1 City Council Meeting: April 8, 2025 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING SECTION 11.04.050 OF THE SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS WHEREAS, the 2024 City Council election was the most expensive Council race in Santa Monica’s history, with individual candidate fundraising dwarfed by independent expenditures at a rate of three to one; and
WHEREAS, per the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission, independent expenditures, which are a type of political action committee, have no limit on raising for political campaigns in support of or against candidates, while candidates are limited by how much they can raise; and
WHEREAS, during the 2024 election cycle, Council candidates raised $430,098, where independent expenditures raised over $1.3 million; and WHEREAS, in 2022 the Council raised the individual contribution limit from $370 to $410 to address rising inflation; meanwhile, the State has lifted the Levine Act reporting and recusal requirements from $250 to $500 through the passage of SB 1243; and WHEREAS, a survey of peer cities shows that Santa Monica has one of the lowest campaign contribution limit among its peers, and peer cities raise their limits to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index every other year; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance is necessary to promote free and fair elections, limit the influence of independent expenditures, and encourage greater participation and access to municipal elections.
2 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 11.04.050 is hereby amended to read as follows:
11.040.050. LIMITATION ON CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PERSONS
(a) No person shall make to any candidate for office or to the controlled committee of such a candidate, a contribution or contributions totaling more than $1,200 for each election in which the candidate was on, is on, or is likely to be on the ballot or in which the candidate sought or seeks write-in votes.
(b) No candidate for office or the controlled committee of such a candidate shall accept from any person a contribution or contributions totaling more than $1,200 for each election.
(c) The amounts in this section shall be adjusted every February (or as soon thereafter as practicable) of each odd numbered year commencing in 2027 for any increase in the consumer price index for the preceding calendar year (January – December) for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI-U (LA-R-OC CPI-U) as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics rounded to the nearest $10.00. In the event the Bureau of Labor Statistics discontinues the publication of the LA-R-OC CPI-U, then a comparable statistic shall be used as determined by the City’s Chief Financial Officer. The City Clerk, no later than 30 days after the LA-R-OC CPI-U (or comparable statistic) is published, shall issue a public notice establishing the amounts as adjusted in accordance with this subsection. 3 (d) This section shall not be interpreted or applied to violate the right of association or the right to express views through expenditures. Rather, it is intended to be and shall be applied solely as a limit on campaign contributions to individuals and committees.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Douglas Sloan, City Attorney