BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1107 (Allen) - Political Reform Act of 1974: public moneys:
definition
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|Version: March 28, 2016 |Policy Vote: E. & C.A. 4 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 2, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1107 would (1) provide, within the Political Reform
Act (PRA), an exception to the existing ban on use of public
moneys for the purpose of seeking public office, (2) prohibit
foreign contributions to candidates, and (3) require that an
officeholder who is convicted of specified crimes to forfeit any
remaining campaign funds to the General Fund.
Fiscal
Impact:
The Fair Political Practices Committee (FPPC) indicates
that it would incur first-year costs of $167,000 and
ongoing annual costs of $160,000 to implement the
provisions of the bill (General Fund).
One-time costs in the range of $414,000 to $552,000 to
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the Secretary of State (SOS) for printing and mailing costs
to place the measure on the ballot in the next statewide
election. (General Fund)
Background: Under current law, pursuant to the PRA as amended by
Proposition 73 (1988), no public officer shall expend and no
candidate shall accept any public moneys for the purpose of
seeking elective office. The PRA may only be amended or repealed
in the following manner: (1) amended to further its purposes by
a statute passed in each house of the Legislature by a
two-thirds vote and signed by the Governor, or (2) amended or
repealed by a statute that becomes effective only when approved
by the electors. The Legislature may place a PRA amendment on
the ballot by majority vote in each house and signed by the
Governor.
Pursuant to the California Constitution, current law provides
that every person shall be disqualified from holding any office
in the State who has been convicted of having given or offered a
bribe to procure personal election or appointment and that laws
shall be made to exclude persons convicted of bribery, perjury,
forgery, malfeasance in office, or other high crimes from office
or serving on juries. Additionally, a person shall not be
considered a candidate for, and is not eligible to be elected
to, any state or local elective office if the person has been
convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering
to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion
or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any
of those crimes.
Campaign funds under the control of a former candidate or
elected officer are considered "surplus campaign funds" on the
90th day after the person leaves office, or on the 90th day
following the end of the postelection reporting period following
the defeat of the candidate, whichever occurs last. Surplus
campaign funds to be used only for the following purposes:
The payment of outstanding campaign debts or elected
officer's expenses.
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The repayment of contributions.
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.
Contributions to a political party committee, provided
that the campaign funds are not used to support or oppose a
candidate for elective office. However, contributions made
pursuant to this provision may be used by a political party
committee to conduct partisan voter registration, partisan
get-out-the-vote activities, and slate-mailers.
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.
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.
Current law prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal
from making, directly or through any other person, a
contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in
connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition
to, a state or local ballot measure. A person or a committee is
prohibited from soliciting or accepting a contribution from a
foreign government or a foreign principal, as defined, in
connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition
to, any state or local ballot measure. These restrictions do
not prohibit a contribution, expenditure, or independent
expenditure made by a lawfully admitted permanent resident. A
person who violates these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be fined an amount equal to the amount contributed or
expended.
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The FPPC recently brought an enforcement action for the first
time in a case involving foreign contributions made in
connection with a November 2012 Los Angeles County ballot
measure (Measure B) dealing with adult film production.
Ultimately, FPPC fined subsidiaries of Manwin International, (a
Luxembourg-based corporation) for unlawful contributions to the
committee opposing Measure B, as well as the committee itself.
Proposed Law:
This bill would do all of the following:
Permit a public officer or candidate to expend or accept
public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office if
the state or a local governmental entity establishes a
dedicated fund for this purpose, and both of the following
are true: (1) public moneys held in the fund are available
to all qualified, voluntarily participating candidates for
the same office without regard to incumbency or political
party preference, and (2) the state or local governmental
entity has established criteria for determining a
candidate's qualification by statute, ordinance,
resolution, or charter.
Provide that a state or local officeholder who is
convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or
offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public
money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or
conspiracy to commit any of those crimes, and whose
conviction has become final, may only use funds held by the
officeholder's candidate controlled committee only for the
payment of outstanding campaign debts or expenses and the
repayment of contributions.
Require that six months after conviction for one of the
aforementioned felonies becomes final, the officeholder
shall forfeit any remaining funds and these funds shall be
deposited in the general fund. This provision does not
apply to funds held by a ballot measure committee or in a
legal defense fund.
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Expand the scope of the PRA's prohibitions relating to
contributions by foreign governments and principals in
relation to ballot measures by also prohibiting a foreign
government or principal from making a contribution in
support of, or opposition to, a state or local candidate.
Provide that a person who violates the PRA's foreign
contribution ban is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
fined the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal to the
amount contributed or expended. Alternatively provides
that a person who violates this prohibition can be held
liable in a civil action brought by the civil prosecutor,
for each violation, for the greater of $10,000 or an amount
equal to the amount contributed or expended. The civil
prosecutor may not bring a civil action against a person
who is being criminally prosecuted for violation of same
prohibition.
Require SOS to submit this bill to the voters for
approval at a statewide election occurring at least 131
days after the adoption of the proposal by the Legislature.
Related
Legislation: AB 2250 (Ridley-Thomas), which is pending on the
Assembly Floor, is similar to the section of this bill that
would prohibit, under state law, contributions, expenditures,
and independent expenditures from foreign governments and
foreign principals in connection with candidate elections.
Staff
Comments: Most California local governments do not have the
option to offer any public funding to electoral campaigns, under
the existing statewide ban. While charter cities are exempt
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under autonomy granted by the state Constitution, general law
cities, counties, districts, and the state government are
covered by the current state ban. After voters in Sacramento
County enacted public financing several years ago, the courts
struck it down as a violation of Proposition 73.
Currently, six charter cities provide limited public funding to
match small campaign contributions (Los Angeles, Long Beach,
Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, and San Francisco). Proponents
of these programs describe them as intended to provide
candidates with an alternative to relying on large campaign
contributions and amplify the voices of Californians who make
small donations. The bill would remove the ban on voluntary
public financing campaigns.
Additionally, it also would make two other changes. Currently,
foreign corporations and governments may not donate to ballot
measure campaigns, but current law does not ban contributions to
candidates. The bill would extend the ban to prohibit foreign
corporations and governments from donating to state or local
candidates, enforceable by FPPC.
Lastly, when an elected official is convicted of a felony that
includes the abuse of their office, such as bribery or
embezzlement, they are disqualified from running for office
again. In such instances, the bill would require the convicted
official to return any unused campaign funds to donors or pay
past debts, and forfeit any surplus funds after six months to
the General Fund.
FPPC indicates that it would incur first-year costs of $167,000
and ongoing annual costs of $160,000 to implement the provisions
of the bill. Increased workload under the bill would include:
(1) further developing subject matter expertise and compiling
legal research on public financing so to advise local
jurisdictions and the State regarding best practices and legal
parameters for public financing systems, (2) repealing
Regulation 18530 and issuing new regulations, which are likely
to be substantial, and (3) compliance activities to ensure any
public financing systems comply with the requirements in the
legislation.
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SOS indicates that printing and mailing costs associated with
placing a measure on the statewide ballot are approximately
$69,000 per page, depending on the length of the ballot. The
fiscal estimates noted above reflect the addition of 6-8 pages
in the Voter Information Guide. Actual costs would depend upon
the length of the title and summary, analysis by the Legislative
Analyst's Office, proponent and opponent arguments, and text of
the proposal.
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