Ord 50ORDINANCE NO. 50
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF POWAY, CALIFORNIA
PERTAINING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RULES AND
REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONTRIBUTIONS TO
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
AMENDING SECTIONS 32.901 - 32.935 OF THE
CITY OF POWAY REGULATORY ORDINANCES
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POWAY, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: Intent and purpose: It is the intent of the City Council in
enacting this Ordinance to place realistic and enforceable limits on the amount
individuals may contribute to political campaigns in municipal elections, as
well as to supplement the requirements of state law with regard to the reporting
of campaign contributions and expenditures, for the purpose of preventing the
exercise by campaign contributors of potential undue or improper influence over
elected officials and to inform the public of the sources and objects of
campaign contributions and expenditures. The City Council finds that municipal
elections are municipal affairs and that the regulation of campaign expenditures
and contributions in municipal elections is not preempted by general state law
and is proper subject of municipal regulation under the authority granted to
cities by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and the State
Government Code Section 81013.
Section 2: Definitions: For the Durposes of this Ordinance, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this
section:
Campaign Statement: An itemized report which is prepared on a form
provided by the City Clerk and which provides the information required by this
article.
Candidate: An individual who is listed on the ballot or who has qualified
to have write-in votes on his or her behalf counted by election officials, for
nomination for or election to any elective city office or who receives a
contribution or makes an expenditure or gives his or her consent for any other
person to receive a contribution or make an expenditure with the intention of
bringing about his or her nomination or election to any elective city office,
whether or not the specific elective office for which he or she will seek
nomination or election is known at the time the contribution is received or the
expenditure is made and whether or not he or she has announced his or her
candidacy or filed a declaration of candidacy at such time. "Candidate" also
includes any city office holder who is the subject of a recall election.
Clerk: The City Clerk.
Closing Date: The date through which any report or statement filed under
this article is required to be complete.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 2
Committee: Any person who directly or indirectly receives contributions or
makes expenditures or contributions for the purpose of influencing or attempting
to influence the action of the voters for or against the nomination or election
of one or more candidates or for or against the ballot qualification or passage
of any meausre.
Contribution: A payment, a forgiveness of a loan by a third party or an
enforceable promise to make a payment except to the extent that full and
adequate consideration is received, unless it is clear from the surrounding
circumstances that it is not made for political purposes. An expenditure made
at the behest of a candidate, committee or elected officer is a contribution to
the candidate, committee or elected officer unless full and adequate consid-
eration is received for m~king the expenditure. "Contribution" includes: The
purchase of tickets for events such as dinners, luncheons, rallies and similar
fund raising events; the candidate's own money or property used on behalf of his
or her candidacy; contribution of goods or services; the granting of discounts
or rebates by television and radio stations and newspapers not extended on an
equal basis to all candidates for the same office or to all persons advocating a
position with regard to any measure; the payment of compensation by any person
for the personal services or exq~enses of any other person if such services are
rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of a candidate, committee or measure
without payment of full and adequate consideration.
Also includes any transfer of anything of value received by a committee from
another committee but does not include amounts received pursuant to an enforce-
able promise to the extent such amounts have been previously reported as a
contribution; provided, that the fact that such amounts have been received shall
be indicated in the appropriate campaiqn statement. "Contribution" does not
include volunteer personal services or payments made by an individual for his or
her own travel expenses if such payments are made voluntarily without any under-
standing or agreement that they shall be directly or indirectly repaid to him or
her.
Controlled Committee: A committee which is controlled directly or indir-
ectly by a candidate or which acts jointly with a candidate or controlled
committee in connection with the making or expenditures. A candidate controls a
committee if such candidate, his or her agent or any other committee such candi-
date controls, has a significant influence on'the actions or decisions of the
committee.
Election: Any city general, special, initiative, referendum or recall
election.
Expenditure: A payment, a forgiveness of a loan or any debt, a payment or
forgiveness of a loan or debt by a third party, or an enforceable promise to
make a payment, unless it is clear from the surrounding circumstances that it is
not made for political purposes. An expenditure is made on the date the payment
or forgiveness of loan is made or on the date consideration, if any, is
received, whichever is earlier.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 3
Fund Raiser Event: Any political event organized for the purpose of rais-
ing funds to be used in support of or opposition to any candidate or measure.
Independent Committee: Ail committees other than a controlled committee.
Measure: Any proposition submitted to a popular vote at any election.
Person: An individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture,
syndicate, business trust, company, corporation, association, committee, labor
union, and any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.
Section 3: Limitations
(a)
Contribution by persons-Candidacy No person other than a candi-
date in aid of himself, shall directly or indirectly make nor
shall any person solicit or accept any contribution, gift, sub-
scription, loan, advance, deposit, pledge or promise of money or
anything of value in aid of and/or opposition to the nomination or
election of a candidate which will cause the total amount con-
tributed to the candidate or any controlled committee of such
candidate or any independent committee which is known to publicly
support or oppose such candidate by such person in a single
election to exceed ONE HUNDRED dollars ($100.00).
(b) No person shall make a contribution for any other person under an
assumed na~e or under the name of any other person.
(c)
(d)
Contributions, not to exceed a total of TEN dollars ($10.00) from
any one person or source, are permitted to be retained by a can-
didate or any committee including a committee supporting or oppos-
ing the passage of a measure, when received from anonymous sources
or from persons who do not consent to having their name made
known. Any such amount in excess of TEN dollars ($10.00) shall be
turned over to the City Clerk and deposited to the City's
treasury.
Except as provided in Subsection 3(c) above, no person shall
knowingly accept any contribution in excess of TEN dollars
($10.00) up to $24.99 without obtaining the name, address and
occupation, of the person making the contribution. For amounts of
TWENTY FIVE dollars ($25.00) and more, the employer's name must
also be obtained for reporting purposes.
(e) Contributions by City contractors
(1)
No person who contracts with the City, either for the rendi-
tion of personal services or for the furnishing of any
material, supplies, or equipment to the City, or for selling
any land or building to the City, directly or indirectly,
shall make any contributions to a candidate or committee at
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 4
any time between the commencement of negotiations for and
during the completion of the performance under, or the term-
ination of negotiations for such contract or the furnishing
of material, supplies, equipment, land, or building, which-
ever occurs later.
(2)
No candidate, agent for a candidate, committee, or agent for
a committee shall knowingly solicit any contribution from any
person prohibited by subsection (1) of this subsection from
making such a contribution.
(f)
Business Contributions. If a contribution is received pursuant
to Section 3 (a) from a person, other than an individual, and said
person is controlled by an individual, either by controlling
interest in stock, percent of ownership, or directorship or voting
riqhts, the contribution of said person shall be deemed the con-
tribution of said controlling individual. The controlling in-
dividual shall not make any further contribution to a candidate or
committee at any time thereafter. Any contribution from a person,
other than an individual, shall identify all persons owninq n~re
than a 10% proprietary or voting interest in said person.
(g)
Excess contributions. The total contributions exceeding the
maximum provided for in subsection (a) through (e) will be deposi-
ted in the general fund of the City, earmarked to be used for the
purpose of defraying the costs of municipal elections.
Section 4: C~npaign Expenditures Uncontrolled by Candidates of Committees.
Persons or organizations not subject to the control of a candidate but
who made expenditures for or against a candidate shall indicate clearly
on any material published, displayed, or broadcast that it was not
authorized by a candidate when such expenditures in whole or in part
would have been covered by the provisions of this chapter if they had
been subject to the control of a candidate. Such persons or organiza-
tions shall comply with all the filinq requirements imposed on
candidates and committees by this Ordinance.
Section 5: Election Campaign Accounts.
(a)
Election Campaign Account. Each campaign treasurer and any
committee that receives or expends more than TWO HUNDRED ($200.00)
shall open a checking account at a State or Federally chartered
Bank or Savings and Loan Association, of his choice within the
City of Poway. Said account shall be identified as the election
campaign account.
(b)
Deposit of Contributions. Ail campaign contributions accepted
by a campaign treasurer shall be deposited into the election
campaign account by the campaign treasurer or his authorized
agent.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 5
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Section 6:
(a)
Expenditures. Campign expenditures shall be made only by checks
drawn against the election campaign account by the campaign
treasurer or his authorized agent.
(1)
NO campaign treasurer, nor his authorized agent, shall draw
checks against the election campaign account except for
campaign expenses, provided that the campaign treasurer or
his authorized agent may draw checks against the election
campaign account to transfer to a petty cash fund which is
not to exceed ONE HUNDRED FIFTY dollars ($150.00), total
amount in any one election.
(2)
Funds in the election campaign account shall not be con-
sidered for any purpose to be personal funds of a candidate,
campaign treasurer, or any other person. Said funds shall be
held in trust.
Access to Records by City Clerk. The City Clerk shall have full
access at all reasonable hours to the bank's records concerning
all election campaign accounts.
Disbursement of Unexpended Campaign Funds. If the final cam-
paign statement for a candidate or any committee discloses an
unexpended campaign surplus, the campaign treasurer may after the
election disburse the whole of said surplus. If said fund is
disbursed, it shall be disbursed to the City of Poway for defer-
ment of election costs and/or to non-profit organizations of the
campaign treasurer's or candidate's choice within the City. The
campaign treasurer shall file a statement within THIRTY (30) days
with the City Clerk verifying said closure and listing the donees
of all disbursements authorized by this section and the dollar
amounts given to each donee.
Retention of Records. The campaign treasurer shall retain all
campaign records for a period of FOUR (4) years after the
election.
Statements Generally.
Required. Each candidate and each committee shall file as a
public record with the City Clerk, four sworn cumulative itemized
reports showing the total amounts of contributions received and
expenditures made with respect to such election. The required
statements may be completed on campaign statement forms required
to be filed by state law so long as such forms are completed in
sufficient detail to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
Such statements shall contain a declaration by the candidate or
committee chairperson that the candidate or committee has neither
accepted nor solicited any campaign contribution in excess of the
limitations of or in contravention of Section 3.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 6
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Contributions. Each campaign statement shall show the total
cumulative amount of contributions received during the period
covered by the statement from persons who have given ten dollars
or less and the total cumulative amount of contributions received
during the period covered by the statement from persons who have
given a total of more than ten dollars. Each person who has
contributed a total TWENTY-FIVE dollars ($25.00) or more shall be
listed by name, address, occupation, employer and amount contrib-
uted. Each person contributing less than TWENTY-FIVE dollars
($25.00) and who has consented to publication shall be listed by
name, address, occupation and employer. The total amount received
from anonymous sources and from persons contributing TWENTY-FIVE
dollars ($25.00) or less who have not consented to publication
shall be listed. In the event that any portion of the contribu-
tions were received in connection with a fund raiser event, then
the statement shall list the number of people in attendance, the
gross receipts, the date and location of each event.
Expenditures Generally. Each campaign statement shall show the
total amount of expenditures made during the period covered by the
statement to persons who have received TWENTY-FIVE dollars
($25.00). Each person who has received a total of more than
TWENTY-FIVE dollars ($25.00) shall be listed by name and address,
together with a brief description of the purpose of the
expenditures.
Estimated Future Expenditures. The campaign statement required
to be filed by the candidate or committee upon the Friday next
preceding the election date shall include in addition to all other
information required by this article, a statement of estimated
additional expenditures which the candidate or committee chair-
person reasonably expects to expend on or before the election
date. There shall be no violation of this article if such esti-
mate is unintentionally at variance with the amounts actually
expended.
Times for Filing Generally. Campaign statements required under
this section shall be filed at the following times:
(1)
Between forty and forty-five days prior to the election, such
statement to cover the period up to and including the
forty-fifth day.
(2)
Between twelve and seventeen days prior to the election, such
statement to cover the period up to and including the
seventeenth day.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 7
(3) On the Friday preceding the election date to cover the period
through the previous day.
(4)
Between fifty-eight and sixty-five days following the elec-
tion, such statement to cover the period through the fifty-
eighth day following the election.
Section 7: Declaration in Lieu of CampaiHn Statement.
A candidate or committee need not file a campaign statement if the
lawful receipts or expenditures do not exceed TWO ~UNDRED dollars
($200.00); provided, that the candidate or committee chairperson shall
file a written declaration with the City Clerk that to the best of his
or her knowledge not more than TWO HUNDRED dollars ($200.00) has been
received or expended on behalf of, in support of, or in opposition to a
candidacy or measure, and that said contributions have not exceeded
those limitations established in Section 3 of this Ordinance.
Section 8: Suppliers of Goods and Services: Disclosure of Records
Required.
No person who supplies Hoods or services, or both goods and services,
to a condidate or committee for use in connection with the campaign of
the candidate or for or against a measure shall refuse knowingly to
divulge or disclose to the enforcement authority his record of any
expenditures made by the candidate or committee in payment for such
goods or services, or both.
Section 9: Violations and Penalties Generally
(a)
Any person who knowingly or wilfully violates any provision of
this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition to any
other penalty provided bv law, any wilful or knowing failure to
report campaign contributions or expenditures, shall be punishable
by a fine of not less than FIVE HUNDRED dollars ($500.00).
(b)
If, after election a candidate is convicted of a violation of any
provision of this article, the election to office of such candi-
date shall be void and such office shall immediately become
vacant. In such event the vacancy shall be filled in accordance
with the procedures as set forth in the State Government Code. If
a candidate is convicted of a violation of any of the provisions
of this article at any time prior to election, his or her candi-
dacy shall be terminated immediately and he or she shall no longer
be eligible for election.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 8
(c)
No person convicted of a misdemeanor under this article shall be
qualified to be a candidate for elective city office within the
City of Poway for a period of four years following the date of
conviction unless the court at the time of sentencing specifically
determines that in the interests of justice this provision shall
not be applicable.
(d) A plea of nolo contendere shall be deemed a conviction for pur-
poses of this section.
Section 10: Late Filing of Campaign Statement.
If any person files a campaign statement after any deadline imposed by
this article, he or she may in addition to any other penalties or
remedies established by this article, be liable to the City Clerk in
the amount of TEN dollars ($10.00) per day after the deadline until the
statement is filed.
The City Clerk shall deposit any funds received under this section into
the general fund of the City to defray the cost of municipal elections.
No liability under this section shall exceed the cumulative total
amount of receipts stated in the late campaign statement or FIFTY
dollars ($50.00), whichever is greater.
Section ]]: Enforcement.
(a) The City Attorney shall enforce all provisions of this Ordinance.
(b)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (c) below, any person
residing in the City of Poway may sue for injunctive relief to
enjoin violations or to compel compliance with this Ordinance.
(c)
Any person residing in the City of Poway may bring a civil action
consistent with this Ordinance, provided such person first files
with the City Attorney a written request for the City Attorney to
commence action. The request shall include a statement of grounds
for believing a cause for action exists. The City Attorney shall
respond within TEN (10) days after receipt of the request indi-
cating intent to file a civil action. If the City Attorney
indicates in the affirmative and files suit within THIRTY (30)
days thereafter no other action may be brought unless the action
brought by the City Attorney is dismissed without prejudice.
(d) Prosecution for violation of this Ordinance must be commenced
within TWO (2) years of the time the alleged violation occured.
(e) The court may award to the prevailing party, the costs of litiga-
tion including reasonable attorney's fees.
ORDINANCE NO. 50
PAGE 9
Section 12: Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder
of the Ordinance and the applicability of such provisions to other
persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Introduced and first read at a regular meeting of the City Council of the
City of Poway held the 1st day of December, 1981 and thereafter PASSED AND
ADOPTED at a regular meeting of said City Council held the 8th day of December,
1981 by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
COUNCI LMEMBERS:
COUNC I LMEMBERS:
COUNCI LMEMBERS:
ATTEST:
t City Clerk
Oravec, Rexrode, Shepardson, Tarzy, Emery
None
None