East Palo Alto Municipal Code Ch. 2.68 Limits on Campaign Contributions

A. No person or committee shall make contributions to any candidate with respect to any election for city office which, in the aggregate, exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).

B. Contributions to a named candidate made to any person or committee authorized by such candidate to accept contributions on his behalf shall be considered to be contributions made to such candidate.

C. The limitations imposed by this section shall apply separately with respect to each election.

D. All contributions made by a person or committee, either directly or indirectly, on behalf of a particular candidate, including contributions which are in any way earmarked or otherwise directed through an intermediary or conduit to such candidate, shall be treated as contributions from such person or committees to such candidate.

(Prior code § 2-6.201)

As used in this section:

"Candidate" means an individual who is listed on the ballot or who has qualified to have write-in votes on his/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 consent for any other person to receive a contribution or make an expenditure with a view to bringing about his nomination or election to any elective city office, whether or not the specific elective city office for which he/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/she has announced his/her candidacy or filed a declaration of candidacy at such time. "Candidate" also includes any city officeholder who is the subject of a recall election.

"City office" includes city council and the offices of judge of the municipal court and judge of the Superior Court.

"Committee" means any combination of two or more persons who directly or indirectly receive contributions or make 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, including any committee or subcommittee of a political party.

"Election" means a general, special, primary, recall, or runoff election for a city office.

"Person" means an individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, club, company, corporation, association, committee, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.

(Prior code § 2-6.202)

"Contribution" means:

A. A gift, subscription, loan, advance, payment or deposit of money or anything of value (except a loan of money by a national or state bank made in accordance with the applicable banking laws and regulations and in the ordinary course of business, which shall be considered a loan by each endorser or guarantor, in that proportion of the unpaid balance thereof that each endorser or guarantor bears to the total number of endorsers or guarantors), made for the purpose of influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to city office.

B. A contract, promise or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution for such purposes;

C. Funds received by a committee which are transferred to such committee from another committee or other source;

D. The payment, by any person other than a candidate or a committee, of compensation for the personal services of another person which are rendered to such candidate or committee without charge for any such purpose.

(Prior code § 2-6.203)

"Contribution" does not include:

A. The value of services provided without compensation by individuals who volunteer a portion or all of their time on behalf of a candidate or committee;

B. The use of real or personal property and the cost of invitations, food and beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate in rendering voluntary personal services on the individual's residential premises for candidate-related activities;

C. The sale of any food or beverage by a vendor for use in a candidate's campaign at a charge less than the normal comparable charge, if such charge for use in a candidate's campaign is at least equal to the cost of such food or beverage to the vendor;

D. Any reimbursed payment for travel expenses made by an individual who on his own behalf volunteers his personal services to a candidate to the extent that the cumulative value of activities by any person on behalf of any candidate under each of subsections B, C and D does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) with respect to any election.

(Prior code § 2-6.204)