Soliciting Campaign Funds and Limits
Candidates are advised to exercise caution anytime money is involved. Almost all State and City legislation regulating the conduct of campaigns relates directly or indirectly to funding.
Campaign Committees
Campaign committees are regulated by a large number of State and City laws. Candidates who will raise or spend $ 1,000 or more in a calendar year must:
File Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement) before raising or spending any funds, including the candidate’s personal funds, with the Santa Ana Clerk of the Council, 20 Civic Center Plaza, Room 809, Santa Ana, California, 92701.
Set up a bank account
Within 10 days of receiving $1,000 in contributions, file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the California Secretary of State, Political Reform Division, 1500 11th Street, Room 495, Sacramento, CA 95814; a copy of Form 410 must be filed with the Clerk of the Council.
Other regulations related to campaign committees include the following:
- A candidate for Mayor or Councilmember shall have no more than one campaign committee and one campaign contribution account out of which all expenditures for the purpose of seeking such office shall be made. (Santa Ana City Charter § 1207)
- A candidate may not use campaign funds to make independent expenditures to support or oppose other local candidates.
- The Secretary of State assigns an identification number to each committee. Candidates and committees must include their assigned identification numbers on all FPPC forms filed.
- No person who serves as the treasurer of a campaign committee which receives contributions for any candidate for mayor or councilmember shall be eligible for appointment to any board or commission (Charter Section 901.1)
- Pursuant to section 901.1 of the City’s Charter, if any member of an appointive board or commission shall become the treasurer of a campaign committee which receives contributions for any candidate for mayor or councilmember, his or her office shall become vacant and shall be so declared.
- A recipient committee may designate one assistant treasurer on the committee’s Statement of Organization (Form 410). The assistant treasurer will assume the duties and responsibilities of the treasurer if the treasurer is unavailable or vacates the office of treasurer.
The Secretary of State maintains the public record of committees. Inquiries regarding the status of a committee (active/terminated) should be directed to the Political Reform Division at (916) 653-6224, or the Secretary of State’s website at: www.sos.ca.gov.
Campaign Bank Accounts
- A campaign bank account must be established at an office of a financial institution located in the state
- A new bank account and committee must be established to run for a different office.
- A Statement of Organization (Form 410) must be filed with the Secretary of State; a copy of the Form 410 should be filed with the Clerk of the Council.
- All money to be used for campaign purposes, including the candidate’s personal funds must be deposited in the campaign bank account for the specific office prior to expenditure, excluding personal funds used to pay the fee for the statement of qualifications in the ballot pamphlet
Authorized Solicitors
Elections Code Sections 20202-20203 explain the procedures for soliciting campaign funds and are summarized below:
- A person soliciting funds for any candidate or candidate controlled committee must have the authorization of the candidate or committee before soliciting any funds.
- A person who solicits funds without authorization from the candidate or committee, must specifically state in any fund-raising communication such as radio, television, magazine, newspaper, or any type of general public advertising that he/she is not authorized by the candidate or committee, and that the candidate or committee is not responsible for his/her actions.
- Candidates should consult the State Elections Code for further detail.
$1,000 Campaign Contribution Limit
Santa Ana City Charter § 1206 provides that:
- Candidates for city office shall accept no more than $1,000 from any one person per election cycle.
- "Election cycle" is the period of time between the date of an election to the office of Mayor or Councilmember and the date of the next election to the same office. The election cycles run two years for the Mayor and four years for a Councilmember.
CAMPAIGN REPORTING
The Political Reform Act of 1974 is codified in Government Code sections 81000 through 91015.
The Act requires all candidates, office holders, and committees supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures to file campaign statements. The statements are designed to inform voters about:
- who is contributing to candidate and/or committee
- how much is being contributed
- accrued expenses reported
Failure to file the appropriate statements and reports can result in substantive criminal, civil, and/or administrative penalties.
Detailed information on campaign reporting requirements are contained in FPPC Campaign Disclosure Manual 2. Manual 2 details campaign reporting guidelines for local candidates and is included in the election packet provided by the Clerk’s Office. Specific questions should be directed to the FPPC. Information is available on the Commission’s website (www.fppc.ca.gov) or through a toll-free advice line at 1-866-ASK-FPPC.
DESCRIPTION OF CAMPAIGN FORMS
Below is a brief description of the campaign forms used by the Fair Political Practices Commission. Refer to the campaign manual for specific filing requirements.
Statements Typically Filed at the Beginning of a Campaign
- 501: Candidate Intention Statement - Notifies interested persons that an individual intends to raise money to run for a specific office. This form does not get a candidate's name on the ballot.
- 410: Statement of Organization - This statement is required when a group or person has become a campaign committee. This is the document used by committees to obtain a campaign identification number and to terminate the committee.
Campaign Disclosure Statements
- 460: Recipient Committee Campaign Statement - This is the campaign disclosure form used at various times by candidates and committees that raise/ spend $1,000 or more.
- 470: Officeholder/Candidate Campaign Statement - This is the campaign disclosure form used only by candidates who do not raise or spend $1,000.
- 465: Supplemental Independent Expenditure Report - This form is filed when a committee makes an independent expenditure of $1,000 or more to support or oppose a single candidate or a single measure.
- 495: Supplemental Pre-election Campaign Statement - This form is used if a committee makes contributions totaling $10,000 or more to any number of candidates or committees primarily formed to support or oppose candidates or measures all being voted upon in one jurisdiction on the same day.
Forms Which May be Filed During the Final 16 Days Before an Election
- 496: Late Independent Expenditure - Used during the final 16 days before an election. The form advises voters when a committee has expended $1,000 or more supporting or opposing a candidate or measure and is done entirely independent of the candidate or measure.
- 497: Late Contribution Report - Used during the final 16 days before an election. The form is used by committees to report when they have made a contribution of $1,000 or more to a candidate or measure, and used by candidates to report when they have received a contribution of $1,000 or more.
Campaign Forms
The table which follows shows the campaign forms most commonly used by candidates for elected office. Column 1 is for individuals who plan to raise/spend less than $1,000 for election purposes and column 2 for those planning to raise/spend more than $1,000.
RAISE / SPEND |
RAISE / SPEND |
|
|---|---|---|
Getting Started Forms |
||
Form 501: Candidate |
Form 501: Candidate |
|
|
Form 410: Statement of |
|
Keeping Track Forms |
||
Form 470: Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement – Short Form |
Form 460: Recipient Committee Campaign Statement |
|
|
Form 496: Late Independent Expenditures of $1,000 or more |
|
|
Form 497: Late Contributions of $1,000 or more |
|
FILING SCHEDULE
Candidate filing obligations are dictated by the amount of campaign money received or spent.
Candidates who expect to receive less than $1,000 in loans and/or contributions and who plan to spend less than $1,000 in election expenditures need to file Form 470: Officeholder / Candidate Campaign Statement - Short Form once – on or before the 1st Pre-election deadline. Candidates who file a Form 470 in connection with an election, and subsequently receive contributions totaling $1,000 or more, or make expenditures totaling $1,000 or more during the calendar year, are required to send written notification within 48 hours.
Personal funds used by a candidate to pay for a Candidate's Statement are excluded from the calculation of the $1,000 expenditure limit.
A candidate for local office must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501) prior to solicitation or receipt of any contribution, or expenditure of any personal funds used for the election. A separate Form 501 must be filed for each election, including reelection to the same office. The Form 501 is considered filed when it is placed in the mail. The date of postmark is the date filed.
Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000 must file two (2) pre-election campaign statements and one (1) post-election statement.
Additional filings are required if candidates or committees receive an aggregate amount of $1,000 or more, or make an independent expenditure of $1,000 or more following the second reporting period (the last reporting period before an election). Such transactions must be reported--even if the money came from personal funds--to the Clerk's Office within 24 hours of the transaction using FPPC Form 496: Late Independent Expenditure Report and FPPC Form 497: Late Contribution Report.
Forms 496 and 497 require that each report include a filer assigned “control” number so that filing officers and the public can distinguish among numerous duplicate filings that often occur during the rush of the late contribution period. Also, zip codes are now required when reporting street addresses on campaign disclosure statements.
Personal delivery, guaranteed overnight delivery, and fax are acceptable means of providing Forms 496 and 497. A faxed report must be followed by a mailed original if the report requires a signature. All FPPC reports require original signatures except Forms 496 and 497.
| FILING DEADLINE |
TYPE OF |
PERIOD COVERED |
METHOD OF |
|---|---|---|---|
10/05/2010 |
1st Pre-Election, |
07/01/2010 |
|
10/21/2010 |
2nd Pre-Election |
10/01/2010 |
|
24 Hours |
Late Contribution, Form 497 Late Independent Expenditure of $1,000 |
10/17/2010 |
|
01/31/2011 |
Semi-Annual, |
10/19/2010 |
|
Semi-annual and pre-election campaign statements of 30 pages or less may be faxed if the original statement is sent by first-class mail, guaranteed overnight delivery, or delivered personally within 24 hours of the filing deadline. Supplements, late contribution reports, and late independent expenditure reports are not required to be mailed if the reports are faxed because these reports do not require signatures.
Miscellaneous requirements related to campaign reports include:
- The period covered by any statement begins on the day after the closing date of the last statement filed, or January 1, if no previous statement has been filed.
- The recipient of a late “in-kind” contribution must file a Late Contribution Report within 24 hours from the time the in-kind contribution is received.
Filing obligations can be ended by filling out the termination section included on the Statement of Organization: Form 410 for committees that receive or spend $1,000 or more. The original form must be filed with the Secretary of State, and a copy furnished to the Clerk of the Council. There is no termination requirement for those that receive or spend less than $1,000.