TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Laura B. Maguire, City Clerk
DATE:February 27, 2024
SUBJECT: Electronic Campaign Statements and Fair Political Practices Commission Filings
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Read in title only, further reading be waived, and if no objection, introduce ordinance to allow electronic campaign disclosure statements and Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) form filings.
2. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Minimal staff time and costs to prepare this report and to update the Thousand Oaks Municipal Code (TOMC) are included in the Adopted FY 2023-24 General Fund Budget.
BACKGROUND:
The Political Reform Act of 1974 (PRA) governs the regulation and disclosure of political campaign contributions and spending by candidate committees, among other activities. The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) is the state commission responsible for the administration, implementation, and enforcement of the PRA. The City Clerk works with the FPPC as the local filing officer for all filings required by the PRA.
Government Code Section 84615 provides for local government agencies to allow the electronic filing of FPPC campaign statements, reports, or other forms with a local filing officer through the adoption of an ordinance. City Council is required to adopt such an ordinance approving the use of an online or electronic filing system,
Electronic Campaign Statements and FPPC Filings
February 27, 2024
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1 which shall include the legislative finding that the online or electronic system will operate securely and effectively, be at no cost to filers, be available to the public to view filings, and will not unduly burden filers.
In 2021, the FPPC approved Regulation 18104 regarding secure electronic signatures and electronic filings. The regulation, which became effective January 2022, specifies that FPPC filings may be submitted to the filing agency in electronic format containing a secure electronic signature with certain requirements only if the agency responsible for maintaining the original document permits the electronic submission of filings.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Currently, the City only allows the filing of paper campaign statements with handwritten/physical signatures. These forms must be hand delivered or mailed to the City Clerk Department by the deadline. This requires coordination between the candidate and their treasurer to print the form, have both physically sign the form, and then arrange for delivery to City Hall by 5 p.m. on the due date. To provide a less time-consuming and more streamlined process, beginning with the 2024 election, the City Clerk Department would like to offer candidates the option of filing campaign statements electronically. This alternative can only be offered to candidates if the City affirmatively states that electronic submission of forms is allowed and if it abides by certain requirements.
According to FPPC Regulation 18104 and Government Code Section 84615, the City may accept campaign statements that contain a “secure electronic signature.” A secure electronic signature is defined as either (1) an electronic signature submitted through a valid electronic filing system, or (2) one that uses the same requirements as a “digital signature” and is submitted via the official agency’s email address.
Numerous companies offer free digital signature services, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, that meet the requirements of a digital signature. These requirements are that the signature (1) be unique to the person using it, (2) be capable of verification, (3) be under the sole control of the person using it, (4) be linked to data in such a manner that if the data are changed, the digital signature is invalidated, and (5) conform to applicable California Code of Regulations requirements.
The City must adopt an ordinance to permit the use of digital signatures on and the electronic submittal of campaign statements and/or permit the use of an electronic filing system for the filing of such forms. The attached ordinance (Attachment #1) will allow candidates in the 2024 election to sign their forms with a digital signature and submit them via email to the City Clerk Department’s official Electronic Campaign Statements and FPPC Filings
February 27, 2024
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1 email account. As noted above, the City does not presently have an electronic filing system for campaign disclosure statements. Nevertheless, this ordinance would also allow for the future use of an electronic filing system for campaign statements should the City decide to implement one. This may be a future consideration, given that a campaign statement module may be added to the City’s existing Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) filing system.
The City’s expanding use of electronic signatures and filing systems has resulted in several benefits. The City and its residents have been able to conduct business more efficiently and effectively. With an end-to-end digital process, documents are more rapidly available to the public and require less manual handling and scanning of paper documents. Specifically, regarding the electronic filing of FPPC Form 700s, the City has benefitted from lower administrative costs by virtually eliminating manual processes of notification, routing, reminders, review of forms, and scanning into an electronic repository for ease of reference/public inquiry.
Electronic filing of these forms has also resulted in more accurate reporting from filers and an increase in the number of statements filed on time. Based on this and the City Clerk Department’s interaction with past candidates and their treasurers, it is anticipated that the electronic submittal of campaign statement filings will have similar benefits in efficiency, timeliness, and accuracy.
Staff recommends introduction of the ordinance regarding electronic campaign disclosure statements and other FPPC filings to further leverage technology to improve processes and eliminate manual tasks. Moreover, receiving these forms digitally will allow staff to provide these important, official filings more quickly to the public on the City’s website. If introduced tonight and subsequently adopted, the ordinance would be effective in time for the 2024 election filings.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goals:
B. Provide municipal government leadership which is open and responsive to residents, and is characterized by ethical behavior, stability, promoting public trust, transparency, confidence in the future, and cooperative interaction among civic leaders, residents, business representatives, and staff, while recognizing and respecting legitimate differences of opinion on critical issues facing the City.
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
Attachment:
Attachment #1 – Ordinance
CCD:635-10\lm\H:\COMMON\FPPC\Electronic Filing\022724 Elec Campaign Discl Stmt Filing Staff Report.docx