaign funds and
shall be disclosed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
84100).
(b) Surplus campaign funds shall be used only for the following
purposes:
(1) The payment of outstanding campaign debts or elected officer's
expenses.
(2) The repayment of contributions.
(3) Donations to a bona fide charitable, educational, civic,
religious, or similar tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, where no
substantial part of the proceeds will have a material financial
effect on the former candidate or elected officer, any member of his
or her immediate family, or his or her campaign treasurer.
(4) Contributions to a political party committee, provided the
campaign funds are not used to support or oppose candidates for
elective office. However, the campaign funds may be used by a
political party committee to conduct partisan voter registration,
partisan get-out-the-vote activities, and slate mailers as that term
is defined in Section 82048.3.
(5) Contributions to support or oppose a candidate for federal
office, a candidate for elective office in a state other than
California, or a ballot measure.
(6) The payment for professional services reasonably required by
the committee to assist in the performance of its administrative
functions, including payment for attorney's fees and other costs for
litigation that arises directly out of a candidate's or elected
officer's activities, duties, or status as a candidate or elected
officer, including, but not limited to, an action to enjoin
defamation, defense of an action brought for a violation of state or
local campaign, disclosure, or election laws, and an action from an
election contest or recount.
(7) The payment of expenses authorized and necessarily incurred in
the preparation for, and conduct of, a special election, as required
by Section 10708 of the Elections Code. Surplus campaign funds shall
be applied to these costs before being used for any other purpose,
and any funds remaining after payment of these costs shall be used
only for the purposes described in paragraph (3) of this subdivision.
(c) For purposes of this section, the payment for, or the
reimbursement to the state of, the costs of installing and monitoring
an electronic security system in the home or office, or both, of a
candidate or elected officer who has received threats to his or her
physical safety shall be deemed an outstanding campaign debt or
elected officer's expense, provided that the threats arise from his
or her activities, duties, or status as a candidate or elected
officer and that the threats have been reported to and verified by an
appropriate law enforcement agency. Verification shall be determined
solely by the law enforcement agency to which the threat was
reported. The candidate or elected officer shall report an
expenditure of campaign funds made pursuant to this section to the
Commission. The report to the Commission shall include the date that
the candidate or elected officer informed the law enforcement agency
of the threat, the name and the telephone number of the law
enforcement agency, and a brief description of the threat. No more
than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in surplus campaign funds may be
used, cumulatively, by a candidate or elected officer pursuant to
this subdivision. Payments made pursuant to this subdivision shall be
made during the two years immediately following the date upon which
the campaign funds become surplus campaign funds. The candidate or
elected officer shall reimburse the surplus fund account for the fair
market value of the security system no later than two years
immediately following the date upon which the campaign funds became
surplus campaign funds. The campaign funds become surplus campaign
funds upon sale of the property on which the system is installed, or
prior to the closing of the surplus campaign fund account, whichever
comes first. The electronic security system shall be the property of
the campaign committee of the candidate or elected officer.
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.