Article 7 - Additional Contribution Requirements

California Government Code — §§ 85700-85802

Sections (7)

Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 241, Sec. 16. Effective September 4, 2001. Note: This section was added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 102, and approved in Prop. 34 on Nov. 7, 2000.

(a)A candidate or committee shall return not later than 60 days of receipt by the candidate or committee any contribution of one hundred dollars ($100) or more for which the candidate or committee does not have on file in the records of the candidate or committee the name, address, occupation, and employer of the contributor.

(b)A candidate or committee may return a contribution pursuant to subdivision (a) after the date that the candidate or

committee has reported the contribution under any provision of this title.

§ 85701

Repealed and added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 102, Sec. 66. Approved in Proposition 34 at the November 7, 2000, election. Operative January 1, 2001, by Sec. 83 of Ch. 102, as amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 241, Sec. 18.

Any candidate or committee that receives a contribution in violation of Section 84301 shall pay to the General Fund of the state the amount of the contribution.

§ 85701.5

Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 942, Sec. 1. (AB 775) Effective January 1, 2023.

(a)(1) A solicitation by a candidate or committee, directly or through an agent or intermediary, for a recurring contribution shall be in a form that requires affirmative consent from the person making the recurring contribution.

(2)A candidate

or committee shall not accept a recurring contribution from a person unless the candidate or committee receives the affirmative consent of the person to make a recurring contribution at the time of the initial contribution.

(3)Passive action by the contributor, such as failing to uncheck a pre-checked box authorizing a recurring contribution, does not meet the requirement of affirmative consent under this

subdivision.

(4)(A) A violation of this subdivision occurs each time a candidate or committee solicits a recurring contribution in a form that does not require affirmative consent or accepts an initial recurring contribution in response to a solicitation that was in a form that did not require affirmative consent from the contributor.

(B)A candidate or committee that accepts recurring contributions subsequent to an initial recurring contribution in response to a solicitation that was in a form that did not require affirmative consent from the contributor is liable for a fine not to exceed three times the aggregate amount of the

subsequent recurring contributions received if all of the following are true:

(i)The candidate or committee knew or should have known that the solicitation required affirmative consent.

(ii) The candidate or committee knew or should have known that the contributor did not give affirmative consent for making the recurring contributions.

(iii) The recurring contributions, in the aggregate, exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(b)A candidate or committee that accepts a recurring contribution described in subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:

(1)Provide a receipt to the contributor that clearly and conspicuously discloses all terms of the recurring contribution within three days after the initial contribution is received and within three days after each recurring contribution is received.

(2)Provide all necessary information to cancel the recurring contribution in each communication with the contributor that concerns the contribution.

(3)Immediately cancel a recurring contribution upon request of the contributor.

(c)A recurring contribution accepted in response to a solicitation that did not require affirmative consent shall be returned to the contributor within 14 days of the earlier of receipt of a request from the contributor to return the contribution or the date on which the candidate or committee becomes aware that the solicitation of the recurring contribution was in violation of subdivision (a). A contribution accepted after a contributor requested to cancel a recurring contribution shall be returned to the contributor within 14 days of the request to cancel the recurring contribution.

(d)This section does not apply to a sponsored committee soliciting or accepting contributions from the sponsor’s members, affiliates, employees, or shareholders.

(e)For purposes of this section, “recurring contribution” means a contribution from a person to a candidate or committee that is automatically charged to the person’s bank account, credit card, or other payment account on a repeated basis, such as weekly or monthly, without approval or any other affirmative consent by the person after their initial contribution to the candidate or committee.

§ 85702

An elected state officer or candidate for elected state office may not accept a contribution from a lobbyist, and a lobbyist may not make a contribution to an elected state officer or candidate for elected state office, if that lobbyist is registered to lobby the governmental agency for which the candidate is seeking election or the governmental agency of the elected state officer.

§ 85702.5

Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 556, Sec. 19. (AB 571) Effective January 1, 2020. Section operative January 1, 2021, by its own provisions.

(a)A county or city may, by ordinance or resolution, impose a limit on contributions to a candidate for elective county or city office that is different from the limit set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 85301. The limitation may also be imposed by means of a county or city initiative measure.

(b)A county or city that establishes a contribution limit pursuant to subdivision (a) may adopt enforcement standards for a violation of that limit, which may include administrative, civil, or criminal penalties.

(c)The Commission is not responsible for the administration or enforcement of a contribution limit adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).

(d)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021. A county or city’s limit on contributions to a candidate for elective county or city office that is in effect on the operative date of this section shall be deemed to be a limit imposed pursuant to subdivision (a).

§ 85703

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 50, Sec. 177. (AB 378) Effective January 1, 2022. Note: This section was added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 102, and approved in Prop. 34 on Nov. 7, 2000.

(a)This act does not nullify contribution limitations or prohibitions of any local jurisdiction that apply to elections for local elective office, except that these limitations and prohibitions shall not conflict with Section 85312. However, a local jurisdiction shall not impose any contribution limitations or prohibitions on an elected member of, or a candidate for election to, a county central committee of a qualified political party, or on a committee primarily formed to support or oppose a person seeking election to a county central committee of a qualified political party.

(b)Limitations and prohibitions imposed by a local jurisdiction on payments for a member communication, as defined in subdivision (c), that conflict with Section 85312 and which are thereby

prohibited by subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(1)Source restrictions on payments for member communications that are not expressly made applicable to member communications by a state statute or by a regulation adopted by the Commission pursuant to Section 83112.

(2)Limitations on payments to a political party committee for a member communication that are not expressly made applicable to member communications by a state statute or by a regulation adopted by the Commission pursuant to Section 83112.

(3)Limitations on the scope of payments considered directly related to the making of a member communication, including costs associated with the formulation, design, production, and distribution of the communication such as surveys, list acquisition, and consulting fees that are not

expressly made applicable to member communications by a state statute or by a regulation adopted by the Commission pursuant to Section 83112.

(c)For purposes of this section, “member communication” means a communication, within the meaning of Section 85312, to members, employees, shareholders, or families of members, employees, or shareholders of an organization, including a communication by a political party to a member who is registered as expressing a preference for that party on that member’s affidavit of registration pursuant to Sections 2150, 2151, and 2152 of the Elections Code.

§ 85802

There is hereby appropriated from the General Fund of the state to the Fair Political Practices Commission the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) annually above and beyond the appropriations established for the commission in the fiscal year immediately prior to the effective date of this act,

adjusted for cost-of-living changes, for expenditures to support the operations of the commission pursuant to this act. If any provision of this act is successfully challenged, any attorney’s fees and costs shall be paid from the General Fund and the commission’s budget shall not be reduced accordingly.