Escondido Municipal Code § 2-110 Cash and anonymous contributions

(a) No contribution of $100 or more shall be made or received in cash. Any cash contributions of $100 or more shall be paid promptly from available campaign funds, if any, to the city treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the city.

(b) No anonymous contributions shall be accepted by any candidate or committee. Any anonymous contributions received shall be paid promptly from available campaign funds, if any, to the city treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the city.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2007-26, § 1, 9-19-07; Ord. No. 2013-04, § 1, 5-1-13; Ord. No. 2018-09, § 6, 4-25-18)

No contribution shall be made, directly or indirectly, by any person or combination of persons acting jointly in a name other than the name by which they are identified for legal purposes, nor in the name of another person or combination of persons. No person shall make a contribution in his, her or its name of anything belonging to another person or received from another person on the condition that it be used as a contribution. When it is discovered by the campaign treasurer that a contribution has been received in violation of this section, the campaign treasurer shall pay promptly, from available campaign funds, if any, the amount received in violation of this section to the city treasurer for deposit in the general fund of the city.

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

Persons or organizations not subject to the control of a candidate or committee but who make independent expenditures for or against a candidate or committee shall indicate clearly on any material published, displayed or broadcast that it was not authorized by a candidate or committee, when such expenditures in whole or part would have been covered by the provisions of this article if they were subject to the control of a candidate or committee.

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

No person who supplies goods or services or both goods and services to a candidate or committee for use in connection with the campaign of the candidate shall refuse knowingly to divulge or disclose to the enforcement authority his or her record of any expenditures made by the candidate or committee in payment for such goods or services or both.

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

In addition to other duties required under the terms of this article, the city clerk shall:

(a) Supply appropriate forms and manuals prescribed by the State Fair Political Practices Commission. These forms and manuals shall be furnished to all candidates and committees, and to all other persons required to report.

(b) Determine whether required documents have been filed and, if so, whether they conform on their face with the requirements of state law.

(c) Notify promptly all persons and known committees who have failed to file a document in the form and at the time required by state law.

(d) Report apparent violations of this article and applicable state law to the enforcement authority.

(e) Compile and maintain a current list of all statements or parts of statements filed pertaining to each candidate.

(f) Cooperate with the enforcement authority in the performance of the duties of the enforcement authority as prescribed in this article and applicable state law.

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

(a) The city attorney shall not investigate or prosecute any alleged violation of this article, but shall defend the constitutionality and legality of this article in any civil proceeding in which the city or the city council is a party.

(b) The enforcement authority shall enforce the provisions of this article.

(c) Special counsel shall be selected as the enforcement authority by the city attorney and appointed by the city council at least 180 days prior to a city election. Should the appointment of additional special counsel become necessary or appropriate, the city attorney shall select, and the city council shall appoint, such additional special counsel as may be required. The review of complaints of violation of this article and any criminal prosecutions under this article shall be commenced by special counsel. Special counsel shall also commence and prosecute any necessary administrative proceeding or civil litigation to compel compliance with this article or to enjoin conduct in violation of this article. No enforcement or prosecution or action of special counsel shall be subject to the review or control of the city council or the city attorney.

(d) Any person residing in the City of Escondido who believes that a violation of any portion of this article has occurred may file a written complaint requesting investigation of such violation by the enforcement authority. If the enforcement authority determines that there is reason to believe a violation of this article has occurred, it shall conduct an investigation and may commence such administrative, civil or criminal legal action as it deems necessary for the enforcement of this article. Whenever the enforcement authority has reason to believe a willful violation of this article has occurred or is about to occur, it may institute such legal action at such time as it deems necessary to prevent further violations. The enforcement authority may decline to investigate any alleged violation of this article which is also an alleged violation of state law and is the subject of a complaint filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission, until the investigation of that complaint is complete.

(e) The enforcement authority shall have such investigative powers as are necessary for the performance of the duties prescribed in this article and may demand and be furnished records of campaign contributions and expenses at any time. In the event that production of such records is refused, the enforcement authority may commence civil litigation to complete such production.

(f) The enforcement authority shall determine whether required statements and declarations have been filed as required and, if so, whether they conform with the requirements of this article.

(g) The enforcement authority shall be immune to liability for the enforcement of this article.

(h) Any action alleging violation of this article must be commenced within two years of the time the alleged violation occurred.

(Ord. No. 88-60, § 1, 1-4-89; Ord. No. 97-24, § 1, 10-8-97; Ord. No. 2002-21, § 1, 7-17-02; Ord. No. 2007-26, 9-19-07)

Any person who knowingly or willfully violates any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any willful or knowing failure to report contributions, done with intent to mislead or deceive, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000.

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

If, after election, a candidate is convicted of a violation of any provision of this article, the election to office of such candidate shall be void and such office shall become vacant immediately thereupon, or on the date upon which the candidate, if not an incumbent, would otherwise take office, whichever occurs later. In such event, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the procedures provided for the filing of vacant city offices. If a candidate is convicted of a violation of this article at any time prior to election, his or her candidacy shall be terminated immediately and such candidate shall be no longer eligible for election. Any person convicted of a violation of this article shall be ineligible to hold city elective office for a period of five years from and after the date of his or her conviction.

(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 not apply to contributions or expenditures by a committee or a person on behalf of a committee supporting or opposing a city measure.

(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 construed liberally in order to effectuate its purposes. No error, irregularity, informality, neglect or omission of any officer in any procedure taken under this article which does not directly affect the jurisdiction of the council or the city to control campaign contributions and expenditures shall avoid the effect of this article.

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

If any provision of this article, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the article and the applicability of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected.

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