HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06271995 - SD12 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: Victor J. Westman, County Counsel
By: Mary Ann McNett Mason, Deputy County Counsel
DATE: June 22, 1995
SUBJECT: Amendment .of Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduce attached ordinance amending Ordinance Code section 530-
2 . 707 subsection (a) ; waive reading;, fix July 11 , 1995 for
consideration/adoption.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES XXX SIGNATURE
_ RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR _ RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
_ APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S) :
ACTION OF BOARD ON June 27, 1995 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED BOTHER X
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the proposed Amendment of Campaign Spending
Reform Ordinance is REFERRED to the Internal Operations Committee.
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ------------ TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN
AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: 2 MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Orig: County Counsel ATTESTED June 27, - 1995
cc: Clerk, Board of Supervisors PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF
Election Department THE BOARD OF .SUPERVISORS
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ORDINANCE NO. 95-
(Statement of acceptance of voluntary campaign
expenditure limits for supervisorial campaigns )
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors ordains as follows
(omitting the parenthetical footnotes from the official text of
the enacted or amended provisions of the County Ordinance Code) .
SECTION I . SUMMARY. This Ordinance amends section 530-2 . 707 of
the Fair Campaign Ordinance to provide that after a supervisorial
candidate has filed his or her statement of intention pursuant to
Government Code section 85200 he or she may file with the County
Clerk a statement accepting the voluntary campaign expenditure
limits .
SECTION II . Section 530-2 . 707 subsection (a) is amended to
modify the time during which the supervisorial candidate' s
statement accepting the expenditure ceiling may be filed, to
read:
530-2 . 707 Voluntary expenditure limits
(a) Statement accepting expenditure ceiling. All
candidates, other than recall candidates , who adopt the
expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (b)' below may accept
contributions in the amounts specified in section 530-2 . 703,
subsection (b) and section 530-2 . 704 , subsection (b) . All recall
candidates who adopt the expenditure ceiling specified in
subsection (b) below may accept contributions in the amounts
specified in section 530-2 . 703, subsection (c ) and section 530-
2 . 704 , subsection (c) . Before accepting any contributions in the
amounts specified in those sections, a candidate as specified in
subsection (b) below, must file with the County Clerk- election
division a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, which
states that the candidate accepts the expenditure ceiling. The
statement may be filed at any time after the candidate has filed
his or her statement of intention pursuant to Government Code
section 85200 until such time as the candidate files his or her
declaration of candidacy.
(b) Amount of expenditure ceiling. During an election
cycle, candidates who agree to accept the voluntary expenditure
ceiling shall not incur campaign expenditures exceeding eighty
thousand dollars ( $80, 000 ) , except as set forth in subsection (c)
below.
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
1
(c ) Contributions from individuals . During an election
cycle, a candidate who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling
and who raises twenty percent of the amount of that ceiling in
contributions of less than one hundred dollars ( $100 ) from
individuals residing in the supervisorial district in which the
candidate stands for election, may incur ten thousand dollars
( $10, 000 ) in campaign expenditures in addition to that amount
permitted in subsection (b) .
(d) Notification by candidate who exceeds ceiling. A
candidate who declines to accept the voluntary expenditure
ceiling and who receives contributions or makes expenditures
equal to or exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling shall
notify the County Clerk-election division by both telephone and
guaranteed overnight mail on the day the expenditure ceiling is
exceeded.
(e) Exclusions . For purposes of this Article, expenditures
subject to the expenditure ceiling do not include:
( 1 ) expenditures for campaigns for other offices;
( 2 ) expenditures for campaigns for the office of
Supervisor which occurred prior to the effective date of
this ordinance;
( 3 ) expenditures for office holder expenses . "Office
holder expenses" means those expenditures arising out of
the office holder' s official duties which directly assist
the office holder in performing his official duties, or
which directly relate to a governmental purpose. "Office
holder expenses " include but are not limited to, (a)
donations to charitable organizations; (b) the cost of
tickets to political events; (c) the cost of postage, office
supplies, stationary and similar expenses related to the
conduct or performance of the office holder' s governmental
duties ; (d) reasonable expenses for travel to conferences,
seminars , educational events and similar activities related
to the office holder' s position; (e) the cost of books or
publications reasonably related to the office holder's
position; ( f ) litigation expenses related to the office
holder' s actions as a supervisor. The expenses listed in
items (a) through ( f ) shall not be considered "office holder
expenses " if they are used in connection with any office
holder's campaign for a future term of office as a
Supervisor.
(Ords . 95- § 2; 95-8 . )
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
2
SECTION III . EFFECTIVE DATE . This ordinance becomes effective
30 days after passage, and within 15 days after passage shall be
published once with the names of supervisors voting for and
against it in the a newspaper published in
this County.
PASSED ON by the following vote:
AYES :
NOES:
ABSENT: '
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST: PHIL BATCHELOR, Clerk of the
Board and County Administrator
By:
Deputy Board Chair
[SEAL]
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
3
COUNTY COUNSEL'S OFFICE
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
MARTINEZ,CALIFORNIA
Date: June 21, 1995
To: Board of Supervisors
From: Victor J. Westman, County Counsel
By: Mary Ann McNett Mason, Deputy County Counsel •
Re: Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance section 530-2 . 707 (a)
(Statement Accepting Expenditure Ceiling)
The Elections Officer has asked when candidates for
supervisorial office can qualify for increased contribution limits by
filing a statement agreeing to accept the voluntary expenditure
ceiling. Ordinance Code section 530-2 . 707 (a) requires that
supervisorial candidates who accept the expenditure limits file a
statement to that effect with the elections division at the time the
candidate files the "declaration for candidacy. " The section further
provides that before filing such statement, the candidate cannot
accept contributions at the higher level . Candidates are bound by
the lower contribution limit until such time as they file the
statement agreeing to accept the voluntary expenditure limits and the
declaration for candidacy. (Ord. § 530-2 . 707 (a) . )
As we have indicated in our memorandum to the County Clerk-
Recorder, (copy attached) , the term "declaration for candidacy"
appears to be a misnomer for the "declaration of candidacy" required
by Elections Code section 8020 . A declaration of candidacy can only
be filed between 113 and 88 days before the direct primary election.
(Elec . Code §§ 8020; 8040 . ) Accepting this construction,
candidates cannot file the necessary documents to qualify to accept
contributions at the higher level until 113 days before the primary
election at the earliest. (Ord. § 530-2 . 707 (a) . )
If it is the Board' s intent that candidates for the office of
Supervisor be able to indicate agreement to the voluntary expenditure
limits prior to filing the declaration of candidacy required by
Elections Code section 8020, the Board could amend the ordinance to
specify that the statement accepting the limits can be filed at any
time after the candidate has filed his statement of intention
pursuant to Government Code section 85200 . That section requires
that an individual who intends to be a candidate for an elective
office file with the Fair Political Practices Commission a statement
of intention to be a candidate for that office at any time prior to
the solicitation or receipt of any contribution or loan. (Gov. Code
Board of Supervisors -2- June 21, 1995
85200 . ) A draft ordinance containing this modification is
attached.
If the Board introduces the ordinance at the meeting of June
27 , 1995 , waives first reading, sets July 11 , 1995 for adoption, and
adopts the ordinance on July 11 , the amendment would take effect
thirty days thereafter.
MAM\am
attachments
cc : Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
Robert J . Delevati, Assistant County Registrar
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
(Statement of acceptance of voluntary campaign
expenditure limits for supervisorial campaigns )
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors ordains as follows
(omitting the parenthetical footnotes from the official text of
the enacted or amended provisions of the County Ordinance Code) .
SECTION I . SUMMARY. This Ordinance amends section 530-2 . 707 of
the Fair Campaign Ordinance to provide that after a supervisorial
candidate has filed his or her statement of - intention pursuant to
Government Code section 85200 he or she may file with the County
Clerk a statement accepting the voluntary campaign expenditure
limits .
SECTION II . Section 530-2 . 707 subsection (a) is amended to
modify the time during which the supervisorial candidate' s
statement accepting the expenditure ceiling may be filed, to
read:
530-2. 707 Voluntary expenditure limits
(a) Statement accepting expenditure ceiling. All
candidates, other than recall candidates, who adopt the
expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (by below may accept
contributions in the amounts specified in section 530-2 . 703,
subsection (b) and section 530-2 . 704 , subsection (b) . All recall
candidates who adopt the expenditure ceiling specified in
subsection (b) below may accept contributions in the amounts
specified in section 530-2 . 703, subsection (c) and section 530-
2. 704, subsection (c) . Before accepting any contributions in the
amounts specified in those sections, a candidate as specified in
subsection (b) below, must file with the County Clerk- election
division a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, which
states that the candidate accepts the expenditure ceiling. The
statement may be filed at any time after the candidate has filed
his or her statement of intention pursuant to Government Code
section 85200 until such time as the candidate files his or her
declaration of candidacy.
(b) Amount of expenditure ceiling. During an election
cycle, candidates who agree to accept the voluntary expenditure
ceiling shall not incur campaign expenditures exceeding eighty
thousand dollars ( $80, 000 ) , except as set forth in subsection (c)
below.
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
1
(c) Contributions from individuals . During an election
cycle, a candidate who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling
and who raises twenty percent of the amount of that ceiling in
contributions of less than one hundred dollars ($200) from
individuals residing in the supervisorial district in which the
candidate stands for election, may incur ten thousand dollars
($10 ,000 ) in campaign expenditures in addition to that amount
permitted in subsection (b) .
(d) Notification by candidate who exceeds ceiling. A
candidate who declines to accept the voluntary expenditure
ceiling and who receives contributions or makes expenditures
equal to or exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling shall
notify the County Clerk-election division by both telephone and
guaranteed overnight mail on the day the expenditure ceiling is
exceeded.
(e) Exclusions . For purposes of this Article, expenditures
subject to the expenditure ceiling do not include:
(1 ) expenditures for campaigns for other offices;
( 2 ) expenditures for campaigns for the office of
Supervisor which occurred prior to the effective date of
this ordinance;
( 3 ) expenditures for. office holder expenses . "Office
holder expenses" means those expenditures arising out of
. the office holder' s official duties which directly assist
the office holder in performing his official duties, or
which directly relate to a governmental purpose. "Office
holder expenses" include but are not limited to, (a)
donations to charitable organizations; (b) the cost of
tickets to political events; (c) the cost of postage, office
supplies, stationary and similar expenses related to the
conduct or performance of the office holder's governmental
duties ; (d) reasonable expenses for travel to conferences,
seminars, educational events and similar activities related
to the office holder' s position; (e) the cost of books or
publications reasonably related to the office holder' s
position; ( f ) litigation expenses related to the office
holder' s actions as a supervisor. The expenses listed in
items (a) through (f ) shall not. be considered .,office holder
expenses" if they are used in connection with any office
holder' s campaign for a future term of office as a
Supervisor.
(Ords . 95- 2 ; 95-8 . )
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
2
SECTION III . EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance becomes effective
30 days after passage, and within 15 days after passage shall be
published once with the names of supervisors voting for and
against it in the a newspaper published in
this County.
PASSED ON by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST: PHIL BATCHELOR, Clerk of the
Board and County Administrator
By:
Deputy Board Chair
[SEAL]
ORDINANCE NO. 95-
3
COUNTY COUNSEL'S OFFICE
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
MARTINEZ,CALIFORNIA
Date: June 22, 1995
To: Stephen L. Weir, Clerk Recorder
Attn: Robert J. Delevati, Assistant County Registrar
From: Victor J. Westman, County Counsel A
By: Mary Ann McNett Mason, Deputy County Counsel /%.
Re: Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance
This responds to your memorandum of June 9 , 1995 raising
various questions about the recent amendments to the Election
Campaign Ordinance.
You asked whether a candidate for the office of Supervisor
could sign the Fair Campaign Pledge and indicate that he would accept
the voluntary expenditure limits and thus be permitted to collect
contributions of $750, at some time before the candidate filed the
declaration of candidacy. You indicated that you assumed that prior
to signing the pledge, candidates could not accept individual
contributions exceeding $100 .
Ordinance Code section 530-2 . 707 "Voluntary Expenditure
Limits" provides in pertinent part:
" (a) Statement accepting expenditure ceiling. All
candidates . . . who adopt the expenditure ceiling.
specified in subsection (b) below may accept
contributions in the amounts specified in section 530-
2 . 703 , subsection (b) and section 530-2 . 704, subsection
(b) . . . . Before accepting any contributions in the
amounts specified in those sections, a candidate as
specified in subsection (b) below, must file a
statement with the County Clerk- election division at
the time the candidate files the declaration for
candidacy. "
" (b) Amount of expenditure ceiling. During an election
cycle, candidates who agree to accept the voluntary
expenditure ceiling shall not incur campaign
expenditures exceeding eighty thousand dollars . . "
Robert J. Delevati -2- June 22, 1995
Thus, section 530-2 . 707 requires that candidates who accept
the expenditure limits file a statement to that effect with the
elections division at the time the candidate files the declaration
for candidacy. The section further provides that before filing such
statement, the candidate cannot accept contributions at the higher
level . Candidates are bound by the lower contribution limit until
such time as they file their declaration for candidacy and the
statement agreeing to except the voluntary expenditure limits .
The term "declaration for candidacy" appears to be a misnomer
for the term "declaration of candidacy" which appears in sections of
the ordinance which predate the recent amendments . For example,
Ordinance Code section 530-2 . 606., enacted in 1984, provides that any
candidate may file the Fair Campaign Pledge with his "declaration of
candidacy. " Ordinance Code section 530-2 . 206 specifies that unless
otherwise .specifically provided or required by the context, the words
and phrases in the ordinance have the same meanings as in the
Elections Code. The Assistant County Registrar has advised that in
administering the ordinance, the Clerk's practice has been to
interpret the term "declaration of candidacy" as referring to the
nomination document (declaration of candidacy) filed pursuant to
Elections Code section 8020 between 113 and 88 days prior to the
direct primary election. (Elec . Code §§ 8020; 8040 . ) Insofar as the
words "declaration for candidacy" are preceded by the article "the" ,
it is apparent that a specific document is identified. For these
reasons and in light of the usage of the term "declaration of
candidacy" elsewhere in the ordinance, it appears that "declaration
for candidacy" is referring to the statutory "declaration of
candidacy. " The term "declaration for candidacy" otherwise would be
undefined in the ordinance, the Elections Code, or the Political
Reform Act.
Accepting the foregoing construction, the ordinance prohibits
candidates from accepting contributions in excess of $100 until such
time as the candidate has filed a declaration of candidacy pursuant
to Elections Code section 8020 . Thus, under the recent amendments to
the ordinance', candidates would appear not to be able to collect
contributions exceeding $100 until 113 days before the direct primary
election, at the earliest. we will bring this matter to the Board of
Supervisors ' attention, so that the Board will have the opportunity
to clarify whether or not they intended to refer to something other
than the "declaration of candidacy" in section 530-2 . 707 .
Ordinance section 530-2 . 707 does not specify that the
candidate must sign the Fair Campaign Pledge to satisfy the
requirement for a statement accepting expenditure limits , or
otherwise specify the content of that statement . The statement
could be in a form other than the Pledge, if such form is acceptable
to the County Clerk. Assuming the candidate signed such a statement,
the candidate would not have agreed to comply with the Fair Campaign
Pledge. As the ordinance is now drafted, candidates may choose to
Robert J. Delevati -3- June 22, 1995
sign such a statement and then choose whether or not to sign the
Pledge. A suggested form of a statement, is attached.
The form of the "Supervisor Fair Campaign Pledge" you have
proposed complies with the requirements of Ordinance Code sections
530-2 . 602 and 530-2 . 709, except that the reference to " ( $80, 000 ) "
must be deleted from item 10. Ordinance section 530-2. 707 subsection
(b), provides for an eighty thousand dollar expenditure limit "except
as set forth in subsection (c) . " Section 530-2 . 707 subsection (c)
allows a candidate who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling and
who raises twenty percent of the amount of that ceiling in
contributions of less than $100 from individuals residing in the
supervisorial district to incur $90,000 in campaign expenditures,
rather than $80, 000 . Thus a reference to $80,000 in the pledge would
be incorrect as to some candidates . For clarity we suggest that you
modify the title of the pledge to "Supervisorial Candidate's Fair
Campaign Pledge. " Also, item 11 could be rewritten to read: "I, the
undersigned candidate for election to the Office of Supervisor in the
County of Contra Costa . .
The form of the Election Campaign Ordinance that you propose
to provide to requestors is approved, subject to revising the
additions to the index to show the addition of Article 530-2 . 9
"Campaign Advertising Disclosure. "
You also have asked whether the recent amendments to the
ordinance affected_ the contribution limits applicable to candidates
for offices other than Supervisor, or the amount of the voluntary
expenditure limit provided in the Fair Campaign Pledge for such
candidates . The recent amendments did not affect the contribution
limits applicable to candidates for offices other than Supervisor.
Also, the amendments did not change the voluntary expenditure limit
provided in the Fair Campaign Pledge codified in section. 530-2 . 602
for candidates for offices other than Supervisor. (Ord. §§ 530-2 . 702
(a ) ; 530-2 . 709 . )
MAM
cc: Members , Board of Supervisors
Phil Batchelor, County Administrator
attachments
SUPERVISORIAL CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT
ACCEPTING EXPENDITURE CEILING
I shall limit my campaign expenditures- in each election cycle to
no more than that amount permitted in Contra Costa County
Ordinance Code section 530-2 . 707 "Voluntary Expenditure Limits . "
I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of
California that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on at
By
(Signature of Candidate)
Date of election