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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 21 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-1511 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Prasanna W. Rasiah, City Attorney
PREPARED BY: City Attorney’s Office
MEETING DATE: November 06, 2023
SUBJECT:
Campaign Finance – Voluntary Expenditure Limit – Ordinance Introduction RECOMMENDATION:
Introduce an Ordinance adding Section 2.80.055 “Voluntary Expenditure Limit” to San Mateo Municipal Code Chapter 2.80 “Contributions and Loans to City Candidate Campaigns,” amending various sections related to recall elections and aggregation of contributions, and adding a provision requiring the filing of campaign mass mailings if directed by the City Council; and provide direction to staff regarding candidate filing costs.
BACKGROUND:
At its Fiscal Year 2022-23 Goal Setting, the City Council directed staff to study campaign finance reform policies, including a voluntary expenditure limit. On September 5, 2023, the City Council held a study session regarding potential amendments to San Mateo Municipal Code Chapter 2.80 “Contributions and Loans to City Candidate Campaigns” and provided direction regarding voluntary expenditure limits, among other matters. The Council also considered whether to require campaign mailers to be filed with the City and requested additional information. City staff proposed making changes to Chapter 2.80 that address recall elections and aggregation of campaign contributions, and these are addressed below. If approved, the proposed ordinance would go into effect on January 1, 2024, in order to be consistent with campaign reporting periods.
Staff is seeking Council feedback this evening on the following questions:
1. Does the Council agree with the proposed municipal code changes as shown in the draft ordinance?
2. Does the Council wish to add a provision that requires campaign mailers to be filed with the City?
3. Should the City no longer charge candidates for the cost candidate statements? DISCUSSION:
Voluntary Expenditure Limit
The proposed voluntary expenditure limit (“VEL”) would codify an optional spending threshold wherein candidates would indicate their intention to abide by the limit when submitting their nomination documents during the candidate filing period. Candidates that accept the VEL will have one opportunity to notify the City Clerk that they have decided to decline the expenditure limit during a three-business day withdrawal period after the deadline to file nomination papers.
The listed benefits of accepting this limit are (1) the City’s website will identify such candidates, (2) the City will publish a list of these candidates in its regular digital newsletter twice (once after the withdrawal period and once when ballots are mailed), and (3) the City will publish notices in a newspaper of general circulation a list of candidates that agreed to the limit. A violation of the VEL municipal code provision will result in the City publicizing the violation by the same methods
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within 72 hours of the City’s knowledge.
Based on direction from a majority of the Council, the VEL would be calculated on the basis of $2.50 per resident in each electoral district, as indicated in the chart below. The amount of the limit, rounded to the nearest $100, would be published on the City’s website and in a newspaper of general circulation within 60 business days of ordinance adoption.
The limit would be adjusted every two years starting on January 1, 2026, based on changes in the consumer price index (CPI), considering 2023 as the base year.
District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5
District Population Based on 2020 U.S. Census 21,572 21,589 21,061 19,873 21,709 District Population x $2.50 $53,900 $54,000 $52,700 $49,700 $54,200 There are exceptions to the VEL, namely for filing fees, returned contributions, legal expenses, non-monetary contributions, post office box expenses, and post-election party expenses, all similar to the ordinance adopted by Redwood City.
Recall Elections
Municipal Code Chapter 2.80 requires amendments to align with changes in the law governing recall elections. Assembly Bill (AB) 2584 (2022) amended the process whereby a recall election occurs. Historically, the questions of whether an elected officer shall be removed from office and who should be their successor have been put to the voters in the form of one measure. (Note that the San Mateo City Charter does not provide for elections to fill a vacancy, leaving that decision to the Council and ultimately the Mayor, as specified.) However, AB 2584 changed this practice by removing the question of the officer’s successor from the recall election. Instead, the seat would remain vacant until the agency is able to fill the vacancy in accordance with its process for doing so.
In addition, recall committees are more akin to ballot measure committees than candidate committees, in that the issue submitted to the voters is whether an elected official should be recalled, and not who should fill the vacancy upon a successful recall. For these reasons, and based on court decisions, recall elections are not subject to candidate contribution limits. Accordingly, the draft ordinance amendment removes language addressing recall elections from the definition of a candidate and the basis provision imposing contribution limits. It also clarifies that Chapter 2.80 does not apply to recall elections. These changes can be easily seen in Attachment 2, which shows revisions in a redline format.
Aggregation of Contributions
The proposed ordinance also clarifies that aggregated contributions are subject to the $1,000 contribution limit. This clarification is needed as the existing code provides for two different contribution limits ($500 for individuals and $1,000 for organizations) but does not specify which limit applies when contributions are aggregated. Contributions by an individual are aggregated with contributions from organizations that the individual directs or controls. Also, contributions by two or more organizations are aggregated if they are directed or controlled by a majority of the same persons.
Potential Requirement to File Campaign Mailers (Mass Mailings) During the September 5, 2023, study session, the Council discussed whether to require campaign mailers (also known as mass mailings) regarding City candidates and measures to be filed with the City. While there are practical enforcement challenges as previously indicated by staff, some other cities have such a requirement.
For example, the City of Berkeley requires a copy of every mass mailing in support of or in opposition to a city candidate or measure to be sent to its election commission. BMC §2.12.325. Berkeley staff explained that enforcement against non- filers is complaint-driven, and that its election commission hears complaints. Their staff does not track staff time spent on mass mailings, and Berkeley’s rules only cover items sent through the U.S. mail, which is only a small fraction of campaign communications to the public. An index of filed mailings is posted on their website.
The term “mass mailing” is defined in state law as 200 or more substantially similar pieces of mail, but not including mail sent in response to an inquiry, as specified. Govt. §82041.5. San Mateo Municipal Code Chapter 2.80 incorporates state
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law definitions in the California Political Reform Act, unless defined otherwise in the chapter.
If the Council chooses to require the filing of mass mailings with the City, it can when introducing the ordinance include optional language as shown in Attachment 1. New Section 2.08.057 would create a filing requirement, and related changes are set forth in Section 2.08.020 (adding a definition of a measure) and in Section 2.08.050 (modifying the current exclusion of measures from the scope of the chapter).
Candidate Statement Filing Costs
The City Council also considered at its September study session whether to minimize the financial burden on candidates by eliminating costs associated with publishing a candidate statement in the County’s sample ballot and voter information guide. Standard practice for election administration at the municipal level has been to place the responsibility for the cost of the candidate statement on the candidate. If directed by the Council, the City could opt to absorb these costs.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact associated with introducing the proposed ordinance. Absorbing candidate statement filing costs would cost approximately $3,500 per election cycle.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This ordinance introduction is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
Att 1 – Proposed Ordinance
Att 2 – Proposed Ordinance - Tracked Changes
Att 3 – Existing Ordinance – Chapter 2.80
STAFF CONTACT
Prasanna W. Rasiah, City Attorney
[email protected]
(650) 522-7020