Santa Barbara County, CA Voluntary Campaign Expenditure Ceiling

Type: County Code

Status: In Effect

Source File: http://bpc.iserver.net/codes/stbarb/_DATA/CHAP11B/index.html

Text:

CHAPTER 11B VOLUNTARY CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE CEILING

Article I. General Provisions

Sec. 11B-1. Voluntary campaign expenditure limits.
Santa Barbara County hereby adopts the following voluntary expenditure limits for each election for candidates for Santa Barbara County offices as follows:

(a) For the office of supervisor on the board of supervisors, the voluntary campaign expenditures ceiling shall be one dollar times the residential population of the supervisorial district.

(b) For candidates for any countywide office, or consolidated office, including judicial offices, including auditor-controller, county clerk-recorder-assessor, district attorney, sheriff, treasurer-tax collector-public guardian, superintendent of education, and superior court judge, the voluntary campaign expenditures ceiling shall be one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

(c) For candidates for the office of judge of the Santa Barbara municipal judicial district, the voluntary campaign expenditures ceiling shall be seventy-five thousand dollars. For candidates for the office of judge of the North Santa Barbara County judicial district, the voluntary campaign expenditures ceiling shall be one dollar times the residential population of the division of the judicial district from which the judges are elected.

(d) Residential population shall be determined by the most recent population figures made available to the county from the State of California, Department of Finance. The population for each supervisorial district shall be deemed to be one-fifth of the population of the entire County of Santa Barbara. The residential population of the divisions of the North Santa Barbara County municipal court shall be determined by the county clerk.

(e) The expenditure limits contained herein shall be adjusted in January of every even numbered year, beginning in the year 2000, changing to January of every odd numbered year beginning in the year 2003, to reflect any increase or decrease in the California Consumer Price Index for the preceding two years rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars for the limitations on expenditures calculated by multiplying the adjusted expenditure ceiling by the number of residents in the electoral district.

(f) For the purposes of this Ordinance, an expenditure limit for each election shall mean that a candidate may spend up to the ceiling for a primary election and spend another amount up to the ceiling for the general election for that office.

Sec. 11B-2. Filing of acceptance or rejection of limits.
Prior to accepting any contributions, each candidate for county elective office shall file with the county clerk-recorder a statement of acceptance or rejection of the voluntary expenditure ceiling established herein. The candidate may file a statement of acceptance if the candidate certifies that all contributions elicited for the office sought comply with the time limits contained in California Government Code Section 85305(a), or successor statute.

Sec. 11B-3. Spending exceeding accepted ceiling prohibited.
No candidate for county elective office who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling established herein and no controlled campaign committee of such a candidate shall make campaign expenditures in excess of the voluntary expenditure ceiling established herein. Violation of this Ordinance shall be punishable as a misdemeanor as provided in County Code Section 1-7, or successor provision.

Sec. 11B-4. Contribution limit for candidates rejecting spending ceiling.
Each candidate who rejects the voluntary expenditure ceiling established by this chapter shall be subject to the contribution limit set forth in Government Code Section 85301, or successor statute.

Sec. 11B-5. Contribution limit for candidates accepting spending ceiling.
Each candidate who accepts the voluntary expenditure ceiling established by this chapter shall be subject to the contribution limit set forth in Government Code Section 85402, and not the contribution limit set forth in Government Code Section 85301, as either section may be hereafter amended. In addition, as to each such candidate, the county clerk-recorder shall provide notification to voters that the candidate has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling established herein, as required by Government Code Section 85602 and applicable regulations adopted pursuant to that section.

Sec. 11B-6. Subsidy of cost of candidate statements.
The charge against candidates for the costs of sending candidates’ statements to each voter, pursuant to Elections Code Section 13307(c), as the same may be hereafter amended, shall not be levied against those candidates for county supervisor, auditor-controller, county clerk-recorder-assessor, district attorney, sheriff, or treasurer-tax collector-public guardian who accept and comply with the voluntary expenditure ceiling established herein.

Sec. 11B-7. Applicability of state law.
Except as provided herein, the provisions of the California Political Reform Act of 1974, the California Political Reform Act of 1996, Government Code Section 81000 et seq., and applicable regulations adopted pursuant to such acts, as the same may be hereafter amended, shall govern the interpretation and application of this chapter.

Sec. 11B-8. Penalties and remedies.
In addition to the penalties and remedies provided in the County Code, the penalties and remedies for violations of this chapter shall be those set forth in California statutes governing Political Reform (Government Code Title 9), including the provisions of the California Political Reform Act of 1974, the California Political Reform Act of 1996, Government Code Section 81000 et seq., particularly Chapter 11 Enforcement, Section 91000, et seq., and applicable regulations adopted pursuant to such acts and successor statutes.

Sec. 11B-9. Severability and automatic repeal.
If any part of this Ordinance is for any reason deemed to be unconstitutional and invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance. The board of supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and every part thereof, irrespective that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid. This Ordinance shall automatically be repealed in the event a final and binding decision of an appellate court rules that the Political Reform Act of 1996 is invalid in its entirety or that its provisions regarding a local jurisdiction’s ability to adopt voluntary expenditure ceilings or contribution limits, including but not limited to Government Code Sections 85301, 85400(c), 85402 and 85706, are invalid.