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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5.1 Campaign Contribution Limits o z,0 CITY OF DUBLIN AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 23 , 1984 SUBJECT Letter from David Burton regarding Campaign Contribution Limitation Ordinance EXHIBITS ATTACHED Letter from David Burton dated January 16 , 1984 ; Memoranda . from City Attorney dated January 18 and 19 , 1984 ; Amended Ordinance RECOMMENDATION See City Attorney ' s Recommendation FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION See attached City Attorney ' s Memoranda of January 18 and 19 , 1984 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1� COPIES TO: ITEM NO. J_. � 11396 Oi l l on !-lay Dublin, CA 94568 January 16, 1984 Dublin City Council 1") F_ P.O. Box 2340 Dublin, CA 94568 Dear Mayor and members of the City Council ; ;,, -: Ordinance No. 01-84, limiting campaign contributions has a number of flaws in it that I believe limit the opportunity of citizens and candidates to have a free and open election in Dublin. 1 . One of the most obvious is the limitations on individuals supporting their own campaign. This may be unconstitutional , because it limits free speech. 2. The ordinance is not clear as to where, how and to whom the candidates or committees file their report. 3. The ordinance does not explain the process of prosecution and by whom. Is it local or State? 4. What type of hearing will be made to determin whether the violation is "inadvertent, negligent or deliberate? Who will be the judge, prosecutor or jury? Will action be taken on evidence based on suspicion, hearsay or rumor? 5. Is a loan a contribution and limited by the ordinance? 6. The loss of a position on the Council of a duly elected person because of a clerical error or oversight on filing is too severe and disfranchises a portion of the electorate if it is carried out. Conflict of Interest laws already cover this portion of the ordinance. It seems to me this ordinance is not suited to Dublin and will only serve to "intimidate" new candidates . There have not been any financial "abuses" in the local campaigns and this only creates another restriction in our free political process. The State Fair Political Practices Commission already requires registration of any donations over $100 and it is not realistic to believe anyone would compromise themselves for that amount of money. The public has a right to know where major contributions come from and that is already covered by the State. Then the public can decide who they want to vote for. This ordinance takes away that right. Therefore, I am asking that this Ordinance No. 01-84 be reconsidered by the Council and that it be agendized at the January 23rd meeting. It is my hope that you will rescind this ordinance so that we have more time to consider its implications and why an ordinance of this type is needed in Dublin. y si sinc rel , David C, Burton CITY OF DUBLIN P.O. Box 2340 Dublin, CA 94568 (415) 829-4600 January 18 , 1984 TO: COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: CITY ATTORNEY RE: ORDINANCE NO. 01-84 (an Ordinance Regulating Election Campaign Contributions and Expenditures) As you know, on January 9 , 1984 , you enacted Ordinance No . 01-84 as an urgency measure . The Ordinance was substantially identical to the Livermore Ordinances . The Dublin Ordinance differs from Livermore ' s in the amount that can be contributed to a campaign ($100 . 00 instead of $50 . 00) and the amount that must be reported ($25 . 01 instead of ($10 . 01) . The remaining substantial difference between the Ordinances was the language added during the Council meeting to permit a candidate to contribute more than $100 . 00 in order to pay for a filing fee and/or a campaign statement. See Section 3 (c) of No . 01-84 . The addition of this language created an implication that the word "person" , as used in Section 3 (b) , included candidates . Regardless of the implication, I did respond to an inquiry at that meeting that, in my opinion, the word "person" did include candidates . Thus , under No. 01-84 , candidates were limited to contributing no more than $100 . 00 to their own campaign. Since January 9th, there have been some questions raised regarding the constitutionality of a restriction on the amount that a candidate may contribute to his or her own campaign. After further study,, I have concluded that No. 01-84 may be unconstitutional as applied to candidates . While, to my knowledge, there is no case which so holds, I believe the reasoning which the U. S . Supreme Court .used to invalidate campaign expenditures, limitations would , apply with equal force to invalidate a ceiling on contri- butions by a candidate. The following language is illuminating: TO: COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: CITY ATTORNEY RE : ORDINANCE NO. 01-84 (an Ordinance Regulating Election Campaign Contributions and Expenditures) "The primary governmental interest served by the Act--the prevention of actual and apparent corruption of the political process--does not support the limitation on the candidate ' s expenditure of his own personal funds . As the Court of Appeals concluded: "Manifestly, the core problem of avoiding undisclosed and undue influence on candidates from out- side interests has lesser application when the monies involved come from the candidate himself or from his immediate family. " 171 U.S .App.D.C. , at 206 ,519 F. 2d, at 855 . Indeed, the use of personal funds reduces the candidate ' s dependence on outside contributions and thereby counteracts the coercive pressures and attendant risks of abuse to which the Act ' s contribution limitations are directed. " Buckley v. Valeo, (1976) 96 S.Ct. 612 ,651 Accordingly, it is my recommendation that the Council amend No . 01-84 to remove the constitutional infirmity. Attached hereto is an Ordinance which, if adopted, would amend No. 01-84 by deleting the problem language. The Ordinance would also amend No. 01-84 to correct a misnumbered Government Code Section. Lastly, the Ordinance contains a severability clause which provides that, if one part of the Ordinance is held to be unconstitutional , the validity of the remaining portions would be unaffected. As with No. 01-84 , this Ordinance relates to an election and is, therefore, an urgency Ordinance effective upon adoption. Government Code 536937 . MICHAEL R. NAVE MRN:mr Attachment ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 01-84 REGULATING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS BY EXEMPTING THEREFROM CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY CANDIDATES TO THEIR OWN CAMPAIGNS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. AMENDMENTS (a) Section 2 (a) (5) of Dublin Ordinance No. 01-84 is amended to read as follows: "This definition also modifies "Contents of a Statement" codified at Government Code Section 84211. " (b) Section 3 (c) of Dublin Ordinance No. 01-84 is amended to read as follows: "The prohibitions stated in subsection (b) above shall not apply to contributions made or received in support of, or in opposition to, a ballot measure, nor shall said prohibition apply to contibutions made by a candidate to his or her campaign. " (c) Section 4 (e) of Dublin Ordinance No. 01-84 is amended to read as follows: "Each committee supporting or opposing a measure shall file its additional city requirements on the due date .of the state forms. Its final contribution disclosure statement shall be filed in accordance with Section 4 (c) . " (d) Section 9 is added to Dublin Ordinance No. 01-84 , and reads as follows: Section 9 . SEVERABILITY If any part of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. " Section 2. IMMEDIATE EFFECT This Ordinance affects an election and is an urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 36937 . Section 3. POSTING OF ORDINANCE The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Dublin on this 23rd day of January, 1984, by the following votes: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -2- CITY OF DUBLIN 11'.0. Box 2340 Dublin, CA 94568 (415) 829-4600 January 19 , 1984 TO : COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: CITY ATTORNEY RE: Response to questions raised in January 16 , 1984 , letter from 'David Burton Dave Burton has raised several questions in his Januarty 16th letter that I will attempt to answer in this memo . 1 . Mr . Burton' s concerns about the consti- tutionality of Ordinance No. 01-84 has been asnwered in my accompanying memorandum. 2 . Pursuant to Government Code §84215 (e) , candidates for City office shall fil the original and one copy of their campaign statement with the City Clerk. The timing of the filing is set forth in Government Code §84200 . The dates vary depending on the amounts of the contributions and expenditures and the dates of the particular election. Ordinance No. 01-84 does not change the provisions of the Government Code. It does , however, supplement the State requirements as set forth in Section 4 of the Ordinance. 3 . As I have indicated, Dublin' s Ordinance supplements the State law. - Pursuant to Government Code §81010 (d) , the filing officer (City Clerk) is to report apparent violations of the law to the appropriate agencies. Pursuant to Government Code §91001 , the District Attorney of Alameda County is the enforcement agency. 4 . No guidelines are provided by the Government Code for the "hearing" to determine whether a violation is inadvertant, etc . , as with any possible . . j TO: COUNCIL MEMBERS Page 2 FROM: CITY ATTORNEY RE: Response to questions raised in January 16 , 1984 , letter from David Burton misdemeanor, the District Attorney, before filing a criminal complaint, will review the report of the City Clerk and the candidate. 5 . The Fair Political Practices Commis- sion considers a loan to be a contribution. MICHAEL R. NAVE MRN:mr ORDINANCE NO. 01-84 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN REGULATING ELECTION CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS : Section 1. FINDING AND PURPOSE Pursuant to the authority granted to the City Council of the City of Dublin in Government Code Section 81013 permitting the imposition of additional local requirements to the Political Reform Act of 1974 , the City Council hereby finds that it is in the public interest to place realistic and enforceable limits on the amounts which may be contributed to political campaigns in municipal elections, and that candidates and treasurers of committees aiding such candidates make a full and fair declaration containing a disclosure of the persons making contributions, the amounts of such contributions, the persons to whom expenditures are made, and the amounts of such expenditures. Section 2 . DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this article, definitions codified in the Political Reform Act beginning at Section 82000 , et seq. , shall apply to this article, with the addition of (c) below and the following additional requirements to (a) and (b) below. (a) "Campaign statement" means an itemized statement prepared in duplicate by a candidate and by the treasurer of each committee showing, in addition to matters otherwise required by law, the following information: (1) The name, complete mailing address, occupation, and place of employment, and business address if self-employed, of any person who paid, loaned, contributed or otherwise furnished Twenty-Five and 01/100 Dollars ( $25 .01) or more, or its equivalent to the candidate or treasurer for the candidate or to each committee as defined in (b) below for the use of such candidate or such treasurer , directly or indirectly, in aid of the candidate ' s election, or for the qualification, passage or defeat of any measure, and the amount, in detail, of such money or its equivalent each such person paid, loaned, contributed, or otherwise furnished. ( 2) The purchase of any tickets, cumulatively totaling Twenty-Five and 01/100 Dollars ( $25 .01) or more for any fund-raising event regardless of number purchased, value of each ticket, or frequency of purchase, is subject to the provisions of (a) (1) above. (3) Donation of Twenty-Five and 01/100 Dollars ( $25 .01) or more to any "kitty" at any campaign event is subject to the provisions of (a) (1) above. (4) All expenditures in excess of Twenty-Five and 01/100 Dollars ( $25 .01) shall be itemized in detail with the amount and names of persons and/or concerns where the monies were expended. (5) This definition also modifies "Contents of a Campaign Statement" codified at Government Code Section 84210 with regard to additional city requirements. (b) "Committee" means (1) a committee, person, or group of persons organized for the purpose or charged with the duty of conducting or aiding the election campaign, including fund-raising events, or any candidate for municipal office of the City of Dublin, or for the support or defeat of a measure under consideration in the City of Dublin; (2) any committee, persons, or group of persons aiding directly or indirectly any candidate, measure, or committee as defined in (1) , whether or not originally organized for election campaigns. (c) "Election period" is defined as that period of time commencing on the 58th day following a general, municipal or special municipal election in which there were municipal candidates or measures and extending to the close of the fifth day before the next preceding general, municipal or special municipal election in which there were municipal candidates or measures. Section 3 . CONTRIBUTIONS (a) No contribution shall be accepted by any candidate or committee except during an election period. (b) No person or committee shall, during an election period, make any contribution or contributions which exceed the maximum amount of One Hundred Dollars ( $100 .00) ; nor shall any such contribution be accepted by any person or committee. (c) The prohibitions stated in subsection (b) above shall not apply to contributions made or received in support of, or in opposition to, a ballot measure, nor shall said prohibition apply to contributions made by a candidate to his or her campaign for the payment of an election filing fee and/or candidate statement. Section 4 . FILING OF VERIFIED CAMPAIGN STATEMENT To insure full disclosure, each committee or its treasurer shall disclose all expenditures on behalf of the candidate to the candidate or his or her treasurer not later than one (1) business day after the expenditure. -2- Cumulative preliminary campaign statements shall be filed by the following dates by the candidate and each committee : (a) No later than forty (40) days prior to the election; this report closes forty-three (43) days prior to the election. (b) No later than twelve (12) days prior to the election; this report closes fifteen (15) days prior to the election. (c) An additional final contributions disclosure statement shall be filed with the City Clerk during regular business hours five (5) days prior to the election; this report closes on the date of filing. The report is in addition to the reports required to be filed under state law in Government Code Section 84200 . (d) The final post-election campaign statement shall be filed sixty-five (65) days after election, or in the case of a successful candidate, not later than the day preceding the day on which he or she takes office. The statement shall close seven (7) days prior to filing deadline. (e) Each committee supporting or opposing a measure shall file its additional city requirements on the due date of the state forms. Its final contribution disclosure statement shall be filed in accordance with Section 2 .52 (c) . Section 5 . DEADLINE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS No contributions may be accepted after the filing of the final contributions disclosure statement described in Section 4 (c) . Section 6. PENALTIES Violation of any provision of this Ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ( $500 .00) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Further , the expenditure by any person or committee or any money, services or materials of any kind on behalf of a candidate by any person or committee without the written permission in advance of the candidate or his or her treasurer shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a payment of a fine in an amount equal to triple the expenditure involved, but not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ( $500 . 00) , or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Failure by any candidate or his or her treasurer to file on or before the fifth day before the election will disqualify that candidate for election to office, unless -3- such report is filed on the next working day accompanied by a later penalty filing charge of One Hundred Dollars ( 5100 .00) . No late report will be accepted without the penalty filing charge. Willful failure to file on or before the day before taking office by a successful candidate will cause the loss of his or her seat, whereupon the unsuccessful candidate with the highest number of votes shall replace that person subject to a complete filing within ten (10) days of notification. Whether or not a violation is inadvertent, negligent, or deliberate in the presence or absence of good faith, shall be considered in applying the remedies and sanctions of this Ordinance. Section 7 . IMMEDIATE EFFECT This Ordinance affects an election and is an urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 36937 . Section 8 . POSTING OF ORDINANCE The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the City of Dublin in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Dublin on this 9th day of January, 1984 , by the following votes : AYES : Councilmembers Drena, Jeffery and Mayor Snyder NOES : Councilmembers Hegarty and Moffatt ABSENT: None May r ATTE City Cle -4-