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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07161996 - D3 D. 3 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on July_16, 19% by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Rogers, Bishop, DeSaulnier, Torlakson and Smith NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance On this date the Board considered the recommendations in the report on the Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance from the Internal Operation Committee . Mary Ann Mason, Deputy County Counsel, presented a brief review of provisions of Supervisor Rogers' alternate version of the ordinance, commenting on issues including the modification of the small contribution threshold amount, and the voluntary expenditure ceiling. Supervisor Rogers suggested putting a one year cap on the debt retirement cycle and to exempt the costs of doing direct fund raising. The Board concurred to further consider this item later in the meeting. Later in the meeting, Supervisor Bishop moved to continue the item for one week. IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that consideration of the recommendations of the Internal Operations Committee and the Supervisors on the Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance revisions is CONTINUED to July 23 , 1996 . V hereby certify that this Is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Su Isoon the date shown, ATTESTED: PHIL B TCH R,C erk of the Board Supervi rs and County AdrAiinistrator UBy c7 ,Deouty CC : County Administrator County Counsel County Clerk-Elections TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IOC-01 ,• J: ,4 , Contra o FROM: •1/ ij1J�� INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE �. .. s ro �� County y4 DATE: June 17, 1996 vµ SUBJECT: CAMPAIGN SPENDING REFORM ORDINANCE SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION($)3 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION IRE90MMENDAATIONS: 1. INTRODUCE, WAIVE reading of, and FIX July 9, 1996, for adoption of the attached ordinance which contains the following elements: The ordinance modifies the amount of the contributions which count toward eligibility to incur additional expenditures, to allow contributions of.$100 to be counted,whereas at present only contributions of $99 or less can be' counted. A candidate who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling and raises 20% of the amount of the voluntary expenditure ceiling in contributions below the threshold amount from residents of the supervisorial district can incur$10,000 in expenditures in addition to the amount of the voluntary expenditure ceiling ($90,000 instead of$80,000). The ordinance adds an uncodified section which makes this provision effective July 1, 1996 for ease in administration. The ordinance clarifies that campaign expenditures are counted as expenditures toward the voluntary expenditure limit when they are made, without regard to what they are intended to be used for. This question arose this year because of the early Primary Election and the period of more than three months between the Primary Election and the end of the campaign cycle on June 30, 1996. Questions were raised regarding whether expenditures which were made after the Primary CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURES ACTION OF BOARD ON a y--f 6_jAPPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER a VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOEI_11 �_�NENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: STAIN: OF S VISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Coun dministrator ATTESTED Contact: C my Counsel PHIL BATCHELOR, ERK OF THE BOARD OF cc: ounty Clerk-Recorder SUPERVISORS AND CO ADMINISTRATOR Assistant Registrar of Voters District Attorney BY DEPUTY IOC-01 Election but before the end of the campaign cycle and which were intended to be used for the General Election could be counted against the voluntary expenditure limit for the General Election. This change would clarify that such expenditures must be charged against the voluntary spending limit for the Primary Election if they were made during the Primary Election campaign cycle regardless of which election the expenditures were intended to be used for. The ordinance clarifies how a candidate can raise funds to repay a campaign debt from an election occurring after the effective date of the Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance without impacting the contribution limits for a previous or subsequent election. It provides that after a candidate's election cycle is over and the candidate is either elected or defeated for election (including both the Primary Election and any necessary runoff in the General Election), a separate debt retirement period is implemented solely for the purpose of paying off whatever campaign debt may exist at the conclusion of the election. The contribution limits in effect for this period are the lower of either the contribution limits which were in effect for the Primary or General Election cycle which the candidate has just completed. Any expenditures which are made for candidates who adopted a voluntary expenditure ceiling to raise money to retire debt must be charged against the voluntary expenditure limits for the election cycle during which the candidate won or was defeated. An uncodified section is added to the ordinance to indicate that the clarifications relating to counting campaign expenditures at the time they are incurred and the provision relating to the retirement of debt are retroactive to May 25, 1995 since they simply clarify the Board's original intent and understanding. 2. AUTHORIZE the Internal Operations Committee to continue to review the existing campaign spending reform ordinance and questions which have been raised regarding its application and bring additional reports to the Board of Supervisors as needed. BACKGROUND; On May 6, 1996, our Committee met on this subject with several candidates and interested parties. A number of issues were raised as a result of that meeting. Mary Ann Mason, Deputy County Counsel, was asked to respond to those issues and another meeting was scheduled to review those responses. On June 17, 1996, our Committee met with supervisorial candidates Curt Kinney and Kathy Radke; Supervisor-Elect Canciamilla; Peter Langley, Finance Chairman for Ms. Radke; Melody Howe Weintraub, campaign consultant; Karen Mitchoff, Chief of Staff to Supervisor DeSaulnier; County Clerk Steve Weir; Assistant Registrar Barbara Lee; and Deputy County Counsel Mary Ann Mason. A number of questions were raised at our May 6, 1996 meeting. We began to work our way through those questions and Ms. Mason's answers to those questions. We got through only the first three questions and identified the above noted changes or clarifications to the ordinance which we believe are required. -2- IOc-o� The three changes to the existing ordinance which we have identified above are ones which we believe are important to put in effect as quickly as possible. We are, therefore, bringing these changes to the Board's attention at this time. We plan to meet again on July 15 and will undoubtedly have additional changes to suggest following that meeting. Supervisor Rogers no longer recommends the original Internal Operations Committee version and instead is now recommending an alternative ordinance. -3- COUNTY COUNSEL'S OFFICE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA Date: June 21, 1996 To: Board of Supervisors From: Victor J. Westman, County Counsel By: Mary Ann McNett-Mason, Deputy County Counsel Re: Draft Amendments to Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance As directed by the Internal Operations Committee, this office drafted a further series of amendments to the Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance for consideration by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 1996. A copy of the draft amendments is attached. All modifications to the current ordinance are underlined. The proposed amendments address the following: 1. Section 530-2.707 (d) is amended to specify that for candidates adopting the voluntary expenditure ceiling, contributions of$100 or less from individuals. residing in the supervisorial district count toward eligibility to incur additional campaign expenditures. Previously the section provided that contributions of "less than $100" counted toward eligibility. 2. Section 530-2.707 (f) is amended to specify that repayment of debt for a supervisorial campaign pursuant to new section 530-2.711 Debt Retirement is not an expenditure which counts toward the voluntaryexpenditure ceiling. 3. Section 530-2.707 (h) is added to provide that an expenditure counts toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling for-the election cycle in which the expenditure is made, regardless of the purpose of that expenditure (i.e. an*expenditure for the general election made during the primary election cycle counts toward the ceiling for the primary election cycle.) 4. Section 530-2.711 Debt Retirement is added to address how a.candidate may retire debt and specifies that a candidate may raise as much money as is necessary to retire all campaign debt the candidate incurred during the primary andlor general election. Board of Supervisors 2 June 21, 1996 The section defines the debt retirement period. It commences on the date the candidate is either elected or defeated and ends as soon as the candidate has retired all campaign debt incurred during the primary and\or general election. The ordinance specifies the applicable contribution limits for candidates for purposes of debt retirement. During the debt retirement period, candidates who did not adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling throughout the campaign may accept contributions to retire debt only at the lowest level. During the debt retirement period, candidates who did adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling throughout the campaign may accept contributions at the higher level. Contributions made or received to refire debt do not count against the contribution limit's during any election cycle. Expenditures for the purpose of raising money to refire debt count toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling for the election*cycle for the election at which the candidate was elected or defeated. Thus, for candidates who won or lost in the primary, such expenditures are chargeable against the ceiling for the primary election cycle. For candidates who won or lost in the general election, such expenditures are chargeable against the ceiling for the general election cycle. The section provides that repayment of debt itself pursuant to section 530-2.711 is not an expenditure subject to the voluntary expenditure ceiling. In addition, the section provides that it applies regardless of the total amount of debt and regardless of whether the debt was incurred through a candidate's personal loan or through some other source. At a committee member's request-a reporting provision was added. Candidates who raise money to retire debt during the debt retirement period must file campaign statements as to contributions received for debt retirement. The first statement would be filed at the close of the election cycle during which the candidate is elected or defeated and thereafter on every date a semiannual statement is required under the Political Reform Act. Note that the ordinance does not provide any mechanism for identifying and segregating contributions for purposes of debt retirement. 5. The ordinance would add an uncodified section specifying that the proposed amendment to section 630-2.707(d)(addressing which contributions count toward eligibility to incur addition'al campaign expenditures)will be retroactive to July 1, 1996, the beginning of the election cycle for the upcoming general election. This would allow the provision to be in effect during the entire election cycle for the upcoming -general election and would -eliminate confusion for candidates and officials enforcing the ordinance. 6. The ordinance would add an uncodified section specifying that the proposed addition of section 630-2.707, subsections(f) (4) and (h) (specifying that retirement of debt pursuant to section 530-2.711 is not an expenditure which counts toward the ceiling and that expenditures count during the election cycle in which the expenditure is Board of Supervisors. 3 June 21, 1996 incurred) would be retroactive to May 25, 1995, the effective date of the original Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance. The uncodified section would further specify that the addition of section 530-2.711 Debt Retirement would apply retroactive to May 25, 1995. These sections would be made retroactive because they are clarifications of the Board of Supervisors original intent and understanding about the operation of the ordinance as to retirement of debt. MAM\arn attachment cc: Claude Van Marter, Assistant County Administrator Jim Sepulveda, Deputy District Attorney e:ldebtcov ORDINANCE NO. 96- (Campaign spending Reform Ordinance Amendments) 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 to specify that contributions of $100 or less count toward the threshold for determining eligibility to incur additional campaign expenditures, and to provide that an expenditure counts toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling in the election cycle during which the expenditure was made 'and to specify that repayment of debt pursuant to the debt retirement provision is not an expenditure subject to the voluntary expen'diture ceiling. The ordinance also. adds section 530-,2 .711- to specify when candidates may accept contributions for the repayment of debts and the amount of such contributions and to provide that. such contributions are not otherwise chargeable against the limits on campaign'contributions during any election cycle. The Ordinance also adds an uncodified section addressing retroactive application of ordinance provisions. SECTION II . Section 530-2.707 is amended. 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 (c) 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 adopttheexpenditure ceiling specified in subseftion (c) may accept contributions in the amounts specified . in section 530-2.703, subsection (c) and section 530-2 .704, subsection (c) . All candidates who adopt the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (c) may loan their campaigns money up to the amount 'specified in section 530-2.706*,, subsection- (b) . Before accepting any contributions or"making any..loans .within the amounts specified in sections 530-2.703, subsections (b) .and (c) , 530-2.704, subsections (b) - and (c) , and 530-2.706, subsection (b) , a candidate for a primary, general, or recall election must file with the County Clerk-election division a statement, signed under penalty of perjuryl which states that the candidate adopts the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (c) - below. (b) Time for filing statement adopting expenditure ceiling... The statement. may be filed by a candidate, other than a recall candidate, at any time after that date which is twelve months ORD. NO. 96-_ before the date of the primary election for the. office and until such time as the candidate files his or her declaration. of candidacy. In the event the candidate is not elected to office in the primary election, enters the runoff election, and wishe's to adopt the expenditure ceiling for the election cycle for the general election, the candidate must file a separate statement . Such statement may be filed at any time after the primary election results are final until thirty days prior to the general election. A recall candidate may file the statement adopting the expenditure ceiling at any time after the date the recall measure is certified for the ballot until thirty days before the recall election. (c) Amount of expenditure ceiling. During an election cycle, candidates who agree to accept the voluntary expenditure ceiling shall not incur campaign ezcpenditures exceeding eighty thousand dollars ($80, 000) , except .as set forth in subsection (d) below. (d) 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 one hundred dollars ($100) or less 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 (c) . (e) Notification by candidate who exceeds ceiling. A candidate, -other than a candidate who has accepted the voluntary expenditure .ceiling and has qualified to incur additional campaign expenditures. as specified in subsection (d) , who receives aggregate contributions exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (c) shall notify the County Clerk-election division by both telephone and guaranteed overnight mail on the day suoh .contributions exceeding that amount are received. A candidate, other than a candidate who has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling and has qualified to incur additional campaign expenditures as specified in subsection (d) , who makes aggregate .expenditures exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (c) shall notify the County Clerk-election division by both telephone and guaranteed overnight mail on the day such expenditures exceeding that amount are made. A candidate who has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling and has qualified to incur additional campaign expenditures as .specified in subsection. (d) ; who receives aggregate contributions exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (d) shall notify the County Clerk-election division by%both telephone and guaranteed. overnight .mail- on the day such contributions exceeding that 2 ORD NO. 96- 13 amount are received. A candidate who has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling and has qualified to incur additional campaign expenditures as specified in subsection (d) , who makes aggregate expenditures exceeding the amount of the expenditure ceiling specified in subsection (d) shall notify the County Clerk-election division by both telephone and guaranteed overnight mail on the day such expenditures exceeding that amount are made. If the day on which notice is required is not a business day, notice shall be given on the next business day. M * 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. " (4) Repayment of debt for a supervisorial campaign Pursuant to section 530-2 .711. (g) Adoption of expenditure ceiling irrevocable. A candidate who adopts the expenditure ceiling for the election cycle for a particular. primary election, may not thereafter revoke his or her adoption of the expenditure ceiling as to that election cycle. A candidate who is not. elected to office in the primary election, enters the runoff election, and adopts the expenditure ceiling for the election cycle as to that. general election, may not thereafter revoke his or her adoption of the expenditure ceiling' as to that election cycle. 1h) Timincr of expenditures. 'An expenditure counts toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling for the election cycle during which the expenditure is made, regardless of the purpose of the 3 ORD. NO. 96- expenditure. (Ords. 96- §2; 95-47; 95-35; 95-8 . ) SECTION III . Section 530-2 .711 is added to read: 530-2 . 711 Debt Retirement (a) After a candidate is elected to office or is defeated in either the primary or creneral election, the candidate may raise as much money as is necessary to retire all campaicrn debt he or she incurred during the primary and\or creneral election for the office. (b) Debt Retirement Period. The debt retirement period shall -commence upon the date that' the candidate is either elected to office or is defeated in- the primary or .general election. The debt retirement period shall end as soon as the candidate has retired all campaign debt he or she incurred during the primary and\or general election for the office. (c) Contribution limits. (1) For candidates, including recall candidates, who did not adopt .the voluntary expenditure ceiling defined in section 530-2.707 in the primary election, or, in the event of a runoff, did not adopt the ceilincr for both the primary and general election, during the debt retirement period the contribution limits provided in sections 530-2 .703 (a) and 530-2 .704 (a) shall apply. For candidates, except recall candidates, who did adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling in the primary election and, in the event of a runoff, in the general election, during the debt retirement period the contribution limits provided in sections 530-2 .703 (b) and 530- 2.704 (b) shall apply. For recall candidates who adopted the voluntary expenditure ceilincr in the recall election, during the debt retirement period the contribution limits provided- in sections 530-2 .703 (c) and 530-2.704 (c) shall apply. When "election cycle" is used in sections 530-2 .703 and 530-2 .704 , it .shall; for purposes of this section, be deemed to mean "debt retirement period. " (d) During any election cycle, contributions made and received for the purpose of debt retirement pursuant to this section shall not be chargeable against the limits on campaign contributions specified.-in sections 530-2.703 , 530-2.704, and 530-2.710. (e) Expenditures subject to ceiling. For those candidates who adopted the voluntary expenditure ceilincr and to whom the contribution limits provided in sections 530-2.703 (b) or (c) and. 530-2 .704 (b) or (c) apply, expenditures for the purposes of 4 ORD. NO. 96- raising money to retire debt_ shall count toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling for the election cycle for the -election at which the candidate was elected or defeated. Repayment of debt itself pursuant to this section shall not be an expenditure subiect to the voluntary expenditure ceiling for any election cycle (f) This section applies recrardless of the total amount of the campaicm debt incurred and recrardless of whether the debt was incurred- throucrh a personal loan by the candidate or through another source. (Ord. 96- S 3 . ) SECTION IV. RETROACTIVE AMENDMENT. -To avoid confusion during the election cycle for the general election to be held November 5, 1996, it is the Board of Supervisors intent that the amendment to section 530-2 .707 (d) shall apply retroactive to July 1, 1996. SECTION V. CLARIFICATIONS. RETROACTIVE. Section 530-2 . 707 (f) (4) and Section 530-2.711 were added to clarify the Board of Supervisors original intent and understanding that candidates can accept limited contributions to retire campaign debt- without . such contributions counting against the contribution limits applicable during the election cycles- for an election and subsequent to an election, and that after an election, candidates can make payments to retire debt without such payments being expenditures which count-' against- the voluntary expenditure ceiling for past or future election cycles. ' Section 530-2 .707 (h) ' was added to clarify the Board of Supervisors original intent that expenditures count toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling .for the election cycle during which the expenditures are made. Because these amendments were made for the purposes of clarification, it is the Board of Supervisors intent that the amendments to section 530-2 .707, subsection (f) (4) and (h) and the addition of Section 530-2..711 shall apply retroactive to May 25, 1995. SECTION VI. 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. 5 ORD. NO. . 96- D 3 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] h:\groups\flo\debts. 6 ORD. NO. 96- -9.3 Office of District Attorney Contra Da��Attor ey Court Nouse,Fourth Floor Costa _ P.O.Box 670 Martinez,California 94553-0150 (510)646-4500 County JUN 2 0 096 COUNTY COUNSEL y �' MAIRTiN Z,CALIF. June 19, 1996 Mary Ann McNett Mason Deputy County Counsel 651 Pine Street, 9th Floor Martinez,CA 94553 RE: Draft Amendments to Campaign Spending Reform ordinance Dear Mary Ann: I have reviewed the June 19, 1996 draft amendments to the county Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance. I have numerous comments and will try to keep them cogent and focused. 1. Before commenting on specific language,the term"campaign debt" has to be discussed. As I see it,there are two possible scenarios and it is important to distinguish between the two. a. Example 1 -Candidate adopts the voluntary limit and during a particular election cycle incurs$80,000 worth of bills. Candidate pays$65,000 worth of bills from campaign contributions and personally loans the campaign$15,000 to pay the rest of the bills. In'this case, the"campaign debt"is a personal loan by the candidate. All of the bills have been paid(so the total amount of expenditures can be calculated)but one of the payors,the candidate,is eligible to be reimbursed. b. Example 2-Candidate adopts the voluntary limit and during a particular election cycle the candidate pays$70,000 worth of bills from campaign contributions.In addition, candidate has unpaid campaign bills totaling$15,000. In this case,the"campaign debt"consists of unpaid bills. Depending on how the reporting is done,the total amount of expenditures may not be readily apparent. If the candidate does not report the"unpaid"bills until the payment is actually made,it may be quite a while before it can be determined if the expenditure limit has been complied with or not. In example 1, the candidate could raise$15,000 in the election cycle following the actual election to repay the personal loan as a campaign debt. The money raised would.not count towards the expenditure limits of the new cycle. � 3 However, in example 2,the candidate has already violated the ordinance by having expenditures that exceed the$80,000 limit. It would therefore be unfair to have an ordinance that would seemingly allow the candidate to repay all past campaign debt with impunity. Candidates need to be made aware that a"campaign expenditure" includes the incursion of debt,not just the, money actually expended! In example 2,unless very careful monitoring is done, it would be fairly easy to violate the expenditure limit and odds are that no one would ever know. 2. In view of the above,I have taken the liberty of redrafting the proposed section 530- 2.711 section dealing with debt retirement. I tried to draft the section so that it would be. consistent with the expenditure limitation language of section 530-2.707. I also put in a time restriction on the debt retirement period. As I will discuss later,this whole section is going to create a nightmare for anyone tasked with monitoring expenditures. If the debt retirement period is allowed to extend too far into the following election cycle,then distinguishing between fund raising to repay past campaign debt and fundraising to finance current campaign activities is going to be impossible! 3. Frankly,I think that the whole concept of trying to carve out exemptions for retirement of past campaign debt is a bad idea for the following reasons: a. The exemptions make the ordinance too confusing. There really is no definition or explanation of what does and does not constitute"past campaign debt." The proposed amendments can be subject to multiple interpretations and are therefore probably legally unenforceable. Laws,to be effective and enforceable,must be simple to read and understand; this is certainly.the antithesis of simplicity. b. As a practical matter,the ordinance will only be applied to the election winners. What if a losing candidate spends$80,000 on the campaign,$20,000 of which is a personal loan. Under the draft amendment,the candidate cannot incur any future expense in raising funds to repay the loan. But who is going to monitor the future expenses of a losing candidate? The answer is no one. c. By allowing a candidate to raise money in future election cycles to pay off debts from past election cycles,the ordinance will make it easy to cheat. A candidate will simply list expenditures totaling less than the expenditure limit or only pay bills up to the limit. Any excess debt in violation of the limit can be carried over into the future and paid off quietly some time in the distant future. Who is going to go back and monitor past expenditure claims? Unless a time restriction on retirement of debt is imposed,the debt could be carried until the official was no longer in office. What we will end up with is a number of overlapping election cycles with potentially different rules applying to each. It will literally take a forensic auditor to determine if a particular candidate is in violation or not. For example,what if a candidate gets little in the way of contributions but borrows heavily to finance a campaign? How is anyone ever going to monitor future fundraising to determine what money is attributable to which election cycle? d; How will this ordinance jive with FPPC reporting requirements? As.I understand it, the FPPC has reporting requirements based strictly on certain specified dates. If you receive a contribution or make an expenditure within a certain time frame, you have to report it. But the amendments would allow one to make an expenditure during the current time frame but attribute it to another time frame,e.g.,fundraising expenses for repaying past campaign debt. Isn't this going to cause a lot of confusion? e. Will it be allowable to combine a current fundraiser with a fundraiser to retire past campaign debt? And if so,how are the fundraising expenses to be apportioned? For example, suppose a candidate has$5,000 in past campaign debt. Candidate won the election and is now a supervisor. Supervisor wants to have a fundraiser for fixture election efforts and to retire past debt. A fundraiser is held and$9,000 in contributions is raised. Supervisor spends$1,000 on the fundraiser. Does$5,000 have to be used to repay past debt? How are the fundraiser expenses to be attributed? Can the Supervisor choose to only allocate$100 to repay past debt and keep $8,500 for future use. What contribution limits apply? If the fundraiser is held after the new election cycle starts,the contribution limit would be$100 per person; but if the Supervisor subscribed ta the expenditure limits in the past election,the contribution limit to repay the debt would.bo$750 per person. Do the potential contributors have to be told that some or all of their contribution may be used to repay old debt? How are you going to determine whether a contributor contributed under the$750 limit or the$100 limit? e. The simple and understandable way to deal with these issues is to limit expenditures and contributions strictly on a per cycle basis. Therefore,there is one period of time where one can add up the expenses and add up the contributions. Monitoring,although not an easy task, is at least possible. If a candidatetsupervisor has a fundraiser,everyone knows that all the money raised is attributable to the current election cycle and governed by applicable contribution limits. So everyone is clear on the rules,perhaps it should be spelled out that once a new election cycle starts,all money raised during that cycle counts towards the expenditure limits. If you choose to use the money to repay old debt that is your business. Repayment of old debt should be treated no more.specially than any other expense. The bottom line is that if the ordinance is amended as currently proposed,it may make good press but the practical outcome will be to have created an unenforceable mish-mash. Even with the changes in language I have proposed for section 530-2.711,most of the aforementioned problems still exist. In fact,I am sure that others will be able to see additional problems and/or loopholes that I have not even thought of However,if the legislative body of this county believes that these amendments serve the public interest,then they certainly have the right and the obligation to proceed. Just so it is understood that as one tasked with-enforcement responsibilities,it is my opinion that significant sections of the ordinance will,as a practical matter,be unenforceable. Very truly yours, GARY T YANCEY District Attorney a&/ *L mes� . ve Deputy District ttorneyy Section III _ t . Section 530 2.711 is added to read: 530-2.711 Debt Retirement (a) After a candidate is elected to office or is defeated in either the primary or general election, the candidate may raise the money necessary to retire the campaign debt he or she incurred during the primary election cycle and/or general election cycle for the office, subject to the campaign expenditure limits set forth in section 530-2.707. (b) The debt retirement period shall commence upon the date that the candidate is either elected to office or is defeated in the primary or general election. The debt retirement period shall end two years from the date it commenced. (c) (no changes) (d)During the election cycle immediately following-the one in which a candidate was elected to office or defeated,contributions made and received during said election cycle that are solely for the purpose of retiring campaign debt from the previous election cycle, shall not be chargeable against the limits on campaign contributions specified in sections 530-2.703, 530- 2.704, and 530-2.710 for the current election cycle. (e) For those candidates who adopted the voluntary expenditure ceiling and to whom the contribution limits provided-in sections 530-2.703(b) or(c) and 530-2.704(b) or(c) apply, expenditures for the purpose of raising money to retire campaign debt shall count toward the voluntary expenditure ceiling for the election cycle for the election at which the candidate was elected or defeated.. When repayment of the campaign debt does not cause the campaign expenditures for the election cycle in which the candidate was elected or defeated to exceed the campaign expenditure limits set forth in section 530-2.707, said repayment of the campaign debt pursuant to this section shall not be an expenditure subject to the voluntary expenditure ceiling for any election cycle. (f) This section applies regardless of whether the debt was incurred through a personal loan by the candidate or through another source. Yancey Office of District Attorney Contra �arictAttoorney Court House,Fourth Floor Costa 3 F.O.Box 670 Martinez,California 94553-0150 County (510)646-4500 �E_SEXL•.o�, �- 0. r JUL O F•. _ v_ IYSEL July 9, 1996 r}. f;,!Gr"CALIF Mary Ann Mason Deputy County Counsel County Counsel's Office 651 Pine Street, 9th Floor Martinez, CA 94553 RE: Proposed Amendments to Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance Dear Mary Ann: I have reviewed the latest draft of the proposed amendments to the Campaign Spending Reform Ordinance. With the latest revisions, based upon our discussions of yesterday, it appears to me that the amendments are legally sound and practically enforceable. Very truly yours, GARY. T. YANCEY District Attorney GG•���I� J es L. Sepulveda eputy District Attorney a