AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: February 15, 2022
Item Number:
To:
From:
Honorable Mayor & City Council
Laurence S. Wiener, City Attorney
Subject: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLOT MEASURE COMMITTEES AND AMENDING
THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
Attachments: 1. Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council move to waive the full reading and adopt the ordinance entitled: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLOT MEASURE COMMITTEES AND AMENDING THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE."
INTRODUCTION
At its meeting of February 8, 2022, the City Council conducted a first reading of this ordinance and introduced it.
DISCUSSION
This ordinance updates the City's 2010 campaign disclosure regulations to update the City's 2010 campaign disclosure regulations. The ordinance will broaden the disclosure obligations so that the regulations don't apply merely to ballot measure committees but also apply to independent expenditure committees, including political action committees. Additionally, the proposed ordinance will incorporate requirements of the state DISCLOSE (Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections) act which contains detailed requirements for disclosure, and will also apply the disclosure regulations to newer forms of technology.
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Meeting Date: February 15, 2022
FISCAL IMPACT
The ordinance has no material fiscal impact.
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Laurence S. Wiener
City Attorney
Approved By
Attachment 1
ORDINANCE NO. 22-0-__
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEYERL Y HILLS
AMENDING DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR
BALLOT MEASURE COMMITTEES AND AMENDING
THE BEYERL Y HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEYERL Y HILLS HEREBY
ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1-8-2 of Chapter 8 of Title 1 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to replace the definition of ADVERTISEMENT as follows:
"ADVERTISEMENT shall have the same meaning as set forth in Government Code Section 84501"
Section 2. Section 1-8-2 of Chapter 8 of Title 1 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the definition of Cumulative Contribution as follows:
"CUMULATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS means the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of expenditure and ending 7 days before the time advertisements are sent to the printer or broadcaster."
Section 3. Section 1-8-2 of Chapter 8 of Title 1 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the definition of "Top Contributors" as follows:
"TOP CONTRIBUTORS shall have the same meaning as set forth in Government Code Section 84501 except that the threshold for a Top Contributor shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000) rather than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)." Section 4. Section 1-8-5 of Chapter 8 of Title 1 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended and restated as follows:
"A. In addition to the requirements of this chapter, every committee and ballot measure committee, shall comply with the registration and reporting requirements set forth in the political reform act applicable to committees. In addition to other reports -1-
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required by law, any committee and ballot measure committee that makes a qualifying payment shall, by 5 :30 of the third day after making the first such qualifying payment, file in the office of the city clerk a letter containing the name and address of the committee, the full street address of the committee, the FPPC/Secretary of State identification number of the committee, the name of the treasurer of the committee, if applicable, the identifying letter or number of the city ballot measure(s) supported or opposed by such qualifying payment and, if applicable the candidate supported or opposed by such qualifying payment. It shall be unlawful for any person or committee to knowingly file or publish any name or street address for a committee that is not the complete and accurate name and/or street address of the committee.
B. In addition to any preelection statement required by the Political Reform Act, every committee and ballot measure committee shall file a preelection statement for the following periods at the following times:
1. For the period ending thirty (30) days before the election, the statement shall be filed not later than twenty five (25) days before the election.
2. For the period ending ten (10) days before the election, the statement shall be filed no later than five (5) days before the election.
Any contribution from any person of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), individually or in the aggregate, that is made less than ten (10) days before the election shall be reported to the city clerk on the next business day following receipt of the contribution.
C. Every advertisement in support of or opposition to any city ballot measure placed by a ballot measure committee, or in an advertisement in support of or in opposition to a city council or city treasurer candidate or candidates placed by a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee, shall comply with the disclosure requirements contained in Article 5, Disclosure in Advertisements, of Chapter 4, Campaign Disclosure, of Title 9, Political Reform, of the Government Code beginning with section 84501 and the accompanying regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
1. For the purposes of this Subsection C, any reference in the Government Code to "top contributors" shall mean top contributors as defined in this Chapter of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.
D. Every advertisement in support of or opposition to a city ballot measure or every advertisement in support of or opposition to a city council or city treasurer candidate or candidates placed by a committee, other than a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee, shall include a statement indicating that additional information about contributions to the ballot measure committee or other committee paying for the advertisement is available at www.beverlyhills.org. The statement shall be substantially in the following form: "Funding details at www.beverlyhills.org." -2-
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1. This requirement shall be waived for any advertisement that is required to have a similar reference to funding details at the Secretary of State's website.
E. The city clerk shall maintain an online publicly available data base of all reports submitted by the ballot measure committees and other committees to the city clerk.
F. In addition to the other requirements of this Section, every advertisement in support of, or opposition to one or more city ballot measures shall contain the official title of the city ballot measure, as provided by the City Attorney pursuant to Elections Code Section 9203, and a clearly audible or legible form.
1. If the title of the ballot measure exceeds 25 words, then the proponent or proponents of the ballot measure may request a shorter title. The City Attorney, within 2 business days, shall provide a title that does not exceed 25 words.
2. The shortened ballot title prepared by the City Attorney shall be a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure and shall not contain arguments nor be likely to cause prejudice for or against the proposed measure. The shortened ballot title shall be used solely for the purposes of compliance with this Section, and the City Attorney's original title and summary shall continue to be used to comply with all requirements of Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Division 9 (commencing with section 9200) of the Elections Code and for all other requirements imposed by state law.
3. A radio advertisement, or other advertisement that is solely audible, of less than 45 seconds shall be exempt from this requirement.
G. A limited liability company that qualifies as a committee or a ballot measure committee shall file a report and amendments to that report with the City Clerk in accordance with the requirements of Government Code section 84109 whenever there is a capital contribution to the limited liability company of one thousand dollars ($1000) or more.
1. The report and amendments to the report shall be filed with the City Clerk by the end of the next business day after receiving a contribution of one thousand dollars ($1000) or more. Provided, however, that any limited liability company that qualifies as a committee or a ballot measure committee and is required to file a report pursuant to California Government Code section 84109 shall also concurrently file the same report with the City Clerk.
H. All disclosures shall conform to the requirements set forth in the Political Reform Act, unless a more stringent requirement is included herein. In that instance, committees shall comply with the applicable requirement in this Chapter." -3-
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Section 5. The City Attorney's Office shall report no later than January of each year any changes made to the disclosure requirements contained in Article 5, Disclosure in Advertisements, of Chapter 4, Campaign Disclosure, of Title 9, Political Reform, of the Government Code beginning with section 84501 and the accompanying regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Section 6. Publication. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage, in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code; shall attest and certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause this Ordinance and the City Clerk's certification, together with proof of publication, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City.
Section 7. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 81009.5, the City Clerk shall cause a copy of this ordinance to be forwarded to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
Section 8. Effective Date. The City Council hereby declares that this Ordinance relates to an election and shall take effect immediately upon its adoption.
Adopted:
Effective:
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this __ day of _______ , 2022.
ATTEST:
__________ (SEAL)
HUMAAHMED
City Clerk
AP~= TO FORM:
LAURENCE ~WC- S. WIENER
City Attorney
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ROBERT WUNDERLICH
Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills,
California
APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
GEORGE CHAVEZ
City Manager