Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

BERA Campaign Finance Workshop for Berkeley Candidates and Committees – August 28, 2026

City Council — Friday, August 28, 2026

BodyBerkeley, California

SessionCity Council

DateFriday, August 28, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:28:22

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:05

Okay, so we are recording.

0:11

As new people come in, we'll we'll let them into the meeting.

0:15

Um we'll start with introductions.

0:17

I'm Mark Newmanville, the city clerk for the city of Berkeley.

0:21

And welcome to Berkeley Election Reform Act, a guide to navigating local election rules.

0:27

And I'll let the other staff introduce themselves.

0:29

Lauren.

0:31

Hi, my name's Lauren Packard, and I'm a deputy city attorney in the city attorney's office.

0:37

I will pass it over to Denise.

0:43

Hi, good evening.

0:44

My name is Denise Burgada, and I'm assistant city clerk.

0:49

And Maxwell Banks.

0:57

Hi, my name is Maxwell.

0:58

Um, and I am serving as the assistant treasurer for the oh gosh.

1:05

Um, I can't remember the name of organization.

1:07

Uh Safe and something, Berkeley.

1:13

Yes, measures U and V.

1:14

Thank you, Mark.

1:16

All right.

1:17

And Jeff.

1:19

And Jeff Lomax, we're um this currently in the process is trying to put together a committee.

1:24

So we're right on the cusp.

1:26

We don't quite have one yet.

1:28

But Jeff, you're with a uh ballot measure committee, right?

1:31

Um actually we're trying to put together a general committee, not um specific to a ballot measure, so a city committee.

1:38

But not a candidate controlled committee.

1:41

Yeah, yeah, it's correct.

1:42

Okay.

1:43

Well, if uh I guess if we have a candidate controlled committee jump on, we can um go a little bit more in that direction.

1:53

Um, but since we don't have one right now, we can um sort of veer more towards the ballot measure side.

2:01

Uh we'll go through the PowerPoint.

2:03

Um, Lauren and I will handle that part.

2:06

And Denise is here for questions and things like that as well.

2:11

Denise does a lot of our um intake of the campaign finance forms for our office, uh, but we'll go ahead and get started.

2:21

Okay.

2:22

So of course um we have to have a disclaimer.

2:27

Um just you know, this is a sort of a summary introduction into um state and local campaign finance laws, but of course the actual laws themselves and the local regulations uh should be consulted for guidance and um full um uh it to get the full uh benefit of what is required.

2:52

You must read the the actual regulations and uh codes themselves.

2:58

Okay.

3:00

So this workshop is for Berkeley candidates who will raise or spend a thousand dollars or more, and who are not participating in public financing, and it's also for general purpose and primarily formed ballot measure committees.

3:16

So this is what we'll cover today, and we'll just keep moving along to the next slide.

3:22

So what is the Berkeley Election Reform Act, which we refer to as BIRA?

3:29

Well, it was a uh initiative ordinance that was passed all the way back in 1974.

3:36

Um it's codified in our municipal code in chapter 2.12.

3:41

Uh there's several specific provisions of our code that are different than what is in the state political reform act.

3:48

Those refer to contribution limits for candidates, uh disclosure requirements that are different than state law for all committees.

3:57

It created our local Berkeley Fair Campaign Practices Commission, who is tasked with administering and doing the enforcement of the Berkeley Election Reform Act.

4:08

And then in 2018, there was a ballot measure to add the public financing program to the Berkeley Election Reform Act.

4:18

And then it's also important to know that the uh local commission, the FCPC, can adopt regulations to supplement and further the purposes of BIRA.

4:32

Uh, and those regulations adopted by the commission do themselves have the force of law.

4:39

So like I said, that there's kind of two levels here.

4:43

We're going to talk about there's state law and then there's Berkeley law with regards to campaign finance and uh local committees are responsible for following both.

5:00

Uh so we're, you know, we'll talk about state law, and then we'll also talk about what is specific here in Berkeley that's different than state law.

5:04

So the state law, uh, under state law, there's a um they created their own commission, the Fair Political Practice Commission, um, that enforces the state political reform act, and the filings at the state level go to the Secretary of State Political Reform Division.

5:23

Uh, the state FPPC can issue advice letters and regulations that supplement the state political reform act.

5:31

Uh, and the state FPPC also creates the campaign filing manuals, which are very useful.

5:40

Um, manual three, I think manual three is the one that um ballot measure and general purpose committees would follow.

5:48

And just remember that BRA supplements but does not replace the state regulations.

5:54

So you have to sort of look in two places to to know what your requirements are.

6:03

In Berkeley, we have an electronic filing system called Netfile.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Campaign Finance█████████████████████████████████████████████67%

Election Reform███████████████████29%

Public Engagement█2%

Procedural█2%

Summary of Proceedings

BERA Campaign Finance Workshop for Berkeley Candidates and Committees – August 28, 2026

On August 28, 2026, at 8:00 PM UTC, the City of Berkeley held a virtual workshop on the Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA) to guide candidates and ballot measure committees through local and state campaign finance rules. The session was led by City Clerk Mark Newmanville, Deputy City Attorney Lauren Packard, Assistant City Clerk Denise Burgada, and attended by participants Maxwell Banks (assistant treasurer for a committee supporting Measures U and V) and Jeff Lomax (forming a general purpose committee). The workshop covered contribution limits, reporting requirements, filing deadlines, and common pitfalls.

Public Comments & Testimony

Maxwell Banks asked clarifying questions about the Form 410 committee ID number process, the timing of filing reports relative to the $1,000 threshold, and the distinction between late contribution reports and major donor notice requirements. He also sought clarification on cumulative contribution aggregation for reporting thresholds.
Jeff Lomax asked about the distinction between independent expenditures and expenditures made pursuant to a general committee’s remit, the coordination test, and the certificate of mass mailing process.
Both participants engaged in several back-and-forth exchanges with staff to understand nuances of BERA versus state law, including volunteer event exemptions, anonymous contribution limits, and the 45-day rule for paying bills.

Discussion Items

Overview of BERA and State Law: Staff explained that BERA (Berkeley Election Reform Act, codified in BMC Chapter 2.12) is more restrictive than the state Political Reform Act. Key differences include contribution limits of $290 per individual for candidate committees, a prohibition on business/labor union contributions to candidates, and a lower itemization threshold ($50 for contributions vs. $100 at state level).
Getting Started: Staff detailed the required forms: Form 501 (candidate intention statement) and Form 410 (committee organization). They emphasized that committees must be formed within 10 days of reaching $1,000 in activity, and that the committee ID number is obtained from the California Secretary of State.
Campaign Bank Accounts and Record Keeping: Staff stressed no commingling of personal and campaign funds, one bank account per committee per election, and mandatory record retention for 4 years. They noted that the candidate and treasurer share legal responsibility for compliance.
Contribution Rules: Contributions include cash, in-kind goods/services, loans, and personal funds. For candidates, $290 aggregate limit applies; ballot measure committees have no limit except for recall measures. Anonymous contributions are prohibited, and cash should be avoided.
Filing Schedules and Late Reporting: Staff highlighted the current 90-day window for late contribution reports (contributions of $1,000 or more must be reported within 24 hours) and the two pre-election reports due September 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026. Late filings incur $10 per day penalties.
Form 460 and Itemization: Staff walked through Schedules A (contributions), E (expenditures), and F (accrued expenses). They warned that if unpaid bills exceed 45 days, they convert to contributions, which could violate the $290 limit for candidates.
Mass Mailings and Independent Expenditures: Local rules require filing three copies of mass mailings (200+ similar pieces) with a certificate of mass mailing. Independent expenditures over $1,000 in the last 90 days must be reported within 24 hours, and three copies of the communication must be filed with the City Clerk.
Post-Election Steps: Committees can remain open to retire debt until December 31, 2028, but must continue filing reports. Surplus assets can be used for future elections with proper redesignation by filing new Form 501 and amending Form 410.

Key Outcomes

No votes or formal decisions were taken; the workshop was purely informational.
Staff provided contact information for the City Clerk Department (elections@berkeleyca.gov, 510-981-6908) for filing questions and the Fair Campaign Practices Commission (FCPC) for enforcement inquiries.
Participants were reminded to consult the local filing manual (Appendix A for distinctions between BERA and state law) and to file on time, as amendments are always allowed.
The slides and recording of the workshop were promised to be emailed to attendees upon request to the elections inbox.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, so we are recording. As new people come in, we'll we'll let them into the meeting. Um we'll start with introductions. I'm Mark Newmanville, the city clerk for the city of Berkeley. And welcome to Berkeley Election Reform Act, a guide to navigating local election rules. And I'll let the other staff introduce themselves. Lauren. Hi, my name's Lauren Packard, and I'm a deputy city attorney in the city attorney's office. I will pass it over to Denise. Hi, good evening. My name is Denise Burgada, and I'm assistant city clerk. And Maxwell Banks. Hi, my name is Maxwell. Um, and I am serving as the assistant treasurer for the oh gosh. Um, I can't remember the name of organization. Uh Safe and something, Berkeley. Yes, measures U and V. Thank you, Mark. All right. And Jeff. And Jeff Lomax, we're um this currently in the process is trying to put together a committee. So we're right on the cusp. We don't quite have one yet. But Jeff, you're with a uh ballot measure committee, right? Um actually we're trying to put together a general committee, not um specific to a ballot measure, so a city committee. But not a candidate controlled committee. Yeah, yeah, it's correct. Okay. Well, if uh I guess if we have a candidate controlled committee jump on, we can um go a little bit more in that direction. Um, but since we don't have one right now, we can um sort of veer more towards the ballot measure side. Uh we'll go through the PowerPoint. Um, Lauren and I will handle that part. And Denise is here for questions and things like that as well. Denise does a lot of our um intake of the campaign finance forms for our office, uh, but we'll go ahead and get started. Okay. So of course um we have to have a disclaimer. Um just you know, this is a sort of a summary introduction into um state and local campaign finance laws, but of course the actual laws themselves and the local regulations uh should be consulted for guidance and um full um uh it to get the full uh benefit of what is required. You must read the the actual regulations and uh codes themselves. Okay. So this workshop is for Berkeley candidates who will raise or spend a thousand dollars or more, and who are not participating in public financing, and it's also for general purpose and primarily formed ballot measure committees. So this is what we'll cover today, and we'll just keep moving along to the next slide. So what is the Berkeley Election Reform Act, which we refer to as BIRA? Well, it was a uh initiative ordinance that was passed all the way back in 1974. Um it's codified in our municipal code in chapter 2.12. Uh there's several specific provisions of our code that are different than what is in the state political reform act. Those refer to contribution limits for candidates, uh disclosure requirements that are different than state law for all committees. It created our local Berkeley Fair Campaign Practices Commission, who is tasked with administering and doing the enforcement of the Berkeley Election Reform Act. And then in 2018, there was a ballot measure to add the public financing program to the Berkeley Election Reform Act. And then it's also important to know that the uh local commission, the FCPC, can adopt regulations to supplement and further the purposes of BIRA. Uh, and those regulations adopted by the commission do themselves have the force of law.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com