Campaign DisclosureProhibitions
Section § 84300
This law states that political contributions and expenditures over $100 cannot be made or received in cash. If cash contributions are received, they must be refunded within certain timeframes to not be counted—72 hours for regular contributions and 48 hours for late contributions. Contributions over $100 must be documented with a written instrument like a check from the donor's account, showing both the donor and payee's names. In-kind contributions, which are non-cash donations, over $100 must be reported in writing if the recipient requests it.
Section § 84301
This law states that when making a contribution, you must use your real, legal name. You can't contribute money using someone else's name or a fake name.
Section § 84302
This law states that if you give a donation or contribution on behalf of someone else, you must tell the recipient your full name, address, job, and employer's name or, if you work for yourself, your business location. You also need to provide the same information about the other person for whom the donation is made. The person receiving the donation has to report this information in their campaign statement for both you and the original donor.
Section § 84303
This law states that if an agent or independent contractor spends $500 or more on behalf of a candidate or committee for anything other than regular operations, the candidate or committee must report the expense as if they made it themselves. This includes expenditures made by advertising agencies and similar parties.
Additionally, if a subagent or subcontractor is involved, they must inform the primary agent of all necessary details for reporting, who then must pass it on to the candidate or committee. This must happen at least three days before the relevant campaign statement is due, except for certain expenditures that must be reported to the candidate or committee within 24 hours.
Section § 84304
This law ensures that no one can anonymously donate $100 or more to a political candidate, committee, or any other person in a single calendar year. If such a donation is made, the recipient cannot keep it and must send it to the Secretary of State to be put into the state's General Fund.
Section § 84305
This law outlines the rules for sending mass mailings or electronic mailings in elections. It requires candidates, their committees, or political party committees to include their name, street address, and city on every piece of a mass mailing, or on at least one insert inside the mail. They can use a P.O. box if their address is publicly recorded. For electronic mailings, the sender’s name must be included with the phrase 'Paid for by' in a prominent font size. If the mailing is controlled by a committee, the name of the controlling person must be included. 'Mass electronic mailing' is defined as sending over 200 similar emails in a month, not including solicited communications. These rules do not apply to mailings paid for by independent expenditures.
Section § 84305.5
This section outlines the rules for slate mailers, which are promotional materials supporting or opposing ballot measures. These mailers must prominently display the name, address, and city of the organization or committee responsible, either on the outside or on an insert inside the mailer, in a legible manner.
The mailer must include a bold notice stating it is not from an official political party, and it must indicate which candidates or measures have paid to appear in the mailer with an asterisk (*). If a candidate belongs to a different political party than what the mailer seems to represent, their party designation must be included.
Any payment made for appearances in the mailer implies consent and requires the asterisk designation.
Section § 84305.7
This law requires slate mailer organizations to get written permission before using a logo or trademark similar to those of government agencies or certain nongovernmental organizations (like law enforcement or firefighting groups) that might imply endorsement.
If they identify themselves using terms related to public safety, they must disclose whether they actually represent or are affiliated with public safety personnel.
The required disclosure must include exact numbers if they do represent public safety workers, or a statement that they don't if they don't.
Disclosures must be prominently displayed in a specific format, including font size, location on the mailer, and contrasting colors, to ensure visibility to the reader.
Section § 84306
If someone collects campaign donations on behalf of a candidate or committee, they must quickly report these contributions to the candidate or their designated person, or to the committee's treasurer. 'Quickly' means no later than the due date for any campaign finance report that the candidate or committee needs to file.
Section § 84307
This law states that political contributions must be kept separate from personal money or anyone else's money. You can't mix these funds together.
Section § 84307.5
If you're an elected official or running for office, your spouse or domestic partner can't be paid from your campaign's funds for any services they provide.
Section § 84308
This law outlines the rules about contributions to officers at government agencies during proceedings related to licenses, permits, or entitlements. "Party" refers to someone applying for or involved in such proceedings, while a "participant" is an interested person who supports or opposes a decision and has a financial interest.
Officers must not accept contributions over $500 from these parties or participants during the proceeding and for 12 months after the decision. If they do, they may return the contribution within 30 days to avoid disqualification. Contributions must also be disclosed if received within the last 12 months.
Certain types of contracts and contributions are exempt, such as competitively bid contracts or those under $50,000. The law specifies that both an individual and their firm can be considered an "agent," and outlines what counts as communication aiming to influence a proceeding.
Section § 84309
This law prohibits anyone from receiving or delivering campaign contributions inside the State Capitol, state office buildings, or state-funded offices, except for legislative district offices. Delivering contributions personally means doing it yourself or having someone else do it for you. Receiving means getting campaign contributions delivered in person.
Section § 84310
If a political campaign or organization pays for 500 or more phone calls to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure, they must disclose who authorized or funded the calls during each call. This rule doesn't apply to calls made by the candidate or volunteers. Campaigns can't hire phone banks that don't provide this disclosure information, and they must keep records of the call scripts or recordings. However, calls made by independent expenditures are exempt from these requirements.