BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2146
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 16, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                      AB 2146 (Cook) - As Amended:  May 7, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Local 
          GovernmentVote:8-0
                        Elections                             7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Authorizes the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to 
            assume primary responsibility for administration and 
            enforcement, as specified, of San Bernardino County's campaign 
            finance ordinance.

          2)The bill also authorizes the FPPC and the County to enter into 
            any mutual agreements necessary to implement (1), including 
            provisions regarding County reimbursement of FPPC's costs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          All costs to the FPPC will be reimbursed by the County by mutual 
          agreement.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, "Many counties and cities 
            across California have enacted campaign finance rules to 
            create a level playing field for candidates and to stem the 
            influence of "big money" in local politics. As a result, 
            locally appointed ethics commissions often enforce campaign 
            finance rules adopted by local governments. The County of San 
            Bernardino, which has been the subject of several high-profile 
            corruption cases, is in the process of developing a campaign 
            finance ordinance that would establish contribution limits 
            that mirror those applied to State Senate and Assembly 
            candidates. Rather than appointing an ethics commission, which 








                                                                  AB 2146
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            could present financial as well as conflict-of-interest 
            challenges, the County proposes to contract with the Fair 
            Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to enforce the rules."

           2)Background  . Under existing law, local government agencies have 
            the ability to adopt campaign ordinances that apply to 
            elections within their jurisdictions, though the Political 
            Reform Act (PRA) imposes certain limited restrictions on those 
            local ordinances. 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 has begun posting 
            those ordinances on its website.  The FPPC's website currently 
            includes campaign finance ordinances from 17 different 
            counties and from 130 different cities. 
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081