BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
ELECTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Senator Ben Allen, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2558 Hearing Date: 6/21/16
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|Author: |Steinorth |
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|Version: |2/19/16 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Darren Chesin |
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Subject: Political Reform Act of 1974: San Bernardino County
DIGEST
This bill removes the January 1, 2018, sunset date from a
provision of law that authorizes the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC) to enforce San Bernardino County's local
campaign finance reform ordinance, as specified.
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1)Creates the FPPC, and makes it responsible for the impartial,
effective administration and implementation of the Political
Reform Act (PRA).
2)Requires a local government agency that adopts or amends a
local campaign finance ordinance 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
additional or different requirements apply only to the
candidates seeking election in that jurisdiction, their
controlled committees or committees formed or existing
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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 which is being voted on only in that
jurisdiction, and to city or county general purpose committees
active only in that city or county, respectively.
4)Authorizes the FPPC, until January 1, 2018 and 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. Requires the San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors to consult with the FPPC prior to adopting and
amending any local campaign finance reform ordinance that is
subsequently enforced by the FPPC.
5)Authorizes the FPPC, pursuant to the aforementioned agreement,
to investigate possible violations of the San Bernardino
County campaign finance reform ordinance and bring
administrative actions against persons who violate the
ordinance, as specified.
6)Permits the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and the
FPPC to enter into any agreements necessary and appropriate
for the operation of these provisions, including agreements
for reimbursement of state costs with county funds, as
specified. Permits the San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors or the FPPC, at any time, by ordinance or
resolution, to terminate any agreement for the FPPC to
administer, implement, or enforce the local campaign finance
reform ordinance or any provision thereof.
7)Requires the FPPC to report to the Legislature with specified
information on or before January 1, 2017, if the FPPC enters
into such an agreement with the San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors, as specified.
This bill:
1)Deletes the January 1, 2018, sunset date from the provision of
AB 2558 (Steinorth) Page 3
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law that authorizes the FPPC, upon a 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 San
Bernardino County's local campaign finance reform ordinance.
BACKGROUND
San Bernardino County -- FPPC Agreement . In 2012, the
Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 2146 (Cook,
Chapter 169, Statutes of 2012), which 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 reform
ordinance. Prior to this, the FPPC did not enforce any local
campaign finance ordinances. According to previous analyses,
the County of San Bernardino, which had been the subject of
several high-profile corruption cases, was in the process of
developing a campaign finance ordinance.
Rather than appoint an ethics commission, which could present
financial as well as conflict of interest challenges, the County
proposed to contract with the FPPC to enforce their local
campaign finance ordinance. Moreover, the County determined
that it was in the best interest of the County to retain the
services of the FPPC to provide for the enforcement and
interpretation of San Bernardino County's local campaign finance
ordinance as 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.
As a result, the FPPC and San Bernardino County entered into a
mutual agreement, from January 1, 2013 through December 31,
2014, for the FPPC to provide the County campaign enforcement
and interpretation services for the impartial, effective
administration, implementation, and enforcement of the San
Bernardino's campaign finance reform ordinance. According to
the FPPC, San Bernardino County and the FPPC have entered into a
new two-year mutual agreement from January 1, 2015 through
December 31, 2016.
FPPC's San Bernardino County Report . As mentioned above, in
2012, AB 2146 (Cook) became law to permit San Bernardino County
and the FPPC to enter into an agreement for the FPPC to enforce
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the County's local campaign finance reform ordinance. Among
other provisions, AB 2146 also required the FPPC, if it entered
into an agreement with the San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors, to report to the Legislature with specified
information on or before January 1, 2017. Current law requires
the report to include, but not be limited to, the status of the
agreement, the estimated annual cost savings, if any, for the
County of San Bernardino, a summary of relevant annual
performance metrics, as specified, any public comments submitted
relative to the operation of the agreement, and any legislative
recommendations. The FPPC submitted the report to the
Legislature on March 24, 2016. According to the report, the
FPPC served to administer, interpret and enforce the County's
ordinance, focusing on four key areas - advising, informing,
auditing and enforcing. Key points detailing the FPPC's
responsibilities include, but is not limited to, the following:
Advising candidates for elected county offices and potential
contributors in county elections regarding the county's local
campaign finance reform ordinance;
Proposing revisions to the original ordinance to help the
ordinance more closely align with the PRA;
Providing training and developing educational materials to
assist candidates and campaign treasurers in the county;
Conducting audits of 22 candidates and campaign committees;
Resolving 23 cases involving committees, candidates, and
donors involved in San Bernardino County elections (of those
23 cases, the FPPC prosecuted 9 cases resulting in fines,
issued warning letters in 4 cases, and closed 10 cases with no
violation found).
Additionally, County staff stated that the agreement between the
FPPC and San Bernardino County resulted in substantial savings
when compared to the cost of other public ethics commissions and
aided in enforcement proceedings by removing any semblance of
conflict of interest. The report concluded by stating that the
partnership between the FPPC and the San Bernardino County has
been successful and both the FPPC and San Bernardino County
support removing the sunset date from the statute.
Local Campaign Ordinances and the PRA . Under existing law,
local government agencies have the ability to adopt campaign
ordinances that apply to elections within their jurisdictions,
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though the PRA imposes certain limited restrictions on those
local ordinances. For instance, 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 solely 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.
Aside from these restrictions, however, local government
agencies generally have a significant amount of latitude when
developing local campaign finance ordinances that apply to
elections in those agencies' jurisdictions. Any jurisdiction
that adopts or amends a local campaign finance ordinance is
required to file a copy of that ordinance with the FPPC, and the
FPPC posts those ordinances on its website.
Several cities and counties have adopted campaign finance
ordinances, some of which are very extensive. In some cases,
those ordinances include campaign contribution limits, reporting
and disclosure requirements that supplement the requirements of
the PRA, temporal restrictions on when campaign funds may 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. In at least a few cases, however,
local jurisdictions have set up independent boards or
commissions to enforce the local campaign finance laws.
The FPPC does not currently enforce any local campaign finance
ordinances other than San Bernardino County's. The FPPC can and
does, however, bring 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.
Criminal, Civil, and Administrative Enforcement of the PRA and
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Local Campaign Ordinances . Violations of the PRA are subject to
administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. Generally, 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 can impose monetary penalties of up to $5,000 per
violation, in addition to ordering the violator to cease and
desist violation of the 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. 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.
COMMENTS
1)According to the author : By removing the 2018 sunset date
from statute, AB 2558 will continue the existing, effective
partnership between San Bernardino County and the FPPC for
enforcement of local campaign finance ordinances. In 2012,
the County established a campaign finance ordinance with
contribution limits mirroring those applied to State Senate
and Assembly candidates. However, appointing an ethics
commission to enforce the ordinance could have created
financial and conflict-of-interest challenges to the County,
which had suffered various levels of corruption in its local
governments over recent years.
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Instead, AB 2146 (Cook, 2012) allowed the County to contract
with the FPPC for enforcement of their local ordinance. The
FPPC willingly took on responsibility for this enforcement in
2012. This partnership has been successful, cost-effective,
and mutually beneficial to the two entities. AB 2558 seeks to
continue this arrangement by removing the 2018 sunset date
from statute.
RELATED/PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 2070 (Harper), which was heard but never voted upon in the
Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee, would have
authorized the FPPC, upon mutual agreement between the FPPC and
the Board of Supervisors of the County of Orange, to administer
and enforce a local campaign finance ordinance passed by the
Orange County Board of Supervisors, as specified.
AB 1083 (Eggman, Chapter 186, Statutes of 2015), permits the
City Council of the City of Stockton and the FPPC to enter into
an agreement that provides for the FPPC to enforce a local
campaign finance ordinance passed by the City Council of the
City of Stockton.
AB 910 (Harper of 2015), would have authorized the FPPC to
administer and enforce a local campaign finance ordinance for
any city or county, upon mutual agreement between the FPPC and
the local agency, as specified. AB 910 was never heard in
Assembly policy committee.
SB 1226 (Correa of 2014), would have 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.
PRIOR ACTION
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|Assembly Floor: |76 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |16 - 0 |
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|Assembly Local Government Committee | 9 - 0 |
|Assembly Elections and Redistricting | 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | |
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POSITIONS
Sponsor: San Bernardino County
Support: California State Association of Counties
Fair Political Practices Commission
Urban Counties of California
Oppose: None received
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