BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1666|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1666
Author: Garcia (D), et al.
Amended: 8/13/14 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONST. AMEND. COMM. : 4-1, 6/24/14
AYES: Padilla, Hancock, Jackson, Pavley
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act: campaign funds: bribery
fines
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill doubles the restitution fines for a member
of the Legislature or any member of a local government
legislative body who asks for or receives a bribe in exchange
for influence over his/her official action, as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/13/14 add double-jointing language
with AB 1692 (Garcia) and SB 831 (Hill) to avoid chaptering out
issues.
ANALYSIS :
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Existing law:
1.Provides that every member of the Legislature, or any member
of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county,
school district, or other special district, who asks,
receives, or agrees to receive, any bribe, upon any
understanding that his/her official vote, opinion, judgment,
or action shall be influenced thereby, or shall give, in any
particular manner, or upon any particular side of any question
or matter upon which he or she may be required to act in
his/her official capacity, or gives, or offers or promises to
give, any official vote in consideration that another member
of the Legislature, or another member of the legislative body
of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other
special district shall give this vote either upon the same or
another question, is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years and, in cases in which no
bribe has been actually received, by a restitution fine of not
less than $2,000, or not more than $10,000, or in cases in
which a bribe was actually received, by a restitution fine of
at least the actual amount of the bribe received or $2,000,
whichever is greater, or any larger amount of not more than
double the amount of any bribe received or $10,000, whichever
is greater. The court, in imposing a fine under this
provision, must consider the defendant's ability to pay the
fine.
2.Prohibits, pursuant to the Political Reform Act, the use of
campaign funds for an expenditure that confers a substantial
personal benefit on any individual or individuals with
authority to approve the expenditure unless the expenditure is
directly related to a political, legislative, or governmental
purpose.
This bill:
1.Doubles the restitution fines for a member of the Legislature
or any member of a local government legislative body who asks
for or receives a bribe in exchange for influence over his/her
official action, as follows:
A. In cases where no bribe was actually received, from a
minimum of $2,000 to a minimum of $4,000 and from a maximum
of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000.
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B. In cases where a bribe was received, from a minimum of
the actual amount of the bribe received or $2,000,
whichever is greater, and a maximum of up to double the
amount of any bribe received or $10,000, or whichever is
greater, to a minimum of the amount of the bribe received
or $4,000, whichever is greater and a maximum of up to
double the amount of any bribe received or $20,000,
whichever is greater.
1.Amends the PRA to prohibit campaign funds from being used to
pay the restitution fines provided for above.
2.Contains double-jointing language with AB 1692 (Garcia) and SB
831 (Hill) to avoid chaptering out issues.
Background
Restitution fines . According to the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board, restitution fines are
required by law in every criminal case in which an adult
offender is convicted of a crime, unless a judge finds
compelling and extraordinary reasons that the offender should
not pay a fine. Fines for adults convicted of misdemeanors
range from $120 to $1,000. Adults convicted of felonies must
pay between $240 to $10,000.
All restitution fines paid by offenders go to the Restitution
Fund which supports the California Victim Compensation Program.
The court imposes a restitution order to cover actual crime
related expenses incurred by a victim as a result of the crime.
Related Legislation
AB 1692 (Garcia) limits the use of campaign funds and legal
defense funds to pay fines and penalties that are imposed for an
improper personal use of campaign funds, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14)
Secretary of State
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill strengthens penalties associated with bribes by increasing
the fines imposed and by ensuring those convicted must pay
penalties out of personal funds, not out of accounts meant for
running for office.
Current statute prohibits the giving or offering of a bribe to a
legislator, as well as the receiving, asking, or agreeing to
receive a bribe, including vote trading, by a legislator.
Violation of these laws law (Penal Code Section 85-86) is a
felony and in cases where a bribe is actually received, the
penalty may be comprised of the actual amount received or a fine
ranging from $2,000-$10,000, whichever is greater. Instances
where no bribe is received, penalties can range from
$2,000-$10,000.
These fines, established in 2001 by SB 923 (McPherson, Chapter
282) have not been updated and there is currently no prohibition
on how the convicted must pay the fines. Essentially, this
means that the fines can be paid out of campaign funds, not
personal funds.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy
RM:e 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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