The purpose of this chapter is to advance compelling City interests by limiting large contributions from single sources to candidates for municipal office and by imposing reporting and accounting procedures for local campaigns. The City's interests are to provide a representative government which is accessible to all citizens, to deter corruption, and to inform the electorate as to the sources and uses of political contributions. This chapter shall not apply to ballot measures.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990; Ord. 92-21, 12/8/1992)
For the purposes of this chapter, unless the contrary is stated or clearly appears from the context, the definitions set forth in Chapter 2 of Title 9 of the Government Code for the State of California (commencing at Section 82000) shall govern.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990)
A. 
Contributions. No person shall make, and no candidate for elective office or campaign treasurer shall solicit or accept, any contribution which would cause the total amount contributed by that person to that candidate or committees controlled by that candidate to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per election contest.
B. 
Disclosure of Contributors. Candidates shall report the names and addresses of all persons who contribute one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more to their campaign. Such disclosure shall also include the name and address of the contributor's employer. If the contributor is self-employed, the candidate shall report the name and address of the contributor's business.
C. 
Loans. No person shall make, and no candidate for elective office or campaign treasurer shall solicit or accept, any loan which would cause the total amount contributed to the candidate or committees controlled by the candidate to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per election contest.
D. 
Anonymous Contributions. No person shall make an anonymous contribution or contributions to a candidate, political committee, broad-based political committee, ballot measure committee or any other person. An anonymous contribution received by a candidate or such a committee shall not be kept by the intended recipient, but instead shall be paid promptly to the Treasurer of the City. No candidate for elective office or campaign treasurer shall solicit or accept anonymous contributions from any sources.
E. 
Extension of Credit. No person shall extend credit, and no candidate for elective office or campaign treasurer, or political committee, broad-based political committee or ballot measure committee shall solicit or accept any extension of credit which will extend beyond ninety (90) days from the date upon which the debt is incurred by the candidate, or political committee, broad-based political committee, or ballot measure committees.
F. 
Personal Funds. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a candidate's contributions of his or her personal funds to his or her own campaign contribution account.
G. 
Commercial Loans. The provisions of this chapter regarding loans shall not apply to loans made by a commercial lending institution in the lender's regular course of business on terms available to members of the general public and for which the loan recipient is personally liable.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990; Ord. 92-21, 12/8/1992; Ord. 03-13 § 1, 10/14/2003; Ord. 10-8 § 1, 7/13/2010)
A. 
Campaign Bank Account. The notice and filing requirements of Government Code Sections 81000 et seq. regarding the campaign bank account, shall be made to the City Clerk of the City at the same time and in the same manner as reporting is made to the Fair Political Practices Commission for the State of California.
B. 
Registration. Whenever any elected officer, candidate, or committee is required to file a campaign statement under the Political Reform Act or FPPC regulations with the City Clerk, the elected officer, candidate, or committee shall file the statement in an electronic format prescribed by the City Clerk.
1. 
Any statement, report, or other document filed electronically or online pursuant to this section will be accepted as an original statement and need not be filed in paper format.
2. 
To ensure reporting continuity, once a statement, report, form, or other document is filed electronically on behalf of any elected officer, candidate, or committee, all future statements, reports, forms, and other documents filed on behalf of that officer, candidate or committee must be filed electronically.
3. 
An elected officer, candidate, committee or other person may choose not to use the electronic filing system by filing all original statements, reports, forms, or other documents in paper format with the City Clerk.
4. 
The date of filing for a statement, report, or other document that is filed online or electronically shall be the day that it is received by the City Clerk, and the electronic system will provide confirmation with a time stamp ensuring that the statement, report, or other document was received.
5. 
If access to online filings has not been prescribed in a timely manner, the elected City officer, candidate, or committee may file an original statement by paper, at the discretion of the City Clerk.
6. 
The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to persons or combinations of persons who qualify as a committee under Section 82013 of the Political Reform Act.
7. 
The City Clerk is authorized to establish such administrative policies and procedures as deemed necessary to implement these requirements.
C. 
Disclosure of Campaign Material Sponsor. Any campaign material which is published or displayed shall disclose the name, street address, and City of the candidate or campaign committee who sponsored the campaign materials. Such disclosure shall be set in twelve (12) point type for an eight and one-half (8 1/2) inch by eleven (11) inch sheet and proportionately larger for broadsides and posters. It shall be in color and print which contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible and placed in a drawn box or set apart from any other printed matter.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990; Ord. 92-21, 12/8/1992; Ord. 20-7, 7/14/2020)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or both.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990; amend. Ord. 92-21, 12/8/1992)
If any provision or portion of this chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this chapter. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this chapter and each and all of the provisions thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said provisions may be declared invalid.
(Ord. 90-4, 2/13/1990; Ord. 92-21, 12/8/1992)
Whenever used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be construed as defined in this section:
"Lobbyist"
means any individual or entity employed, retained or otherwise engaged for compensation to communicate with any elective or appointed official, any officer or employee or any task force, committee, board, commission or other body of the City for the purpose of influencing any legislative or administrative action.
"Municipal legislation"
means resolutions, motions, appeals, applications, petitions, nominations, ordinances, amendments and other matters pending or proposed before the City Council or any of its committees, or before any board or commission, or any committee of a board or commission, or any officer or employee of the City.
"Public official"
means and includes an elected or appointed officer or employee or officially designated representative, whether compensated or not, of the United States or any of its agencies, the state, any political subdivision of the state, including cities, counties, districts, or any public corporation, agency or commission.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
A. 
Except as provided in Section 7.03.030, any lobbyist shall register with the City Clerk by filing a written statement containing the following information:
1. 
The lobbyist's full name, business address and telephone number;
2. 
The name, business address and telephone number of any individual or entity by whom the lobbyist is employed, retained or engaged for compensation to perform lobbying services in the City;
3. 
The legislative or administrative action for the City as to which the lobbyist has been engaged.
B. 
Such registration shall be filed on an annual basis between January 1st and January 31st each year or upon initial employment if that occurs after the annual filing period. Should the registration be filed upon initial employment after the annual filing period, such registration shall be filed within fifteen (15) days of such initial employment. The City will impose a one-hundred-twenty-dollar ($120.00) fee for cost recovery for such annual registrations and may amend the fee by resolution.
C. 
Should a lobbyist have a change to its registration information, including but not limited to the legislative or administrative action for the City as to which the lobbyist has been engaged, after the annual registration period, such lobbyist shall file an amended registration with the City Clerk within fifteen (15) days of such change with the changed information. The City will impose a twenty-five-dollar ($25.00) fee for cost recovery for such amended registrations and may amend the fee by resolution.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
The provisions of Section 7.03.020 shall not apply:
A. 
To a public official acting in his official capacity;
B. 
To any newspaper or other regularly published periodical, radio or television station (including any individual who owns, publishes, or is employed by any such newspaper or periodical, radio or television station) which in the ordinary course of business publishes news items, editorials, or other comments, or paid advertisements, which directly or indirectly urge action upon municipal legislation, if such newspaper, periodical, radio or television station or individual engages in no further or other activities in connection with action upon such municipal legislation;
C. 
To a person invited by the City Council or any of its committees, or by any board or commission, or any committee or a board or commission, or by any officer or employee of the City charged by law with the duty of conducting a hearing and making a decision as to a pending or proposed matter, for the purpose of giving testimony in aid of the body or person extending the invitation;
D. 
To a person applying for a grading permit or for a permit relating to the construction, alteration, demolition or moving of a building or to a person filing a parcel map or subdivision tract map; provided, however, that if a person is one described in Section 7.03.020 and he takes an appeal, or represents a person taking an appeal, pursuant to any procedure or authority provided by law from an administrative determination made with respect to such an application or map, he shall be required to register as provided in Section 7.03.020 upon taking the appeal or any action relating to the appeal; and
E. 
To a person who is a professional licensed by a state licensing organization, including, but not limited to, attorneys, architects and engineers; provided however, this exemption for attorneys shall only be applicable if the attorney is engaged in the practice of law with respect to the subject of the employment.
F. 
A regular employee of an organization, communicating to the City during the course of their employment, would not be considered a lobbyist.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
The City Clerk shall issue a "notice of registration required" upon the written request of the Council, or any board or commission, or any officer or employee of the City charged by law with conducting a hearing and making a decision on a matter pending or proposed. Any person who in good faith and on reasonable grounds believes that he is not required to comply with the provisions of Section 7.03.020 by reason of his being exempt under Section 7.03.030 shall not be deemed to have violated the provisions of Section 7.03.020 if, within fifteen (15) days after notice from the City Clerk, he either complies or furnishes satisfactory evidence to the City Clerk that he is exempt from registration.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
All information required to be filed under the provisions of Section 7.03.020 shall be compiled by the City Clerk as soon as practicable after the annual registration period and shall be forwarded to the City Manager. All such information shall be preserved by the Clerk pursuant to the City's records retention schedule, shall constitute part of the public records of his office, and shall be open to public inspection.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
It is unlawful for any person or entity to act as a lobbyist in the City without having registered in compliance with this chapter, or knowingly to employ a person or entity to serve as a lobbyist when such person is not registered pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
If any person registered or required to be registered under Section 7.03.020 employs or requests, recommends, or causes his employer to employ, and such employer does employ, any member of the City Council, or any person known by him to be an officer or employee of the City, in any capacity whatsoever, he shall file, within ten (10) days after commencement of such employment, a statement with the City Clerk setting out the nature of the employment, the name of the person to be paid thereunder, and the amount of pay or consideration to be paid thereunder, and the date first employed.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
A. 
The filings required by this chapter shall be filed under oath with the City Clerk on forms prescribed by the City Clerk and may be filed:
1. 
In person; or
2. 
Be deemed properly filed when deposited in an established post office within the prescribed time, duly stamped, and directed to the City Clerk, at the City Hall, but in the event it is not received copies of such statement shall be promptly filed upon notice from the City Clerk of its nonreceipt; or
3. 
Electronically (online) by forwarding to the City Clerk a copy of the prescribed form via electronic mail together with a facsimile copy of the form showing execution by the lobbyist. Such electronic filing shall be effective upon receipt by the City of the filing fee.
B. 
All reports and statements required under this chapter which are filed with the City Clerk shall be preserved by the Clerk pursuant to the City's records retention schedule, shall constitute part of the public records of his office, and shall be open to public inspection.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
No former member of the City Council, former member of a City commission, or former City employee may serve as a lobbyist with respect to the City within one year of leaving office or employment with the City.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
Persons or entities who knowingly violate this chapter may be subject to fines for up to three (3) times the annual registration fee.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)
If any part of this chapter or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or applications and, to this end, the provisions of this chapter are severable.
(Ord. 07-11 § 1, 12/11/2007)