San Diego, California, Measure L, Restrictions on City Salaries, Campaigns, and Benefits (November 2018)
| Measure L: San Diego Restrictions on City Salaries, Campaigns, and Benefits |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 6, 2018 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local elections and campaigns |
| Related articles |
| Local elections and campaigns on the ballot November 6, 2018 ballot measures in California San Diego County, California ballot measures Local governance on the ballot |
| See also |
| San Diego, California |
A charter amendment designed to place restrictions on the salaries, benefits, and campaigns of city officials was on the ballot for San Diego voters in San Diego County, California, on November 6, 2018. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of (1) restricting benefits for elected city officials; (2) restricting lobbying and campaign activities for elected city officials; and (3) requiring that the salaries of council members, the mayor, and the city attorney be set as percentages of the salary set by the state of California for superior court judges. |
| A no vote was a vote against (1) restricting benefits for elected city officials; (2) restricting lobbying and campaign activities for elected city officials; and (3) requiring that the salaries of council members, the mayor, and the city attorney be set as percentages of the salary for superior court judges, thereby allowing council members to continue setting the salaries. |
Election results
|
San Diego Measure L |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
340,828 | 78.50% | ||
| No | 93,351 | 21.50% | ||
-
- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Shall the Charter be amended to: (1) restrict benefits for elected City officers; (2) restrict lobbying and campaign activities of elected City officers; and (3) remove the requirement that Councilmembers set their salaries and those of the Mayor and City Attorney, providing instead that their salaries be set as percentages of the salary set by the State of California for Superior Court judges?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the San Diego City Attorney:
| “ |
The Charter requires that the City Council (Council) vote to establish salaries of the Mayor and Councilmembers, and the Council must consider recommendations from the City’s Salary Setting Commission (Commission) every two years. The Council may accept a proposed increase, but may not set salaries higher than the Commission recommends. The Council has not accepted a salary increase proposed by the Commission since 2002. The Charter also requires the Council to fix the City Attorney’s salary. If approved, the proposed Charter amendments would eliminate the Commission and the requirement that the Council vote to establish elective officer salaries. Instead, the amendments would automatically tie salaries of Councilmembers, the Mayor, and the City Attorney to the state-approved salary for California Superior Court judges in the California Government Code. The amendments would phase in salaries: Councilmembers would be paid 60 percent of the state salary for California Superior Court Judges beginning December 10, 2020, and 75 percent of the state salary for California Superior Court judges beginning December 10, 2022. The Mayor and City Attorney would be paid an amount equal to the state salary for California Superior Court judges beginning December 10, 2020. A state formula provides that Superior Court judges’ salaries increase by the average percentage salary increase for the current fiscal year for state employees. Salaries for City elected officials would increase as state employees’ salaries increase. The amendments would eliminate the following for elected City officials: honoraria, car allowances, and free use of City-owned-and-controlled sports and entertainment venue tickets. The amendments also would expand restrictions on lobbying, and regulate incumbent officers’ use of taxpayer-funded, mass form constituent mailings. Honoraria are fees such as speaker fees that are prohibited under state law, but with some exceptions. The measure would eliminate exceptions for City elective officers. Effective December 10, 2020, the amendments would eliminate a regularly paid car allowance as a form of additional compensation for an elective officer’s use of a private vehicle, but allow reimbursement for actual miles driven in a personal vehicle while on City business, following federal tax laws. A City policy governs the use of admission tickets it receives, including tickets for City- owned-and-controlled sports and entertainment venues. This measure would prohibit free use of such tickets. The City would be required to market such tickets to the public at fair market value, keeping the proceeds. Tickets for certain venues and events may be governed by agreements that would require further analysis to determine whether the City could sell them. City law prohibits lobbying by former City officials, including elective officers, for one year after leaving City employment. This measure extends the prohibition to two years. State law regulates the use of public funds for mailings featuring a public official. This measure prohibits an incumbent official’s mass mailings starting 75 days before an election when the official, or a staff member, seeks City office. This measure was proposed by a member of the public. The Council placed it on the ballot.[2] |
” |
| —San Diego City Attorney[3] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of San Diego, California.
See also
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures for November 6, 2018," accessed September 23, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ City of San Diego, "November 6, 2018 General Election," accessed September 23, 2018
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
