BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 1083


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1083 (Eggman)


          As Amended  March 26, 2015


          2/3 vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                |Noes                  |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
          |Elections       |5-1   |Travis Allen,       |Ridley-Thomas         |
          |                |      |Gatto, Gordon,      |                      |
          |                |      |Mullin, Perea       |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
          |Local           |9-0   |Maienschein,        |                      |
          |Government      |      |Gonzalez, Alejo,    |                      |
          |                |      |Chiu, Cooley,       |                      |
          |                |      |Gordon, Holden,     |                      |
          |                |      |Linder, Waldron     |                      |
          |                |      |                    |                      |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
          |Appropriations  |17-0  |Gomez, Bigelow,     |                      |
          |                |      |Bloom, Bonta,       |                      |
          |                |      |Calderon, Chang,    |                      |
          |                |      |Daly, Eggman,       |                      |
          |                |      |Gallagher, Eduardo  |                      |
          |                |      |Garcia, Holden,     |                      |
          |                |      |Jones, Quirk,       |                      |
          |                |      |Rendon, Wagner,     |                      |
          |                |      |Weber, Wood         |                      |








                                                                      AB 1083


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          |                |      |                    |                      |
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          SUMMARY:  Permits the City Council of the City of Stockton and the  
          Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to enter into an  
          agreement that provides for the FPPC to enforce a local campaign  
          finance ordinance passed by the City Council of the City of  
          Stockton.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Provides that, upon mutual agreement between the FPPC and the  
            City Council of the City of Stockton, the FPPC is authorized to  
            assume primary responsibility for the impartial, effective  
            administration, implementation, and enforcement of a local  
            campaign finance ordinance passed by the City Council of the  
            City of Stockton.  Provides that the FPPC is authorized to be  
            the civil prosecutor responsible for the civil enforcement of  
            such an ordinance, as specified. 
          2)Requires the City Council of the City of Stockton to consult  
            with the FPPC prior to adopting and amending any local campaign  
            finance reform ordinance that will be enforced by the FPPC.


          3)Permits the City Council of the City of Stockton and the FPPC to  
            enter into any agreements necessary and appropriate to carry out  
            the provisions of this bill, as specified.  


          4)Prohibits an agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions  
            of this bill from containing any form of a cancellation fee,  
            liquidated damages provision, or other financial disincentive to  
            the exercise of the right to terminate the agreement, except  
            that the FPPC may require the City Council of the City of  
            Stockton to pay the FPPC for services rendered and any other  
            expenditures reasonably made by the FPPC in anticipation of  
            services to be rendered pursuant to the agreement if the City  
            Council of the City of Stockton terminates the agreement.








                                                                      AB 1083


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          5)Permits the City Council of the City of Stockton or the FPPC to  
            terminate, at any time, by ordinance or resolution, any  
            agreement made pursuant to this bill for the FPPC to administer,  
            implement, or enforce a local campaign finance reform ordinance  
            or any other provisions thereof.


          6)Requires the FPPC, if an agreement is entered into pursuant to  
            the provisions of this bill, to report to the Legislature, as  
            specified, on or before January 1, 2019, and submit that report  
            in compliance with current law.  Requires the FPPC to develop  
            the report in consultation with the City Council of the City of  
            Stockton.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, all costs to the FPPC will be reimbursed by the City  
          [of Stockton] by mutual agreement.


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "This bill seeks to amend the  
          Political Reform Act of 1974 in order to authorize the Fair  
          Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to enter into an agreement  
          with the City of Stockton to enforce campaign contribution limits.  
           There is an ongoing, national debate about the role money plays  
          in campaigns, and particularly the effect that large contributions  
          have on candidates once they are elected.  Candidates for elected  
          office typically rely on money to fund effective campaigns; the  
          amount and source of those donations can vary greatly.  The City  
          of Stockton currently imposes no limits on donations by  
          individuals to campaigns for city offices, so the City Council is  
          considering the adoption of a municipal ordinance setting  
          individual campaign donation limits.  The city does not have the  
          resources to oversee and enforce such [an] ordinance, but the FPPC  
          has, through past legislation, arranged with the County of San  
          Bernardino to do just that. This bill would simply allow the City  
          of Stockton to make the same mutual arrangement with the FPPC."








                                                                      AB 1083


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          In 2012, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 2146  
          (Cook), Chapter 169, Statutes of 2012, which permitted San  
          Bernardino County (County) and the FPPC to enter into an agreement  
          that provides for the FPPC to enforce the County's local campaign  
          finance reform ordinance.  Prior to this, the FPPC did not enforce  
          any local campaign finance ordinances.  According to previous  
          analyses, the County, which had been the subject of several  
          high-profile corruption cases, was in the process of developing a  
          campaign finance ordinance.  Rather than appoint an ethics  
          commission, which could present financial as well as conflict of  
          interest challenges, the County proposed to contract with the FPPC  
          to enforce their local campaign finance ordinance.  Moreover, the  
          County determined that it was in the best interest of the County  
          to retain the services of the FPPC to provide for the enforcement  
          and interpretation of the County's local campaign finance  
          ordinance as the FPPC has special skills, knowledge, experience,  
          and expertise in the area of enforcement and interpretation of  
          campaign laws necessary to effectively advise, assist, litigate,  
          and otherwise represent the County on such matters.  As a result,  
          the FPPC and San Bernardino County entered into a mutual  
          agreement, from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2014, for  
          the FPPC to provide the County campaign enforcement and  
          interpretation services for the impartial, effective  
          administration, implementation, and enforcement of the San  
          Bernardino's campaign finance reform ordinance.  According to the  
          FPPC, San Bernardino County and the FPPC have entered into a new  
          two-year mutual agreement.


          California voters passed an initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974  
          that created the FPPC and codified significant restrictions and  
          prohibitions on candidates, officeholders, and lobbyists. That  
          initiative is commonly known as the Political Reform Act.   
          Amendments to the Political Reform Act that are not submitted to  
          the voters, such as those contained in this bill, must further the  
          purposes of the proposition and require a two-thirds vote of each  
          house of the Legislature.








                                                                      AB 1083


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          Please the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this  
          bill.


          Analysis Prepared by:                        Nichole Becker / E. &  
          R. / (916) 319-2094                                      FN:  
          0000403