California Fair Political Practices Commission
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The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) oversees campaign finance reporting in California.
The commission was created by the Political Reform Act of 1974, a ballot initiative passed by California voters as California Proposition 9 (1974).
According to its website, the FPPC educates the public and public officials on the requirements of the Act. It provides written and oral advice to public agencies and officials; conducts seminars and training sessions; develops forms, manuals and instructions; and receives and files statements of economic interests from many state and local officials.
The FPPC has five members and a staff of 80.[1]
Membership
The five members of the FPPC board serve for a non-renewable four-year term. They are chosen as follows:
- Two of the five members are appointed by the Governor of California.
- The commission's chair is appointed by the governor.
- The other member of the commission appointed by the governor must be a registered voter in a political party that is not the political party of the governor.
- The California Secretary of State appoints one commissioner to the FPPC.
- The California Attorney General appoints one commissioner to the FPPC.
- The California State Controller appoints one commissioner to the FPPC.
If all three of the constitutional officials (the governor, secretary of state, and attorney general) are members of the same political party, the state controller selects the new commissioner from a list provided by another political party.
The chairman of the commission draws a salary and serves full-time. The other four commissioners are part-time and paid a $100 per diem for each meeting.[1]
Current chair
The current chair of the commission is Ross Johnson.[2][3]
Current commissioners
- Law professor Ronald D. Rotunda, who was appointed by Controller John Chiang. Rotunda’s appointment ends on January 31, 2013.[2]
- Lynn Montgomery, who was appointed by Jerry Brown. Montgomery's appointment ends on January 31, 2013.[4]
- Timothy A. Hodson, who was appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Hodson's term will end in 2011.[3]
- Elizabeth Garrett, appointed in August 2009 by Secretary of State Debra Bowen. Garrett's term ends on January 31, 2013.[5] Garrett is a member of the Board of Directors of the Initiative & Referendum Institute.
Investigative authority
The FPPC investigates alleged violations of the Political Reform Act, imposes penalties when appropriate, and assists state and local agencies in developing and enforcing conflict-of-interest codes.
Regulatory authority
The FPPC regulates:
- campaign financing and spending;
- financial conflicts of interest;
- lobbyist registration and reporting;
- post-governmental employment;
- mass mailings at public expense; and
- gifts and honoraria given to public officials and candidates.
FPPC's reports on campaign spending
The California Fair Political Practices Commission commissioned two extensive studies of campaign spending in California in the wake of Proposition 34 from 2000, which was supposed to clean up state legislative campaign spending.
- The FPPC's report released in 2008 is called ""Independent Expenditures: The Giant Gorilla in Campaign Finance".
- Its report released in April 2009 is called "The Billion Dollar Money Train."[6]
The reports indicate that since the passage of Proposition 34, state and legislative candidates have raised more than $1 billion for their campaigns. The report also shows that more than $88 million was spent on independent items benefitting candidates for state office from January 1, 2001, when Proposition 34 took effect, through the 2006 election cycle.[7]
Other findings of the FPPC studies:
- Contributions into candidate-controlled ballot measure committees increased more than 200,000-percent from 2001 through 2006.
- Of the more than $1 billion raised for candidate campaigns in the state, 58% of that total was raised for candidates for the California State Legislature during a time that these candidates were under Proposition 34's limits.
- $88 million was spent on independent expenditures benefitting candidates for state office since the passage of Prop. 34.
- There was a 6,144% increase in independent expenditure spending in legislative elections between 2000 and 2006.
Policy proposals
In 2009, the FPPC is considering rules that would prohibit government agencies from spending taxpayer money to advocate for or against ballot measures. Although agencies are already prohibited from doing this, the exact type of behavior they are not allowed to engage in hasn't been clear so the agency is considering clarifying what is and isn't acceptable.[8]
Editors and columnists at the Los Angeles Times argued in October 2008 that several informational pieces paid for by local governments crossed the line into advocacy rather than informing voters.[9]
See: Vargas v. City of Salinas
See also
- Campaign finance requirements for California ballot measures
- Candidate-controlled ballot measure committee (California)
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 About the FPCC
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 FPPC Press Office, "Second of Three New Commissioners Appointed to FPPC", June 17, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 FPPC Press Office, "FPPC Welcomes Chairman Johnson and Commissioner Hodson", March 6, 2007
- ↑ FPPC Press Office, "New commissioner appointed to state ethics commission", June 9, 2009
- ↑ USC Law Professor Appointed to FPPC, August 12, 2009
- ↑ FPPC, "The Billion-Dollar Money Train"
- ↑ San Bernardino Sun, "Pair of reports highlight campaign contributions", July 6, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "A new policy on public politics in California", September 9, 2009
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Local government agencies spend taxpayer money on pre-election outreach campaigns", October 25, 2008
