Chapter 2.80
CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS TO CITY CANDIDATE CAMPAIGNS
2.80.010 FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) The City Council hereby finds that preserving integrity and openness in the political process is a matter of the highest public interest; that the people of the City of San Mateo can be better served through a more informed electorate; that the trust of the people is essential to representative government; and that regulation of certain campaign contributions and loans is necessary to promote public confidence in government and to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
(b) The City Council further finds that regulation of campaign contributions is required because the costs of running political campaigns have reached levels that lead to a public perception that special interests and wealthy individuals may have undue influence on or access to elected officials.
(c) It is the policy of the City to promote and encourage broad-based citizen involvement in the financing of election campaigns.
(d) The City Council further finds that allowing candidates to lend unlimited amounts of their personal funds to their campaigns tends to undermine public confidence in the election process, because the public may perceive that candidates with large outstanding loans will seek contributors to repay their loan after the election, and may be predisposed to favor their post- election contributors.
(e) Protecting public confidence in the political process requires adequate enforcement of the provisions of this article.
2.80.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the words and phrases shall be defined in the same manner as they are defined in the Political Reform Act of 1974 (including any amendments thereto) as found in California Government Code Section 81000 et seq., unless defined otherwise in this section. For the purposes of this chapter, the terms below are defined as follows:
(a) "Candidate" means any individual listed on the ballot for election to any City office, or who otherwise has taken affirmative action to seek election to City office, or who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure, or who gives his or her consent for any other person to receive a contribution or make an expenditure with the purpose of bringing about his or her election to any City office.
(b) "Candidate committee" means a committee that is controlled directly or indirectly by a candidate or that acts jointly with a candidate in connection with the making of expenditures.
(c) "Contribution" means a payment, a forgiveness of a loan, a payment of a loan by a third party, or an enforceable promise to make a payment except to the extent full and adequate consideration is received unless it is clear from the surrounding circumstances that it is not made for political purposes. Except as provided herein, "contribution" includes (1) an expenditure made at the behest of a candidate or candidate committee unless full and adequate consideration is received for making the expenditure, and (2) any goods or services received by or behested by a candidate or candidate committee at no charge or at a discount from the fair market value, unless the discount is given in the regular course of business to members of the public.
The term "contribution" does not include a payment made by the occupant of a home or business for costs related to any meeting or fund raising event held in the occupant's home or business; or volunteer personal or professional services if the services are donated without any understanding or agreement that they shall be directly or indirectly repaid to him or her. (d) "Individual" means a natural person and shall not include a partnership, corporation, association, firm, business entity, committee, club, or other organization. (e) "Organization" means a partnership, corporation, association, firm, business entity, committee, club, union, or company.
2.80.030 LIMITATIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) For any particular election, no individual or organization shall make, and no candidate, candidate committee treasurer or other person acting on behalf of a candidate committee shall solicit or accept from any individual or organization any contribution which will cause the total amount contributed by such individual to exceed $51000.00. (b) Beginning January 1, 2027, the City Clerk shall once biennially, on a calendar-year basis, increase the contribution limitation amount upon a finding that the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area, as shown on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items in the San Francisco Bay Area as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, has increased. The increase of the contribution limitation amount shall not exceed the CPI increase, using the index published in June 2025 as the index year. The adjustment shall be rounded up to the nearest $10.00. The City Clerk shall publish the contribution limitation amounts no later than February 1st of each year in which an increase occurs. For any particular election, no organization shall make, and no candidate, candidate committee treasurer or other person acting on behalf of a candidate committee shall solicit or accept from any organization any contribution which will cause the total amount contributed by such organization to exceed $1,000.00. (c) Any contribution or portion thereof that exceeds the limits in this section shall be returned to the contributor within 72 hours of receipt.
(d) The limitations imposed by this section shall not apply to contribution of a candidate's personal funds to the candidate's own campaign, or to any loan which is personally guaranteed by the candidate or is secured by property owned by the candidate.
2.80.040 CANDIDATE LOANS.
No candidate shall personally loan their campaign an amount the outstanding balance of which exceeds $15,000.00 at any given point in time.
2.80.045 Aggregation of Contributions.
(a) To determine when contributions are aggregated under this chapter, "majority owned" means ownership of more than 50 percent.
(b) If an individual directs or controls an organization's contributions, the organization's contributions shall be aggregated with contributions made by both of the following:
(1) That individual.
(2) Any other organization whose contributions that individual directs or controls. (c) If two or more organizations make contributions that are directed or controlled by a majority of the same persons, the contributions of those entities shall be aggregated. (d) Contributions made by organizations that are majority owned by a person shall be aggregated with the contributions of the majority owner and all other organizations majority owned by that person, unless those organizations act independently in their contribution-making decisions.
(e) Aggregated contributions under this section shall be subject to the $1000 contribution limit.
2.80.050 CANDIDATE CAMPAIGNS ONLY.
The provisions of this chapter apply to election campaigns for candidates only. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to any ballot measure, referendum or initiative election.
2.80.055 VOLUNTARY EXPENDITURE LIMIT.
(a) Each candidate for election to the City Council in November 2024, and for each City Council election thereafter, shall, prior to the time they file their nomination papers with the city clerk, advise the city clerk in writing on a form provided by the City whether or not the candidate will opt to voluntarily limit their campaign expenditures in accordance with the voluntary campaign expenditure limits set forth in this section and by resolution. The agreement to voluntarily limit campaign expenditures shall pertain to all expenditures incurred by the candidate or the
candidate's committee in support of their candidacy and shall include all such expenditures that a candidate or candidate's committee is required to report pursuant to the California Political Reform Act of 1974, as amended, whether those expenditures are made before or after the filing of nomination papers.
(b) Withdrawal Period: within three (3) business days after the deadline to file nomination papers with the city clerk, a candidate that previously accepted the voluntary campaign expenditure limit will have one (1) opportunity to notify the city clerk that they have decided not to accept the voluntary campaign expenditure limit. The candidate shall thereafter be relieved of abiding by the expenditure limit.
(c) Candidates who agree to abide by the voluntary campaign expenditure limit shall receive the following benefits and incentives at no cost to themselves:
(1) The City's website will clearly prominently identify which candidates have agreed to the voluntary expenditure limit. Candidates who agree to abide by the voluntary campaign expenditure limits may submit a written statement up to four hundred words.
The statement will appear exactly as submitted and shall conform to candidate statement guidelines provided by the City Clerk and Elections Code section 13307(a)(1), as amended. (2) The City will publish in its regular digital newsletter which candidates have agreed to the voluntary expenditure limit. This will be published twice (once at the next publishing of said newsletter after the withdrawal period and once when the ballots are mailed to residents.)
(3) The City will publish notices in a newspaper of general circulation the candidates who agreed to the voluntary expenditure limit. (d) Calculation of Voluntary Campaign Expenditure Limit. (1) A candidate for district City Councilmember who voluntarily agrees to expenditure ceilings shall not make qualified expenditures exceeding two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50) per resident in the electoral district for each election in which the candidate is seeking elective office. Residency of each electoral district shall be determined by the latest decennial census population figures available for that district. The City Clerk shall publish on its website and in a newspaper of general circulation the expenditure ceiling amount for each district, rounded to the nearest hundred dollars ($100), no later than sixty (60) business days following adoption of the ordinance from which this Section is derived. (e) Beginning on January 1, 2026, the City Clerk shall in even-numbered years increase the expenditure ceiling amounts based upon a finding that the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area, as shown on the CPI for all items in the San Francisco Bay Area as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, has increased. This increase shall be the
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) computed by reference to the CPI as indexed from a base year that commences in November 2023 (by way of example, on January 1, 2026, the City Clerk will adjust the voluntary expenditure ceiling amounts by determining the increase in CPI from November 2023 — November 2025). The increase shall be rounded to the nearest hundred dollars ($100). The City Clerk shall publish the adjusted expenditure ceiling amounts no later than February 1st of each even-numbered year.
(1) The following shall not count toward the voluntary campaign expenditure limit:
(A) Filing fees related to the candidacy, including fees paid to the Secretary of State to open or maintain a committee, and fees to translate the candidate statement.
(B) Contributions returned by the candidate within thirty (30) days of receipt. (C) Legal fees and costs incurred in connection with litigation arising out of a campaign for City office.
(D) Non-monetary contributions as defined by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
(E) Post-election party expenses.
(F) Post office box expenses.
(f) Penalties: Any violation of this section, including the filing of false reports that entitle the candidate to the benefits conferred by this section, shall within seventy-two (72) hours of the City's knowledge of the violation:
(1) Be posted on the City's website, and
(2) Be posted in the City's regular digital newsletter; and (3) Be forwarded to newspapers of general circulation for publication.
2.80.060 INJUNCTION, OTHER COURT ACTION.
In addition to all other remedies and penalties provided for violation of this chapter, the City Attorney may bring suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to seek an injunction or other appropriate relief, to halt any violation of this chapter. Such action may include seeking a temporary restraining order or temporary injunction and other appropriate temporary relief. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to restrict a suit for damages on behalf of the City or on behalf of any other person or entity.
2.80.070 PENALTIES.
Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a public offense.
2.80.080 Post Election Review.
(a) No later than three (3) months after the certification of the results of a City election at which a City Council member is elected, the City Clerk shall calendar for City Council consideration a review of the provisions of this chapter. The purpose of such review is to allow the City Council to consider the ongoing appropriateness of the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the amount of the contribution and loan limits established in Sections 2.80.030 and 2.80.040.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the City Clerk's failure to calendar this review within the time period specified shall not subject the City Clerk to any criminal or civil penalty.
2.80.090 SEVERABILITY.
Each section and provision of this chapter shall be considered severable and the invalidity of any section or provision of this chapter shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section or provision.