Candidate and Treasurer Training – March 30, 2022
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Candidate and Treasurer Training – March 30, 2022
On March 30, 2022, the City of Oakland's Public Ethics Commission (PEC) jointly with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) held a two-hour training for candidates and treasurers. The training covered state campaign finance rules under the Political Reform Act and local rules under the Oakland Campaign Reform Act (OCRA). The session included presentations by FPPC staff (Chloe Hackard and Steven Hernandez) and PEC staff (Jelani Killings and Suzanne). The training aimed to equip candidates and treasurers with knowledge of filing requirements, contribution limits, record keeping, and electronic filing obligations.
State Rules Presentation (FPPC)
- Campaign Forms and Committees: Overview of Form 501 (candidate intention statement), Form 470 (short form for candidates not raising/spending $2,000+), Form 410 (statement of organization for committees), and the requirement to include candidate last name, office, and election year in the committee name. The Form 410 must be filed within 10 days of reaching the $2,000 threshold, with a $50 fee and a wet signature copy to the Secretary of State.
- Bank Accounts: Only one campaign bank account per committee is allowed; no commingling of funds. Personal funds may be used for filing fees without triggering the $2,000 threshold.
- Form 700: All candidates must file a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) with the local filing officer.
- Record Keeping: Maintain records for four years after the election, including names and addresses for contributions of $25+, and occupation/employer for $100+. Both candidate and treasurer share liability.
- Contributions: Defined broadly; exceptions include voluntary personal services, member communications, and uncompensated internet activity. Fundraisers at home/office become reportable if total cost exceeds $500. Electronic contributions (e.g., Venmo) must be reported at full value with fees as expenditures.
- Restrictions: No contributions of $25+ without name/address; no cash, money order, or cashier's check of $100+; no contributions from foreign governments. Local contribution limits may apply.
- Government Code 84308: Applies to appointed officials; prohibits soliciting/accepting contributions of $250+ from entities doing business before their agency.
- Major Donor Notifications: Must notify contributors of $5,000+ within two weeks; for $10,000+ within 90 days of election, notice within one week.
- Form 460: Detailed instructions for reporting monetary contributions (Schedule A), loans (Schedule B), non-monetary contributions (Schedule C), expenditures (Schedule E), and summary page. Required for committees exceeding $2,000 threshold.
- Form 497: 24-hour report required for contributions of $1,000+ from a single source within 90 days of election, including candidate's own loans.
- Filing Schedules: For November 8, 2022 general election, 90-day cycle starts August 10, 2022. Two pre-election statements due in September and October 27. After election, semi-annual filing until committee termination.
- Advertising Disclosures: Mass mailings (200+ similar pieces in a month) must include "Paid for by" with committee name and address in at least 6-point font.
- Post-Election: Successful candidates continue filing and pay $50 annual fee; leftover funds become surplus 90 days after leaving office. Defeated candidates have 90 days after the semi-annual reporting period following each election to redesignate surplus funds.
- Resources: FPPC website (fppc.ca.gov), candidate toolkit, and advice phone line (866-275-3772).
Local Rules Presentation (Oakland PEC)
- Electronic Filing: Mandatory for all campaign statements; must file Form 300 to obtain Netfile account. Initial paper filings (Form 501, Form 410) are still required.
- Voluntary Spending Limits: Candidates may accept expenditure ceilings (e.g., $175,000 for District 1 council) to be eligible for higher contribution limits. To accept, file OCRA Form 301 before receiving contributions at the higher limit.
- Contribution Limits: Candidates accepting spending limits: $900 per election from persons, $1,800 from broad-based political committees. Candidates rejecting limits: $200 per person, $400 per broad-based committee. Personal loans to own campaign are not subject to these limits.
- Definition of Broad-Based Political Committee: Must exist for >6 months, receive contributions from 100+ persons, and make contributions to 5+ candidates. Candidates must verify before accepting higher limits.
- Aggregation Rules: Contributions from entities sharing majority of board/officers/ownership are treated as one person. Business owners cannot give both individually and from business account.
- Loans and Unpaid Bills: If unpaid for >90 days and >$1,500, they become contributions subject to limits. A payment schedule is recommended.
- Notice Requirements: All fundraising materials must include a statement about contribution limits and contractor prohibition.
- Contractor Prohibition: Persons negotiating contracts with City of Oakland or Oakland Unified School District may not contribute from start of negotiations through 180 days after completion. Applies to CEOs, owners of 20%+ interest, and authorized negotiators.
- Enforcement: Late filers are posted online; fines and referral to FPPC for non-filers beyond 45 days. Recent enforcement actions have resulted in hundreds to thousands of dollars in fines.
- Limited Public Financing: Available to district city council candidates; $10,000–$25,000 reimbursement. Requirements: personal loans/contributions capped at 10% of expenditure ceiling; must raise and spend 5% of ceiling; attend training in August 2022; submit required forms.
- Resources: PEC provides binders with campaign manuals, OCRA guide, and public financing guide. Advice line (phone/email) and electronic filing support.
Key Outcomes
- The training provided comprehensive guidance on state and local campaign finance rules.
- Slide decks will be emailed to all participants, and the recording will be posted on the PEC website.
- A follow-up quiz for treasurers will be made available; successful completion will result in listing on the PEC website.
- Candidates and treasurers are encouraged to contact the PEC or FPPC with questions and to monitor deadlines.
Meeting Transcript
Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's candidate and treasurer training. We see folks are logging on now. And so we'll give just a few minutes as folks are getting uh set up here in Zoom. And then we'll go ahead and start the training. Once again, welcome. This is today's candidate and treasurer training jointly between the FPPC and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission. And we'll be getting started in just a few minutes as folks are getting logged on. We are waiting just a couple more minutes before we get started. And as folks are getting logged on here on Zoom, we'll give just a couple more minutes before we go ahead and get started with today's training. So we'll go ahead and get started with today's training. Once again, I just want to welcome everybody. My name is Recording in progress. So we're going to go ahead and get started with today's training. I want to welcome everyone here today. My name is Jelani Killings. I'm an ethics analyst with the City of Oakland's Public Ethics Commission. And today's training will be a joint training. We have our friends and our partners with the Fair Political Practices Commission. We have Chloe Hackard as well as Stephen Hernandez who are here with us today. And so today's training will be about two hours long, and we mean to stay within that time frame to respect everyone's time. And so just a little bit of a breakdown as far as how today's training will go. We know that we may have some folks who are not City of Oakland candidates, and that is okay because the FPPC portion will specifically cover state rules. And so the first hour, hour and a half of today's training, we'll focus specifically on state rules with the presentation from the FPPC. And then right after that, uh we will take questions if there are any questions that folks may have. And then we'll jump into a brief portion that will cover specifically Oakland rules and provisions as it pertains to the Oakland Campaign Reform Act here in the city of Oakland. And so just uh to share a little bit about some of the ground rules, we do want everybody to remain on mute uh during the presentation so that we can make sure that we hear the presenters loud and clear. If you do have any questions that come up during the presentation, uh we recommend and we ask that you go ahead and put it in the QA box so you can feel free to type it in to that question and answer box that you have on your screen. And so our staff will be monitoring the questions. Uh, and then once the presenters are done with their slides, uh we will have time to answer those questions uh at the end of the presentation. And so once the FBPC covers the state rules, we'll just pause and take some time to answer those questions specific to state rules. Um, and then after that, we will begin the presentation on the Oakland specific rules, um, followed once again by another question and answer period. And so for all of those that are attending here today, uh we will make the slide deck and resources available uh via email after this presentation. And this is also being recorded uh live here today and will be made available on the public ethics commission's website uh for your viewing as well, if you want to go back and watch the presentation. Um, with that, uh, once again, we want to welcome you. Thank you for taking the time today to complete this very important training. Uh, and then also as a last piece, we do want to highlight that for the treasurers that are here taking today's training. Uh, we will have a follow-up quiz that we are making available. Um, and for folks that complete the quiz, uh, we will be posting online on our website as well for viewing uh and to share broadly as far as completing today's training and understand the requirements of both state and local rules uh as it pertains to campaign finance. So, with that, uh, we'll go ahead and get everything kicked off and started. And I'd like to introduce Chloe Hackard and Stephen Hernandez, who will kick off the first portion uh dealing with state rules. So, welcome, Chloe, Steven, and go ahead and take it away. All righty, my name is Chloe Hackert, and I am the education program manager of the legal division of the Fair Political Practices Commission. We're very big fans of long titles at the agency. And I would like to introduce our political reform consultant Steven Hernandez. Um, he is an expert in this field, and he's gonna kick us off with the first half of the training, and I will take over the second half. All right, thank you, Chloe. Again, yeah, my name is Steven Hernandez. Um, I will do the first half of this training. Um the second half will cover about the form 460 and then a few other components. Um, again, just as a reminder, if you have any questions, go ahead and put them into the QA box and we'll address them at the end of our presentation.
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