MEETING DATE:
July 22, 2025
SUBJECT:
Title
ORDINANCE NO. 2025-1562 - AMENDING SAN MARCOS MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 2.16 (CONTROLS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS) TO INCREASE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
INTRODUCE (First Reading) of a proposed Ordinance amending San Marcos Municipal Code Chapter 2.16 (Controls on Campaign Contributions)
Body
Board or Commission Action
Not Applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Good Governance
Relevant Department Goal
To ensure that the limits on the amounts of money that may be contributed to political campaigns in City elections remain current and enforceable.
Introduction
San Marcos Municipal Code (SMMC) Chapter 2.16 contains the City’s campaign regulations. Section 2.16.030 sets limitations on the amounts that individuals and political party committees can contribute to a candidate’s campaign. This ordinance would amend the Chapter to increase those limits.
Discussion
The Political Reform Act authorizes cities to adopt campaign contribution limitations applicable to elections for local office. (Government Code § 85702.5.) Such limitations must be aimed at eliminating the possibility of corruption or any appearance of corruption in local elections and must be weighed against a contributor’s First Amendment rights. The City previously adopted such limitations as part of its campaign regulations found in SMMC Chapter 2.16. During a recent workshop, the City Council requested that staff return with recommendations to increase the current limits.
The City’s current campaign contribution limits are contained in SMMC section 2.16.030. They establish a limit for individual contributors and a separate limit for political party committees. The individual contributor limit is $250; the committee limit is set at twice the individual limit ($500). During its goal-setting session, the City Council has inquired about these amounts, which were set in 2012. City staff is recommending that each contribution limit be doubled, as discussed below .
In 2020, the state adopted Assembly Bill 571. That Bill provided that, as of January 1, 2021, the state campaign contribution limitation would also apply to cities which had not adopted local contribution limits. The default limit for 2025-2026 is $5,900. City staff conducted a survey of cities within San Diego County. Of the 18 cities in the County, three rely on the state limit. The remaining 15 cities have limits ranging from $200 (Coronado and Del Mar) to $10,000 (El Cajon), for individuals, and $200 (Coronado) to $29,050 (City of San Diego) for committee contributions. Reviewing the cities closest in size to San Marcos yields a range of $250 - $3,600 for both individuals and committee.
Another consideration in determining the most appropriate contribution limits is the Levine Act (California Government Code section 84308). That Act, which did not previously apply to local elected officials, now prohibits elected agency officials from accepting, soliciting or directing a campaign contribution of more than $500 from a party to, or participant in, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement while the proceeding is pending, and for 12 months following the date a final decision is rendered. It also requires city council members to recuse themselves from any proceeding if the member received a campaign contribution of more than $500 from a party or participant as defined by that Act within the previous 12 months. The Levine Act limit was previously $250; it was increased to $500 as of January 1, 2025. This limit is now in excess of the City’s campaign contribution limit applicable to individuals. Increasing the City’s limit to an amount that does not exceed the Levine Act limit may help minimize confusion arising from different triggers for applicable voting regulations.
Based on the above, City staff recommends increasing the City’s campaign contribution ordinance limits. The proposed ordinance would amend SMMC section 2.16.030(b) to increase the amount a person can contribute to a campaign from $250 to $500. SMMC section 2.16.030(c) will remain the same, allowing a committee to contribute twice the amount reflected in 2.16.030(b), effectively increasing the committee limit from $500 to $1,000. It would also increase the amounts in SMMC section 2.16.070 to the new Levine Act amounts and, as staff has been informed that some potential donors would prefer to do so though their business, revise SMMC section 2.16.030 to adopt the Political Reform Act definition of “person” without modification, which would allow contributions from business entities.
If adopted, the proposed ordinance would be placed on second reading for the next regular City Council meeting and would be effective thirty days after second reading. Campaign contributions will be permitted up to the new amount as of that effective date. Thus, if a $250 contribution has already been made to a candidate, the contribution source would be able to contribute additional money to the same candidate, up to the new applicable limit, for current election contests. It should be noted that because the provisions of Chapter 2.16 apply to each election as a separate contest, the current limits would continue to apply to earlier election contests. To attempt to apply the new limits to prior election contests would likely invite challenges to the ordinance. Additionally, this update would not operate to cure voting violations as to contributed amounts that may have existed prior to the effective date of the new ordinance.
Fiscal Impact
No direct costs are associated with the ordinance.
Environmental Impact
The proposed ordinance does not have the potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and therefore does not constitute a “project” as defined by Public Resources Section 21065, and is exempt from CEQA or other environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15060(c)(3).
Attachment
1. ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SAN MARCOS MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 2.16, “CONTROLS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS,” TO INCREASE THE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
2.San Diego Cities Campaign Finance Limits Information
Prepared by: Jill D.S. Maland, Assistant City Attorney
Reviewed by: Michelle Bender, City Manager