Article III — Contribution Limits

• (a) No person shall make to any candidate for office or the controlled committee of such a candidate and no such candidate and the candidate's controlled committee shall accept from any such person a contribution or contributions totaling more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) during the election cycle for each election in which the candidate is on the ballot or is a write-in candidate. Acceptance of the voluntary expenditure limits contained in SCCC § 2.130.160 shall raise the contribution limit to five hundred dollars ($500.00). Beginning in 2014, the contribution limits established in this section shall be adjusted on an annual basis by a

percentage equal to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the San Francisco Bay Area (CPI). The adjustment to the contribution limits shall be by City Council resolution adopted at least six months prior to each election. The adjustment shall be rounded off to the nearest ten dollar ($10.00) figure [downward (if four dollars ninety-nine cents ($4.99) or less) or upward (if five dollars ($5.00) or more)].

• (b) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a candidate from making unlimited contributions to his/her own campaign.

• (c) No person shall make to any candidate for office or the controlled committee of such a candidate and no such candidate or candidate controlled committee may accept a contribution unless it is made or accepted during the election cycle.

• (d) The last day a campaign contribution may be deposited shall be eleven (11) calendar days before the election date (i.e., a Tuesday, November 2nd election date would make Friday, October 22nd the last day to deposit a contribution) and the last day a payment for campaign expenses may be made shall be the last day of the month following the election month (i.e., a November election would require that all campaign expenses be paid by December 31st – the last day of the month following the election month).

• (e) Nominal in-kind contributions not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) per source shall be allowed between the closing of the fundraising window and election day; provided, that the contribution meets all other requirements of this chapter.

• (f) Committees formed to support or oppose a ballot measure shall be excepted from the limitations contained in this section.

• (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1835 § 2, 4-15-2008; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

No candidate controlled committee shall make any contribution to any other candidate running for office, his or her controlled committee or any committee supporting or opposing a candidate for office.

• (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

• (a) If a contribution has been negotiated, deposited, utilized, or was not returned to the donor within fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt it is considered received. Received contributions that are refunded to donors prior to the election are considered campaign expenditures and will count toward the voluntary expenditure limit. Received contributions refunded to donors after the election are considered surplus funds and will not count toward the voluntary expenditure limit.

• (b) A contribution shall not be considered to be received if it is not negotiated, deposited or utilized, and if it is returned to the donor within fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt. In the case of a late contribution, as defined in the Political Reform Act, it shall not be deemed received if it is returned to the contributor within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt.

• (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014; Ord. 1954 § 1, 5-17-2016)

For purposes of the contributions limits in this article, the following shall apply:

• (a) All payments made by a person, as broadly defined in the Political Reform Act, whose contributions or expenditures are financed, maintained or controlled by any other person shall be considered to be made by a single person, committee or small contributor political action committee.

• (b) Two or more entities shall be treated as one person when any of the following circumstances apply:

  • (1) The entities share the majority of members of their boards of directors.

  • (2) The entities share two or more officers.

  • (3) The entities are owned or controlled by the same majority shareholder or shareholders.

  • (4) The entities are in a parent-subsidiary relationship.

• (c) An individual and any general partnership in which the individual is a partner, or an individual and any corporation in which the individual owns a controlling interest, shall be treated as one person.

• (d) No committee which supports or opposes a candidate for office shall have as officers individuals who serve as officers on any other committee which supports or opposes the same candidate. No such committee shall act in concert with, or solicit or make contributions on behalf of any other committee. This subsection shall not apply to treasurers of committees if these treasurers do not participate in or control in any way a decision on whether the candidate or candidates receive contributions.

• (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

• (a) A loan shall be considered a contribution from the maker and the guarantor of the loan and shall be subject to the contribution limits (two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00, as adjusted from time to time) or five hundred dollars ($500.00, as adjusted from time to time) if the voluntary expenditure limit is accepted) of this chapter.

• (b) Every loan to a candidate or the candidate's controlled committee shall be by written agreement and shall be filed with the candidate's or committee's campaign statement on which the loan is first reported.

• (c) The proceeds of a loan made to a candidate by a commercial lending institution in the regular course of business on the same terms available to members of the public and which is secured or guaranteed shall not be subject to the contribution limits of this chapter.

• (d) Extensions of credit (other than commercial loans pursuant to subsection (c) of this section) for a period of more than thirty (30) calendar days are subject to the contribution limits of this chapter.

• (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

• (a) Contributions by a husband and wife shall be treated as separate contributions and shall not be aggregated.

• (b) Contributions by children under eighteen (18) years of age shall be treated as contributions by their parents and attributed proportionately to each parent (one-half to each parent or the total amount to a single custodial parent).

(Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

Any funds received by an elected official or candidate running in the city or any committee controlled by such an official or candidate shall be considered either a campaign contribution, income or a gift. All campaign contributions received by such persons shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter unless such campaign contributions are used exclusively for elections held outside the city. All income and gifts shall be subject to the conflict of interest provisions of the Political Reform Act. (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

A candidate shall have no more than one campaign committee and one checking account out of which all expenditures shall be made. This section shall not prohibit the establishment of savings or investment accounts, but no qualified campaign expenditures shall be made out of these accounts. (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

This section is a reminder of a portion of the provisions of Government Code § 84300 pertaining to cash:

(a) No contribution of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more shall be made or received in cash.

(b) No expenditure of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more shall be made or received in cash. The remaining provisions of Government Code § 84300 shall remain in effect. (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

No person shall make an anonymous contribution(s) to a candidate or controlled committee totaling one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more in any election cycle. An anonymous contribution of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more shall not be kept by the intended recipient, but shall instead be promptly paid to the City Clerk for deposit in the general fund of the City to be earmarked for the purpose of offsetting any costs incurred by the City in enforcing this chapter. (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)

No contribution shall be made, directly or indirectly, by any person in a name other than the name by which such person is legally identified. (Ord. 1745 § 2, 1-11-2000; Ord. 1924 § 1, 4-22-2014)