Napa County Municipal Code Ch. 2.104 Campaign Finance

State law currently allows candidates for public office to provide loans to their own campaigns using their personal funds and repay those loans with funds raised from other sources after the election has been decided. This ability of successful candidates to recoup personal loans to their own campaigns after winning an election poses an inherent risk that voters will not learn the identities of a candidate's campaign contributors through campaign disclosure documents until after the election, when voters will no longer be able to take this information into account when deciding for whom to vote. The purpose and intent of this chapter is to limit the influence that post-election campaign contributors can have on candidates by limiting the outstanding balance that candidates can have on loans they have provided to their own campaigns using their personal funds, as well as to codify state law limits on all campaign contributions.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

This chapter is intended to supplement the Political Reform Act, codified at Cal. Gov. Code § 81000, et seq., and the regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), set forth in Title 2, Division 6 of the California Code of Regulations, as amended. Unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, all words and terms shall have the same meaning as when they are used in the Political Reform Act and FPPC regulations. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in this chapter, the provisions of the Political Reform Act and FPPC regulations are applicable to all election campaigns for any Napa County elective office and may be enforced as provided for in those respective laws and regulations.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

A. "County candidate" or "candidate" means any individual who is a candidate for Supervisor, Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, County Superintendent of Schools, or Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.

B. "County elective office" means the office of Supervisor, Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, County Superintendent of Schools, or Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.

C. "Countywide office" means the office of Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, County Superintendent of Schools, or Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.

D. "District office" means the office of Supervisor.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

A person may not make to a candidate or the candidate's controlled committee, and a candidate or the candidate's controlled committee may not accept from a person, any contribution or series of contributions totaling more than the per election amount permitted in Cal. Gov. Code § 85301(a), as adjusted by the Fair Political Practices Commission pursuant to Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations § 18544.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

A. No candidate for any Countywide office shall personally make loans to their own campaign which have a total outstanding balance at any point in time of more than twenty thousand dollars.

B. No candidate for any District office shall personally make loans to their own campaign which have a total outstanding balance at any point in time of more than ten thousand dollars.

C. Beginning in 2022, the limits provided for in paragraphs A and B of this section may be adjusted biennially in December of every even-numbered year by resolution of the Board of Supervisors to reflect changes in the California Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The adjustments shall be made using the following formula: the loan limit amount in effect as of December 31, 2021, multiplied by the annual CPI-U, divided by the base CPI-U from 2021, rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Napa County Code, any violation of section 2.104.040 of this chapter may be enforced in any manner allowed by the Political Reform Act or FPPC regulations.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Napa County Code, any person who knowingly violates section 2.104.050 of this chapter shall be subject to an administrative fine for a sum of one thousand dollars for each violation, or three times the amount exceeding the limit established by section 2.104.050 as adjusted, whichever is greater.

C. Upon determining that a violation has occurred, the Napa County Elections Division shall issue a Notice of Violation to the person, sent by certified U.S. mail. The Notice of Violation shall, at a minimum, include the following information:

1. The person or person(s) who have violated this chapter;

2. The Napa County Code section that was violated;

3. The dollar amount in excess of this chapter's prescribed limits that constitutes the violation;

4. The amount of the administrative fine;

5. The deadline for complying with the Notice of Violation, which shall be set no sooner than forty-five days after the date of mailing the Notice of Violation. Compliance with the Notice of Violation shall include full payment of the fine issued and filing of the proper campaign disclosures showing that the portion of the loan in excess of the limit prescribed by this has been forgiven; and

6. A description of the process for requesting a hearing as provided for in this chapter.

D. Any person subject to a Notice of Violation issued pursuant to this section shall have the right to request an administrative hearing following the same procedures for an administrative hearing relating to a citation, as set forth in chapter 1.28 of the Napa County Code.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)

The enforcement procedures set forth in section 2.104.060 shall not be commenced, and a Notice of Violation shall not be issued, against any candidate whose loan balance exceeds the limit set forth in section 2.104.050 due to personal loans provided prior to this chapter's effective date if the candidate repays and/or forgives the portion of the loans that would constitute a violation prior to November 30, 2021.

(Ord. No. 1466, § 1, 3-23-2021)