Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: security expenses.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates the use of campaign funds held by candidates for elective office, elected officers, and campaign committees. The act authorizes a candidate or elected officer to use campaign funds to pay or reimburse the state for the costs of installing and monitoring a home or office electronic security system if specified conditions are met. These conditions include that the candidate or elected officer has received threats to physical safety that have been verified by law enforcement and that no more than $5,000 in campaign funds be used for this purpose. This bill would eliminate those conditions. The bill would instead authorize a candidate or elected officer to use campaign funds to pay or reimburse the state for the reasonable costs of installing and monitoring a home or office electronic security system or for another tangible item related to security, and for the reasonable costs of providing personal security to a candidate, elected officer, or the immediate family or staff of a candidate or elected officer, provided that the threat or potential threat to safety arises from the candidate's or elected officer's activities, duties, or status as a candidate or elected officer or from staff's position as staff of the candidate or elected officer. The bill would permit a maximum of $10,000 of campaign funds to be expended for these purposes by a candidate or elected officer during their lifetime. The bill would not authorize campaign funds to be used to pay, or reimburse the state, for firearms. The bill would require the return of the security system or other item to the committee that paid for the security system or other item or reimbursement by the candidate, elected officer, immediate family, or staff, to the campaign fund account of the committee that paid for the security system or other item, and reporting of the reimbursement or expenditure on the candidate's or elected officer's campaign statement, as specified. The bill would require the candidate or elected officer to maintain detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts relating to an expenditure or reimbursement for security, as specified. The bill would also require a candidate or elected officer to submit a form to the Fair Political Practices Commission that documents, under penalty of perjury, the threat or potential threat that necessitated the expenditure of campaign funds for security purposes. By requiring the submission of a form under the penalty of perjury if campaign funds are used in the above manner, the bill creates a new crime and therefore establishes a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.