Escondido Municipal Code Art. 7 Controls on Campaign Contributions

Editor's note—Ord. No. 2007-26, § 1, adopted Sept. 19, 2007, amended Art. 7 by enacting provisions designated as §§ 2-100—2-119; these sections were renumbered to be 2-100—2-110.10 to maintain code format. Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, adopted Jan. 4, 1989, amended Art. VII by enacting provisions designated as §§ 2-100—2-120. Said sections have been renumbered as §§ 2-100—2-110.10 to maintain code format. Prior to inclusion of said ordinance, Art. VII, §§ 2-100—2-107, pertained to controls on campaign contributions and derived from Ord. No. 83-46, § 1, adopted Sept. 14, 1983 and Ord. No. 86-47, §§ 1—4, adopted July 2, 1986.

Inherent to the high cost of election campaigning is the problem of improper influence, real or potential, exercised by campaign contributors over elected officials. It is the purpose and intent of the city council of the City of Escondido in enacting this article to preserve an orderly political forum in which individuals may express themselves effectively; to place realistic and enforceable limits on the amounts of money that may be contributed to political campaigns in municipal elections; to prohibit contributions by organizations in order to develop a broader base of political efficacy within the community; to limit the use of loans and credit in the financing of municipal election campaigns; and to provide full and fair enforcement of all the provisions of this article. This article is enacted in accordance with the terms of Section 7 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of California. The contribution limitations of this article shall not apply to ballot measure elections or to that portion of a recall election in which the electorate determines whether or not to recall an officeholder, but shall apply to all candidate elections, including the candidate election portion of a consolidated recall election.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2007-26, § 1, 9-19-07)

This article shall be cited as the Escondido Municipal Election Campaign Control Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2007-26, § 1, 9-19-07)

As used in this article, the listed words or phrases shall be defined as follows:

"Candidate"

shall mean any individual who is listed on the ballot or who has begun to circulate nominating petitions or authorized others to circulate petitions in his or her behalf, 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 with a view to bringing about his or her nomination or election to any city office, whether or not the specific elective office for which nomination or election may be sought is known at the time the contribution is received or the expenditure is made and whether or not candidacy has been announced or a declaration of candidacy filed at such time. "Candidate" also includes any holder of any city office who is the subject of a recall election.

"City office"

shall mean the offices of mayor, councilmember and treasurer of the City of Escondido.

"Committee"

shall be defined as the definition found in Government Code Section 82013, contained within the Political Reform Act, and any related provisions in the California Code of Regulations.

"Contribution"

shall be defined as the definition found in Government Code Section 82015, contained within the Political Reform Act, and any related provisions in the California Code of Regulations.

"Controlled committee"

shall mean a committee which is controlled directly or indirectly by a candidate or which acts jointly with a candidate or controlled committee in connection with the making of expenditures. A candidate controls a committee if he or she, his or her agent or any other committee he or she controls has a significant influence on the actions or decisions of the committee.

"Election"

shall mean any primary, general or special election held in the City of Escondido, including the candidate election portion of a consolidated recall election. The primary and general or special elections are separate elections for purposes of this article.

"Enforcement authority"

shall mean the officer, agent or organization designated by action of the city council to enforce the provisions of this article. Nothing in this article shall be construed as limiting the authority of any law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney to enforce the provisions of this article under any circumstances where such law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney otherwise has lawful authority to do so.

"Expenditure"

shall mean a payment, a forgiveness of a loan, a payment of a loan 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 is made or on the date consideration, if any, is received, whichever is earlier.

"Independent committee"

shall mean a committee that receives contributions or makes expenditures for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence a City election, which is not made with the cooperation, consultation, or in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate or his or her committee, or any of their agents.

"Independent expenditure":

(a)

Independent expenditure

shall mean an expenditure by a person for a communication expressly advocating the support of or opposition to a clearly identified candidate which is not made with the cooperation or prior consent of a candidate, his or her agent, or a controlled committee of a candidate.

(b)

For the purpose of this definition:

"Expressly advocating"

shall mean any communication containing a message advocating support or opposition. Content may include, but not be limited to, the name of a candidate, the title of a measure or any expression such as "vote for," "elect," "support," "cast your ballot for," "vote against," "defeat," or "reject" and an identifying phrase.

"Clearly identified candidate"

shall mean that the name of a candidate appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate appears, or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by unambiguous references.

"Made with the cooperation or with the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or at the behest or suggestion of, a candidate or his or her agent or a controlled committee of a candidate"

shall mean any arrangement, coordination, or direction by a candidate, agent or committee prior to the publication, display or broadcast of the communication.

"Agent"

shall mean any person who has actual oral or written authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or any person who has been placed in a position within the campaign organization where it would reasonably appear that in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities, he or she may authorize expenditures.

(c)

An expenditure not qualifying under this section as an independent expenditure shall be considered a contribution to the candidate.

"Measure"

shall mean any proposition which is submitted to a popular vote at an election by action of the city council or which is submitted or is intended to be submitted to a popular vote at a city election by initiative or referendum procedure whether or not it qualifies for the ballot.

"Payment"

shall mean payment, distribution, transfer, loan, advance, deposit, gift or other rendering of money, property, services or anything else of value, whether tangible or intangible.

"Person"

shall mean an individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, company, corporation, association, committee, labor union, political action committee, independent committee and any other organization or group of persons acting in concert. "Person" does not include a political party committee.

"Political action committee"

shall mean an organization that generates, receives and/or pools campaign contributions from members or others and either makes direct expenditures on behalf of, or donates those contributions to campaigns for or against, candidates or ballot measures. As used herein, a labor union or employee bargaining group shall constitute a political action committee.

"Political party committee"

shall mean the state central or county central committee of an organization that meets the requirements for recognition as a political party pursuant to California Elections Code sections 5100 or 5151.

(Ord. No. 2021-04, § 2, 3-24-21)

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**Editor's note —**Section 2-103, pertaining to campaign contribution limitations, derived from Ord. No. 2020-27, was repealed by Ord. No. 2023-14, adopted November 15, 2023.

§ 2-104. through § 2-106. (Reserved)

Editor's note — Sections 2-104—2-106, pertaining to campaign contribution accounts and funds, derived from Ord. Nos. 88-60, 97-24 and 2007-26, were repealed by Ord. No. 2018-09, §§ 3—5, adopted April 25, 2018.

If the final campaign statement for a candidate or any committee discloses an unexpended surplus, the candidate or committee shall comply with Government Code Section 89519, as amended and applicable, in the closure of the account and disbursement of any such funds.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2020-27, § 4, 11-18-20; Ord. No. 2021-04, § 3, 3-24-21)

Every candidate or committee establishing a campaign contribution checking account pursuant to this article shall make available on demand to any public officer having legal authority to enforce this article, the details of any such checking account requested and the records supporting it. Every candidate or committee establishing a campaign contribution checking account shall maintain a record of every contribution received and disbursement made from the checking account, which record shall include, but not be limited to, copies of checks, canceled checks, bank records, bills and invoices. Such records shall be kept by the candidate or treasurer of the committee establishing the account for the periods specified in Section 18401 of Title 2, Division 6 of the California Administrative Code. Each candidate and committee shall, on demand, make available to any public officer having authority to enforce this article, a written declaration of consent that such officer may have access to the campaign contribution checking account.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2007-26, § 1, 9-19-07)