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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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County Counsel
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DATE:
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May 12, 2005
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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May 24, 2005
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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No
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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Majority
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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Thomas F. Casey III, County Counsel
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SUBJECT:
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Campaign Finance Ordinance
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RECOMMENDATION:
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ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 2.205.010 AND 2.205.020 AND REPEALING SECTIONS 2.205.030 AND 2.205.040 OF CHAPTER 2.205 OF TITLE 2 OF THE SAN MATEO COUNTY ORDINANCE CODE RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE
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BACKGROUND:
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Late last fall, a revised ordinance relating to the financing of campaigns for county-wide offices (including the Board of Supervisors) was placed on the agenda of the Board of Supervisors. That draft ordinance was withdrawn from the Board agenda prior to the scheduled hearing and it has not been re-introduced to this point. The next scheduled county-wide election will be at the June 2006 primary. If there is to be any change in the campaign finance ordinance, now would be the time to take action.
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Currently, the County’s Campaign Contribution ordinance regulates three areas in regards to candidates in county elections: (1) the amount of campaign contributions; (2) disclosure of independent expenditures and (3) use of surplus campaign funds. Starting in 1999, state law relating to campaign contributions, as contained in the Political Reform Act, was in a state of flux due to competing initiatives and court challenges. However, during the last year and a half, the law in this area has become relatively stable and as a consequence, it is an appropriate time to make changes to the County’s ordinance to be consistent with state law.
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The majority of the changes in the proposed ordinance would repeal sections of the current county ordinance that are no longer needed because there is now state law governing these areas. These sections consist of (1) disclosing independent expenditures; (2) use of surplus campaign funds; and (3) definitions for terms used in the ordinance which are now defined in state law.
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DISCUSSION:
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A memo detailing the proposed changes is attached to this memo.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
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None.
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