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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/03/2000 - ITEMS RELATING TO ELECTIONS 71 B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 32 A- DATE: October 3, 2000 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL FROM:• Wanda Krajicek SUBJECT: Items Relating to Elections. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on Second Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 121, 2000, Amending Section 7-127 of the City Code Relating to Campaign Contribution Limits. B. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 122, 2000, Amending Section 7-129 of the City Code Relating to Election Campaign Reports. At its June 27,2000 Study Session,Council discussed the current limit($50)imposed on campaign contributions. The consensus of the Council was that the limits should be increased to $100 for Mayoral candidates and$75 for District candidates. Ordinance No. 121, 2000,which was adopted on First Reading on September 19, 2000 by a 4-2 vote, implements those increases which will be effective well in advance of campaign periods for the April 2001 election. Ordinance No. 121,2000, also conforms several of the definitions in this Section to those contained in the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA). Ordinance No. 121,2000 has been amended on Second Reading to delete reference to the candidate receiving contributions, since the definition of"candidate committee" includes the candidate. In addition,a provision relating to independent expenditures previously adopted in Ordinance No. 125, 2000, has been incorporated in this Ordinance. On September 5, Councilmember Mason asked that an option be brought forward requiring that all campaign reports that are filed with the Municipal Clerk, either under the FCPA or the City Code, be current as of two days prior to the filing date. Ordinance No. 122, 2000,which was adopted on First Reading on September 19, 2000 by a 4-2 vote, amends Section 7-129 of the Code, requiring that all reports filed with the City Clerk be current as of two (2) days prior to the filing date. AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 32 A-B DATE: September 19, 2000 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Wanda Krajicek SUBJECT: Items Relating to Elections. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption o CeO i OPY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 121, 2000, Amending Section 7-127 of the City Code Relating to CampaignC ®R ( B. First Reading of Ord mendi Section 7-129 of the City Code Relating to Election C ns A ) These ordinances were presented for Council consideration on September 5, 2000, and after discussion, consideration was postponed until September 19, 2000. Staff has made revisions to Ordinance No. 122, 2000, in accordance with the direction received on September 5. At its June 27,2000 Study Session,Council discussed the current limit($50)imposed on campaign contributions. The consensus of the Council was that the limits should be increased to $100 for Mayoral candidates and $75 for District candidates. If adopted, this Ordinance (Item A) will implement those increases an ill e e ti w i v ce of campaign periods for the April 2001 election. The Or ance wi also c f ver the definitions in this Section to those contained in the Fair C aign tice c FCPA). On September 5, Councilmember Mason asked that an option be brought forward requiring that all campaign reports that are filed with the Municipal Clerk, either under the FCPA or the City Code, be current as of two days prior to the filing date. Accordingly, two options of Ordinance No. 122, 2000 (Item B) are being presented for Council's consideration. Option "A" is essentially the same as the Ordinance presented to the Council at the September 5 meeting. It would make the requirement for the additional campaign report that is required under the City Code consistent with the state requirement, that is, the report would have to be current as of five (5) days prior to the filing date. Option 'B" would require that all reports filed with the City Clerk be current as of two (2) days prior to the filing date. DATE: September 19, 2000 2 ITEM NUMBER: 32 A-B BACKGROUND: Campaign Contribution Limits: The City Code presently imposes a$50 limit on the amount of campaign contributions made by any one person to a candidate's campaign in a City election. The imposition of a limit on campaign contributions has been consistently upheld by the courts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently held that a campaign contribution limit must not be so unreasonably low as to dramatically affect the funding of campaigns and revent candidates and Dolitical committees from amassing the resources necessary for effect' ad it he i ronis, cation that the $50 limitation imposed by the City of Fort lins has is eff t al el the amount of the limitation has not been increased since emb 86. A survey of eleven other Colorado cities(Arvada,Aspen,Aurora,Boulder,Colorado Springs,Grand Junction,Greeley,Lakewood,Longmont,Loveland,and Thornton)revealed that seven of the cities have no limit on campaign contributions. Of the remaining four,two have limits of$100, while the other two have limits of$750 for Mayoral candidates and $500 for all other Councilmembers. Staff has also included amendments to the definitions contained in Section 7-127 of the Code in order to conform the definitions, insofar as applicable, to the definitions contained in the FCPA. Election Campaign Reports The FCPA, as recently amende ous 5, pro ' that the reporting periods for all reports required to be filed with the municipal clerk shall close five (5) calendar days prior to the effective date of filing. Section 7-129 of the City Code requires an additional campaign report,and requires that it be current as of two (2) days prior to the filing date. On September 5, staff recommended that the reporting period for the additional report be changed to five(5)days prior to the filing date to be consistent with the reporting periods contained in the FCPA in order to eliminate any possibility for confusion. On September 5,Councilmembe n th t' ght forward requiring that all campaign reports that are fileLthe unici er i der the FCPA or the City Code, be current as of two days prioI date mgly, o options are being presented for Council's consideration. Opis al he same the Ordinance presented to the Council at the September 5 meeting. It would make the requirement for the additional campaign report that is required under the City Code consistent with the state requirement, that is, the report would have to be current as of five days prior to the filing date. Option "B" would require that all reports filed with the City Clerk be current as of two days prior to the filing date. ORDINANCE NO. 121, 2000 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 7-127 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COI.LINS RELATING TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the City Council shall act by ordinance to establish a limit on the amount that any person or entity may contribute in support of a candidate for Council on the ballot at any City election; and WHEREAS, Section 7-127 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins provides that no person may make contributions in excess of fifty dollars($50.00)to any candidate or authorized committee of such candidate; and WHEREAS, the Council has determined that Section 7-127 of the City Code should be amended to increase the contributions limits. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Section 7-127 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-127. Limits. . (a) No person may make contributions and/or contributions in kind totaling more than one hundred dollars ($100.) to the Nr fist , -e candidate committee of stm+any candidate fot tb _. ee Aii j o . No person may make contributions andlor contributions in kind totaling more than seventy five dollars ($75.) to any candidate fb. the office of eotrimilineiribet ot the candidate committee of meh any candidate fotthe o gz of��crtltYciltnembcr. These limitations shall apply to all contributions or contributions in kind, whether made directly to a candidate or candidate committee or indirectly via earmarked gifts passed through an intermediary, except that these limitations shall not apply to: (1) Contributions or contributions in kind made by a candidate to his or her own candidate committee; (2) Independent expenditures; (3) Monetary loans that are: (a) personally guaranteed in writing by the candidate,the candidate's immediate family or a business entity in which the candidate owns at least five (5) percent; or (b) secured by real or personal property owned by the candidate, the candidate's immediate family or a business entity in which the candidate owns at least five (5) percent; or (4) The value of volunteer services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of a candidate or a candidate committee. (b, (101111i, k'l 4"' thdoii in to mil (7c) For the purposes of this Section,the following definitions shall apply: Candidate shall mean any person who seeks nomination or election to the office of Mayor or Councilmember at any city election. A person is a candidate if the person has publicly announced an intention to seek such election or has filed nominating petitions for the office of Mayor or Councilmember or has been chosen to fill any vacancy in the office of Mayor or Councilmember. Candidate committee shall mean a person, including the candidate, or persons with the common purpose of receiving contributions and making expenditures under the authority of a candidate. A candidate shall have only one candidate committee. A candidate committee shall be considered open and active until affirmatively closed by the candidate or by action of the secretary of state. Contribution shall mean: (1) The payment, loan, pledge, or advance of money, or guarantee of a loan, made to any candidate committee; (2) Any payment made to a third party for the benefit of any candidate committee; (3) The fair market value of any gift or loan of property made to any candidate committee; (4) Anything of value given,directly or indirectly,to a candidate for the purpose of promoting the candidate's nomination, retention, recall, or election; or • (5) With regard to a contribution for which the contributor receives compensation or consideration of less than equivalent value to such contribution, including, but not limited to, items of perishable or nonpermanent value, goods, supplies, services, or participation in a campaign-related event, an amount equal to the value in excess of such compensation or consideration as determined by the candidate committee. Contribution shall not include services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, political committee, issue committee, or political party. Contribution in kind shall mean the fair market value of a gift or loan of any item of real or personal property, other than money, made to or for any candidate committee for the purpose of influencing the nomination, retention, election, or defeat of any candidate. Personal services shall be considered a contribution in kind by the person paying compensation therefor. In determining the value to be placed on contributions in kind, a reasonable estimate of fair market value shall be used. Contribution in kind shall not include an endorsement of a candidate by any person and shall not include the payment of compensation for legal and accounting services rendered to a candidate if the person paying for the services is the regular employer of the individual rendering the services and the services are solely for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of this section or the provisions of the state . Fair Campaign Practices Act. Independent expenditure shall mean payment of money by any person for the purpose of advocating the election or defeat of a candidate,which expenditure is not controlled by, or coordinated with, any candidate or any agent of such candidate. "Independent expenditure" shall include expenditures for political messages which unambiguously refer to any specific public office or candidate for such office, but shall not include expenditures made by persons, other than political parties and political committees, in the regular course and scope of their business and political messages sent solely to their members. Person shall mean any individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, labor organization or other organization or group of persons. • Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 19th day of September, A.D. 2000,and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of October,A.D. 2000. Mayor Pro Tem ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 3rd day of October, A.D. 2000. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 122, 2000 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ICTfY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 7-129 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RELATING TO ELECTION CAMPAIGN REPORTS WHEREAS, Article 45 of Title 1 of the Colorado Revised Statutes,commonly referred to as the Fair Campaign Practices Act (the "FCPA"), contains provisions requiring certain election campaign reports to be filed with the City Clerk; and WHEREAS,the FCPA, as amended by the enactment of House Bill 00-1095,provides that the reporting periods for all reports required to be filed with the municipal clerk shall close five calendar days prior to the effective date of filing; and WHEREAS, in addition to the reports required by the FCPA, the Council has required in Section 7-129 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins that an additional preelection report be filed with the City Clerk on the fourteenth day prior to the date of the election; and WHEREAS, Section 7-129 provides that the additional report be current in all respects as of two days prior to the filing date; and . WHEREAS,Council believes that the reporting period for all campaign election reports filed with the City Clerk should be the same, and that all such reports should be current as of two days prior to the filing date of such report. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Section 7-129 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec.7-129. Additional preelection report required; timeliness of reports. In addition to the reports required to be filed pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-45-101 et seq., C.R.S., each candidate and campaign treasurer for candidates or issues shall, on the fourteenth day prior to the date of the election, file another campaign report,which report shall include all information required in Section 1-45- 108, C.R.S. All campaign election reports filed with the City Clerk, whether under Section 1-45-101 et seq., C.R.S. or under the provisions of this Section, shall be current in all respects as of two(2)days prior to the date upon which each such report is to be filed. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 19th day of September,A.D.2000,and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of October,A.D. 2000. ATTEST: Mayor Pro Tem City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 3rd day of October, A.D. 2000. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk