RESOLUTION NO. 2025-
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CATHEDRAL
CITY, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING THE BIENNIAL ADJUSTMENT TO THE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND PENALTIES FOR 2025 WHEREAS, inherent to the cost of election campaigning is the problem of improper influence, real or potential, exercised by campaign contributors over elected officials; and
WHEREAS, the purpose and intent of the City Council enacting a Resolution establishing campaign contribution limits is to preserve an orderly political forum in which individuals and groups may express themselves effectively; to minimize the improper influence, real or potential, of campaign contributors over the City's elected officials; to place realistic enforceable limits on the amounts of money that may be contributed to political campaigns in municipal elections for City offices; and WHEREAS, on October 14, 2020, the City of Cathedral City ("City") established campaign contribution limits and regulations by adopting Resolution 2020-53; and WHEREAS, Section 4. of Resolution 2020-53 authorizes the City Clerk to biennially adjust the City’s campaign contribution limit pursuant to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)beginning January 1, 2023, and on January 1 of every odd numbered year thereafter.
WHEREAS, on January 1, 2023, the City Clerk adjusted the Campaign Contribution Limit, as prescribed in Resolution 2020-53, to two thousand eight hundred dollars ($2,800) with no change to the enforcement and penalties for violations; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City Council to adopt by Resolution a campaign contribution limit for 2025, until the adoption of a new Resolution in January 2027; NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Cathedral City does hereby resolve as follows:
Section 1. Recitals. All of the above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.
Section 2. Definitions. As used in this Resolution, “person" shall have the same definition as "person" in California Government Code Section 82047, and means an individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, company, corporation, limited liability company, association, committee, and any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.
Section 3. Campaign Contribution Adjustment Formula. The contribution limitation shall be adjusted biennially in January of odd numbered years and established by Resolution to reflect to reflect changes in the California Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The adjustment shall be made using the following formula: the contribution limit amount in effect January 1, 2021, which is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2500) multiplied by the CPI immediately preceding the year in which the adjustment is to take effect, divided by the CPI from 2020, which is 107.640 rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100). The resulting figure shall be the adjusted contribution limitation in effect for all candidates for elective city office for the City of Cathedral City until the next odd numbered year.
Section 4. Campaign Contribution Limit. A person shall not make to a candidate for elective city office for the City of Cathedral City, and a candidate for elective city office for the City of Cathedral City shall not accept from a person, a contribution totaling more than three thousand one hundred dollars ($3,100) per election. The provisions of this Resolution do not apply to a candidate's contributions of the candidate's personal funds to the candidates own campaign.
Section 5. Enforcement and Penalties for Violation. Any violation of this Resolution shall be enforced by the City as a misdemeanor, infraction, or by administrative citation in accordance with Title 13 of the City of Cathedral City Municipal Code. The penalty for any violation of this Resolution shall be a fine in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
Section 6. Effect on AB 571. By this Resolution, the City is adopting a campaign contribution limit in accordance with Elections Code Section 10202 and Government Code Section 85702.5. By operation of law, the provisions of the following Government Code Sections no longer apply within the jurisdiction of the City to candidates for elective city office for the City of Cathedral City: Government Code Sections 85305; 85306; 85307; 85315; 85316; 85317; and 85318.
Section 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Resolution or the application thereof to any person, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this Resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Resolution, and each and every section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Cathedral City, California, at a regular meeting held on this 22nd day of October, 2025 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Nancy Ross, Mayor
Attest:
Tracey R. Hermosillo, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
Eric S. Vail, City Attorney