Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2284

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 amended, 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 begin delete provide that a member end delete begin insert make a Member end insert who, after deciding to resign, uses campaign funds for purposes other than those authorized in that circumstance begin delete shall be end delete personally liable for expenses to hold begin delete the end delete begin insert a end insert 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 begin delete shall end delete subsequently begin insert shall end insert only use funds held pursuant to this
section to pay outstanding campaign debts or reasonable expenses.
Funds held pursuant to this section begin delete shall be governed by end delete begin insert are subject
to end insert Section 89519 to the extent they become surplus funds.

(d) There begin delete shall be end delete begin insert is end insert a rebuttable presumption that a State
Senator or Member of the Assembly begin insert who resigns end insert decided to begin delete resign end delete
begin insert do so end insert six months before he or she vacated office. The presumption
may be rebutted begin delete by, among other things, end delete begin insert by objective evidence,
such as end insert evidence indicating that the former officeholder initiated
or responded to an offer of begin delete employment more than six months
before vacating office. end delete begin insert employment on a particular date, that the
State Senator or Member of the Assembly decided to resign greater
than or less than six months before he or she vacated office. end insert

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 begin delete , but not limited to, end delete 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.