Santa Clara County Municipal Code Div. A11 County Executive

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Division A11 was extensively revised by Ord. No. NS-300.305, adopted Oct. 16, 1979. However, the County has advised that Ord. No. NS-300.305 has been completely superseded by Ord. No. NS-300.306, thus making the changes effected by 300.305 of no effect.

Charter reference— County Executive, Art. IV.

Cross reference— Provisions relating to the County Executive with reference to specified subjects are classified in the material on those subjects.

There is in the County the position of County Executive.

(Code 1954, § 3.1.19-1)

The County Executive, as head of the administrative branch of the County government as provided in the Charter, shall be responsible to the Board of Supervisors for the proper administration of all affairs of the County.

(Code 1954, § 3.1.19-2)

The County Executive shall be the official agency under Government Code § 65401 to receive, list and classify proposed public works recommended for planning, initiation or construction during the ensuing fiscal year and to prepare a coordinated program of proposed public works for the ensuing fiscal year. Such program shall be submitted to the Planning Department for review and report to the County Executive as to conformity with the adopted General Plan or part thereof.

(Code 1954, § 3.1.19-3; Ord. No. NS-300.85, § 1, 12-6-65)

There is in the Office of the County Executive the position of the Registrar of Voters, who shall be appointed by the County Executive in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and this Ordinance Code, and who shall be under the supervision of the County Executive or his or her designee.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)

The Registrar of Voters shall register as voters such electors as apply for registration. The Registrar of Voters shall perform all acts required under the general law to be performed by the County Clerk acting as Registrar of Voters, and shall perform such other duties as may be required under the Elections Code. The Registrar of Voters shall conduct all national, state and County elections held within the County, canvass election returns as directed by the Board of Supervisors, and select and appoint election officers and establish polling places in election precincts.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)

The Registrar of Voters shall perform the functions specified in the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Government Code § 81000 et seq.) to be performed by the County Clerk except for the functions specified in Chapter 7 (Government Code § 87100 et seq.) dealing with conflict of interest.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)

A fee of $50.00 shall be paid to the Registrar of Voters by every person filing a notice of intent to circulate an initiative petition pertaining to the County Ordinance Code, the annexation of territory to the County, the consolidation of counties, or the dissolution of a county. This fee shall be refunded if the Registrar of Voters certifies the petition within one year from the date that the notice of intent was filed.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)

(a) The Board finds that public access to campaign disclosure information is a vital and integral component of a fully informed electorate. Transparency in campaign financing is critical in order to maintain public trust and support of the political process.

(b) State law requires candidates, persons supporting or opposing ballot measures and certain other types of committees to file campaign finance statements with the Registrar of Voters detailing the sources of contributions and manner of expenditure of contributions. Government Code section 84615, effective January 1, 2013, authorizes local jurisdictions to require the filing of campaign statements and reports solely in an electronic form, with a specified exemption. The purpose of these laws is to assist voters in making informed electoral decisions and to assist in ensuring compliance with campaign contributions laws. In any instance in which the original statement, report, or other document is required to be filed with the Secretary of State and a copy of that statement, report, or other documents is required to be filed with the local government agency, the filer is exempt from filing the statement electronically as provided by Government Codes section 84615.

(c) Frequently, these disclosure reports are extremely lengthy. Moreover, literally hundreds of such reports are filed with the Registrar of Voters office each reporting period. It is extremely difficult for members of the public, the media and election officials efficiently to review and compare these statements.

(d) The Board makes the following findings in support of requiring that political committees and candidates that meet certain financial thresholds file their campaign statements electronically:

(i) An electronic system reduces paper waste and time spent processing and storing paper filings, so that efforts can be focused on helping filers comply with filing requirements.

(ii) An electronic system is not unduly burdensome on candidates in that it reduces the need for candidates to print out and physically mail statements to the Registrar of Voters office, and it eases the entry of contributors' information in that the system recognizes repeat contributors and automatically populates their information.

(iii) The system used by the County contains multiple safeguards to protect the integrity and security of the data.

(iv) An electronic system streamlines the filing process, by storing information previously entered, calculating numbers, and helping catch errors before filings are submitted.

(v) Once the statements are placed online, they are easily accessible for public viewing and allow the public to search reports by field, including, but not limited to, election, candidate, date, contributor and expenditure.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00; Ord. No. NS-300.857, § 1, 8-13-13; Ord. No. NS-300.857B, § 1, 5-13-14)

(a) "Candidate" shall be defined as set forth in the California Political Reform Act (Government Code § 81000 et seq.), provided that the term candidate shall be limited to candidates for County office, to wit: member of the Board of Supervisors, Assessor, District Attorney, and Sheriff.

(b) "Committee" shall mean any person or group of persons which:

(1) Is an "officeholder" account as defined by the Political Reform Act, of a person holding one of the offices included in Section A11-(a) [A11-9(a)], or

(2) Is required to file a statement of organization under the California Political Reform Act; and

(3) Is controlled by one or more candidates or is formed or exists primarily to support or oppose one or more candidates or measures which are being voted on only in and throughout the County; and

(4) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or independent expenditures totaling $1,000.00 or more in a calendar year.

(c) "Contribution" shall be defined as set forth in the California Political Reform Act.

(d) "Expenditure" and "independent expenditure" shall be defined as set forth in the California Political Reform Act.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)

(a) Whenever any elected officer, candidate or committee is required by the California Political Reform Act to file a semi-annual campaign statement, a pre-election campaign statement, an amended campaign statement, a supplemental pre-election campaign statement, a report disclosing a contribution received by or made to a candidate, local ballot measure, or an independent expenditure made for or against a candidate or local ballot measure, of $1,000.00, or more, during an election cycle with the Registrar of Voters, it shall be filed electronically. The elected officer, candidate or committee shall file the statement using the electronic filing system available on the Registrar of Voters' website. The street or address or building number of the persons or entity representatives, or any bank account number, shall not be displayed online.

(b) Statements or reports that are filed electronically with the Registrar of Voters pursuant to this section need not also be filed in a paper format.

(c) This requirement does not apply to any elected officer or candidate who receives contributions totaling less than $1,000.00, and makes expenditures totaling less than $1,000.00, in a calendar year.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00; Ord. No. NS-300.857, § 2, 8-13-13; Ord. No. NS-300.857B, § 2, 5-13-14)

(a) Any person who files an electronic copy of a statement or report required by this article after the deadline imposed by the California Political Reform Act for filing the written copy of the statement or report shall be liable in the same amount and on the same terms as set forth in the Act for late filing of the written copy of the campaign statement or report, except that no fines shall be waived by the Registrar of Voters.

(b) Any person required to file an electronic copy of a statement or a report required by this article, who does not do so by the deadline imposed under the California Political Reform Act, shall be notified by the Registrar of Voters of that failure no later than the expiration of ten days following the deadline to file the statement or report. The Registrar of Voters shall notify such persons that the matter will be referred to the Santa Clara County District Attorney and the Fair Political Practices Commission if the required electronic statement is not filed by the end of the 20th day following the deadline to file the electronic statement or report. The notification shall be made at the telephone number, fax line or electronic mail address on the "Campaign Statement Reporting Notification" form provided by the Registrar of Voters.

(c) The Registrar of Voters shall immediately refer to the District Attorney and FPPC any persons required by this article to file the electronic statement or report set forth in subsection (a) who fails to do so by the 20th day following the deadline.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00; Ord. No. NS-300.857, § 3, 8-13-13; Ord. No. NS-300.857B, § 3, 5-13-14)

The provisions of this article are declared to be separate and severable. The invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or portion of this article, or the invalidity of the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this article, or the validity of its application to other persons or circumstances.

(Ord. No. NS-300.639, § 2, 9-12-00)