County Ordinance Caps Campaign Contributions

An ordinance that caps campaign contributions for all San Bernardino County elective office candidates, and tightens public disclosure requirements on political action groups, was adopted Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.

The new ordinance requires the same campaign finance limits in place for California Legislature candidates, staff for 2nd District Supervisor Janice Rutherford said in a news release.

"The current limit is $3,900 from a single source, including corporations, special interest groups, and individuals, per election cycle," the release stated. "The State adjusts the cap annually based on the Consumer Price Index."

The ordinance also requires all candidates and independent political action committees to electronically report contributions and expenditures that exceed $10,000, according to Rutherford's staff.

State law currently requires legislative candidates and political committees to electronically report contributions and expenditures that exceed $50,000.

Candidates caught violating the ordinance can be fined up to three times the contribution amount not properly reported, or $10,000 whichever is greater, according to Rutherford's staff.

Violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor. The ordinance also includes civil and administrative penalties for violations.

"The County plans to contract with the California Fair Political Practices Commission to enforce the ordinance because the political watchdog agency has considerable experience enforcing campaign rules and because it can provide an independent review of candidates' and political action groups' monetary activities," Rutherford's staff said.

Rutherford made the campaign finance proposal after conferring with former elected officials and local civic leaders on ways to improve ethical accountability in San Bernardino County government, according to her staff.

"In addition, Rutherford considered the recommendation made by the 2008-2009 Grand Jury, which found that the five Supervisors in office collected more than $2.3 million in contributions in 2007," Rutherford's staff said.

The ordinance goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013.

The second reading of the ordinance occurred Tuesday Aug. 28 and the vote was unanimous, same as last week with the first reading, county spokesman David Wert said in an email.

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