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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/16/2001 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 148, 2001, AMENDING AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 11 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL DATE: October 16, 2001FROM: Wanda Krajicek SUBJECT: First Reading of Ordinance No. 148, 2001, Amending Chapter 7 of the City Code Relating to Election Campaigns. RECOMMENDATION: Staff and the Council Governance Committee recommend adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This Ordinance amends Article V of Chapter 7 of the City Code relating to campaign practices in local elections. The majority of the changes proposed are intended to provide clarification of existing provisions. CKGROUND: In November 2000, City Council adopted Ordinance No. 162, 2000 establishing local provisions regulating election campaigns, which provisions supersede the provisions of the Fair Campaign Practices Act(FCPA) contained in Article 45 of Title 1 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, with the exception of Section 1-45-117 pertaining to limitations on contributions by state and political subdivisions. Inasmuch as practical, the local provisions very closely follow the provisions of the FCPA. The enactment of local provisions has embodied regulations pertaining to election campaigns in a single set of laws, thereby eliminating confusion caused by the need to be familiar with the requirements of both the FCPA and the City Code. In addition, the enactment of local provisions allows the Council to make amendments as deemed necessary to ensure that local election campaigns are free from undue influence and that full and timely disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures occurs. At the time of adoption of the local provisions, it was anticipated that amendments to the provisions would be identified as the local provisions were put into use. The local provisions enacted in 2000 were applied for the first time during the April 2001 election. As staff received questions from candidates, issue committees, and the public, notes were made of issues that should be reviewed and perhaps amended for purposes of clarification. DATE: October 16, 2001 2 ITEM NUMBER: 11 Following is a summary of the proposed amendments: • Amends definition of "ballot issue, ballot question, or issue" to include any measure for which recall, initiative or referendum proceedings have been commenced. • Amends definition of"candidate"to include an elected official who is the subject of recall proceedings. • Amends definition of"independent expenditure"to include advocating the recall of a candidate as a purpose for making an independent expenditure. • Amends definition of"political committee"to exclude any partnership,committee, association, corporation, labor organization or other organization or group of persons that was previously established for a primary purpose outside of the scope of elections. • Deletes provision that establishes separate reporting requirements for a political committee whose purpose is the recall of any elected official. • Adds a provision regulating joint contributions that exceed the contribution limit for a single person. • Clarifies that unexpended campaign contributions returned to contributors are not considered reimbursements (which are prohibited). • Clarifies that disclosure reports may be filed by fax,provided that the original copy of the report is filed no later than the close of business on the next business day. • Adds a provision requiring any committee which has not accepted any contributions or contributions in kind,made any expenditures,or entered into any obligations to file reports on specific dates certifying those facts. • Makes other minor amendments clarifying the application of certain provisions during a recall election. Governance Committee Review On October 2,2001,the Governance Committee reviewed a draft of this Ordinance and recommended a change to the provision relating to joint contributions. Specifically, the Committee asked that language be added that would allow a joint contribution if the check is signed by all parties to the joint contribution. With that change,the Committee unanimously recommended adoption of the Ordinance. In addition, the Committee emphasized that Council and staff continue to monitor complaints and to address concerns and issues raised by citizens regarding fair campaign practices and, because this is an off-election year, the Council will probably not address any additional issues until after the April 2003 election. The minutes of the Governance Committee meeting are attached. . ORDINANCE NO. 148, 2001 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RELATING TO ELECTION CAMPAIGNS WHEREAS,in 1996,the voters of the state of Colorado approved an initiative enacting the Fair Campaign Practices Act(the"FCPA")to help ensure that elections in the state,and the political processes related thereto,are free from undue influence by wealthy contributors and special interest groups; and WHEREAS, the City Council agrees that the interests of the public are best served by limiting campaign contributions, full and timely disclosure of campaign contributions and strong enforcement of campaign laws; and WHEREAS, the Council believes that these interests can best be advanced with regard to local elections by local laws regulating the campaign activities related to such elections; and WHEREAS,on November 21,2000,the City Council adopted on second reading Ordinance No. 162, 2000, which approved a new Article V of Chapter 7 of the City Code establishing local election campaign provisions, which provisions supersede the provisions of the FCPA; and WHEREAS,the local campaign provisions were applied for the first time in conjunction with the regular municipal election held on April 3, 2001; and WHEREAS,after experiencing the application ofthe local provisions,staff is recommending amendments to certain sections ofthe campaign provisions primarily for the purpose of clarification; and WHEREAS,the Council believes that the interests of the public are best served by periodic review and amendment of the local provisions. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the definitions of "ballot issue, ballot question or issue," "candidate," "contribution," "independent expenditure," and "political committee" contained in Section 7-132 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins are hereby amended to read as follows: See. 7-132. Definitions. Ballot issue, ballot question or issue shall mean any measure put to a vote of the registered electors of the city by the City Council at any election to be held under the • provisions of the Charter. For purposes ofthis Article V,ballot issue, ballotquestion or issue shall also mean any,measure for which recall, initiative or referendum 10).Article:, Candidate shall means 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. COzdalarr, R Contribution shall mean: (1) The payment, loan, pledge or advance of money, or guarantee of a loan, made to any candidate committee,issue committee or political committee; (2) Any payment made to a third party for the benefit of any candidate committee, issue committee or political committee; (3) Anything of value given,directly or indirectly,to a candidate committee for the purpose of promoting the candidate's nomination, retention, reeall or election; or (4) 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, issue committee or political committee. Contribution shall not include services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or issue committee. Independent expenditure shall mean the payment of money by any person for the purpose of advocating the election, or defeat, or recall 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 committees,in the regular course and scope of their business and political messages sent solely to their members. . Political committee shall mean two (2) or more persons who are elected, appointed or chosen, or have associated themselves, for the purpose of making contributions to candidate committees, issue committees or other political committees, or for the purpose of making independent expenditures. Political committee shall not include: (1) ilssue committees or candidate committees as otherwise defined in this Section;o (2) Any P p. 4 tttee, sOnp a labor. tinn or €+fltet=:or o WO0 =1io.,.. ., usl established,*,a Section 2. That Section 7-133 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended by the addition of a new subparagraph(d)to read as follows: Sec. 7-133. Candidate affidavit; disclosure statement; failure to file. (a) When any individual becomes a candidate,such individual shall certify,by affidavit filed with the City Clerk within ten(10)days,that the candidate is familiar with the provisions of this Article. . (b) Each candidate shall file a financial disclosure statement pursuant to § 2- 636 with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after filing acceptance of nomination. (c) Failure of any person to file the affidavit or disclosure statement required under this Section shall result in the disqualification of such person as a candidate for the office being sought.Disqualification shall occur only after the City Clerk has sent a notice to the person by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the person's last known residence address. The notice shall state that the person will be disqualified as a candidate if the person fails to file the appropriate document within five (5) business days of receipt of the notice. (d) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to any elected official who is the subject of recall:proceedings. Section 3. That Section 7-134 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-134. Registration of committees. (a) All candidate committees,political committees and issue committees shall register with the City Clerk before accepting or making any contributions. • Registration shall include a statement listing: (1) The committee's full name, spelling out any acronyms used therein; (2) A natural person authorized to act as a registered agent; (3) A street address and telephone number for the principal place of operations; (4) All affiliated candidates and committees; (5) The purpose or nature of interest of the committee. shall register with the Gity Glerk within ten(10)business day�of reeeivitig its first thert fauften(14) days and seven(4)days before t1te reeall eleetion and dtirty(30) Section 4. That Section 7-135 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-135. Campaign contributions. (a) Limits. No person may make contributions and/or contributions in kind totaling more than one hundred dollars ($100.) to the candidate committee of any candidate for the office of Mayor. No person may make contributions and/or contributions in kind totaling more than seventy-five dollars($75.)to the candidate committee of any candidate for the office of Councilmember.No person shall make a contribution or contribution in kind in the name of another person or knowingly permit one's name to be used by another person to effect such a contribution or contribution in kind. These limitations shall apply to all contributions or contributions in kind, whether made directly to a 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) Contributions made to a candidate committee by another candidate committee established by the same candidate for the office of Mayor or Councilmember. (b) Joint,contrbbuor : Na person silk mak a °tsuttctts jc►ntly with anatt i ,persgn tluoug tktetbce of a c .dra atmtl -aaaunc t su "_ ' *(#pF his SectYo i9fi(i )the cW,kiVsipftd3W Mrs in which eventt6e amount of the total contribution shall:NaFlocted egttailts a¢nattg ail sti h peas©n unless a diffe ent allocation is specified oo,, ,face of the check No capl . .rprnstttee,tlue 'iteeargstttpalca lknb , ,,accelst M. (1 ) No later than ten(10)business days after receiving a contribution in excess of the limits set forth in this Section,the candidate committee that received the contribution shall remit the excess to the contributor. (ed) Prohibited contributors. No candidate committee, issue committee or political committee shall knowingly accept contributions from any person who is not a citizen of the United States, from a foreign government or from any foreign corporation that does not have authority to transact business in this state pursuant to . Article 115 of Title 7, C.R.S. (e) Contributions from one candidate committee to another. (dl) No candidate committee shall make a contribution or contribution in kind to, or accept a contribution or contribution in kind from, a candidate committee of another candidate. (e2) No candidate committee shall accept a contribution or contribution in kind from a candidate committee of the same candidate that was established or maintained for a federal, state or county election campaign or office. (f) Recordkeeping. All contributions received by a candidate committee,issue committee or political committee shall be deposited and maintained in a financial institution in a separate account whose title shall include the name of the committee. All records pertaining to such accounts shall be maintained by the committee for ninety (90) days following any election in which the committee received contributions unless a complaint has been filed under§ 7-143(a)alleging a violation of the provisions of this Article, in which case they shall be maintained until final disposition of the complaint and any consequent court proceedings. Such records shall be subject to inspection at any hearing held pursuant to this Article. (g) Rezanburseptebitee ; No person shall make a contribution to a candidate committee, issue committee or political committee with the expectation that some or all of the amounts of such contribution will be reimbursed by another person. No person shall be reimbursed for a contribution made to any candidate committee,issue committee or political committee,nor shall any person make such reimbursement Ann ut �l,cataipaigpa13tr ettvaepp b} a Section 5. That Section 7-136(f) and (g) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended, and a new subparagraph(h)added,to read as follows: Sec. 7-136. Disclosure; filing of reports. (f) ReportsA report required to be filed by this Article are is timely if the original report is received by the City Clerk not later than the close of business on the due date or if a copy of the report is filed by fax on or before the date due and the original report is filed not later than the close of business on the next business day. For the purpose of this provision,the original report shall mean a copy containing an original signature of the person completing the report. (g) Any report that is deemed by the City Clerk to be incomplete or inconsistent with the requirements of this Division by the Gity Glerk shall be accepted on a conditional basis, and the committee treasurer shall be notified in writing as to any deficiencies found. Such notice may be delivered in person, by mail, by fax, or, if an electronic mail address is on file with the City Clerk, by electronic mail.The committee treasurer shall have seven(7)business days from the date of delivery of such notice to file an amended report that cures the deficiencies. (h) Any candidate committee, political committee or issue committee which has not,accepted any contributions or contributions Inkind,made any expenditures, or entered into any obligations during a reporting period,shall file a report with the City, Clerk on the days specified in subparagraph (c) above certifying that the committee has not accepted any contributions or contributions in kind,made any exPenditures,or entered into any obligations during the relevant reporting period. Section 6. That Section 7-137(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-137. Reports to be public record. (a) Upon receipt of any campaign report submitted pursuant to this Article,the City Clerk shall make available such report for public inspection. The campaign report filed with the City Clerk fourteen(14) days prior to the election pursuant to § 7-136 above shall be published by the City Clerk in a newspaper of general circulation in the city,which publication shall occur no less than seven(7)days prior to the election. The campaign report filed with the City Clerk thirty (30) days after the election pursuant to § 7-136 above shall also be published by the City Clerk in a newspaper of general circulation in the city,which publication shall occur no leas mate than seven(7)days after the City Clerk's receipt of the report. Section 7. That Section 7-138(a) and (b) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-138. Unexpended campaign contributions. (a) Unexpended campaign contributions to a candidate committee may be: (1) Contributed to a political party; (2) Contributed to a candidate committee established by the same candidate for a ubsequent campaign,subject to the limitations set forth in § 7-135(e)(2), if the candidate committee making such a . contribution is affirmatively closed by the candidate no later than ten(10) days after the date such a contribution is made; (3) Donated to a charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service; (4) Returned to the contributors, In no event shall contributions to a candidate committee be used for personal purposes not reasonably related to supporting the election or retention of the candidate. (b) In addition to any use described in Subsection(a)of this Section, a person elected to the office of Mayor or Councilmember, or retained;in office following a recall attempt, may use unexpended campaign contributions held by the person's candidate committee for any of the following purposes: (1) Voter registration; (2) Political issue education, which includes obtaining information from or providing information to the electorate; (3) Postsecondary educational scholarships; (4) To defray reasonable and necessary expenses related to mailings and similar communications to constituents; (5) Any expenses that are directly related to such person's official duties as an elected official, including,but not limited to,expenses for the purchase or lease of office equipment and supplies, room rental for public meetings, necessary travel and lodging expenses for legislative education such as seminars,conferences and meetings on legislative issues,and telephone and pager expenses. Section 8. That Section 7-139 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be amended to read as follows: Sec. 7-139. Independent expenditures. Any person or political committee making independent expenditures totaling more than one hundred dollars ($100.) shall deliver notice in writing of such independent expenditures to the City Clerk no later than three(3)business days after the day that such funds are obligated. Said notice shall include the following information: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the person making the independent expenditures; (2) The name of the candidate whom the independent expenditures are intended to support or oppose; (3) The name and address of the vendor(s)providing the property,materials or services; (4) A detailed description of the independent expenditures; (5) The amount of the independent expenditures; and (6) The date the funds were obligated. For the purposes of this provision, funds shall be considered to have been obligated as soon as an agreement is reached for the provision of the property, materials or services in question,regardless of when payment is to be made for such property or services. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 16th day of October, A.D. 2001, and to be presented for final passage on the 6th day of November,A.D. 2001. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 6th day of November, A.D. 2001. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk COUNCIL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE • October 2, 2001 The Council Governance Committee met on October 2, 2001 at 4:07 p.m. in the City Manager's Conference Room. In attendance at the meeting were Committee members Bill Bertschy, Ray Martinez, and Karen Weitkunat. Staff members present at the meeting were City Manager John Fischbach, Assistant City Attorney Carrie Daggett, Deputy City Manager Diane Jones, City Clerk Wanda Krajicek, and Chief Deputy City Clerk Rita Harris. Draft Ordinance Making Amendments to Local Election Campaign Provisions City Clerk Krajicek noted that this Ordinance was originally scheduled on the September 18, 2001 agenda, but was withdrawn after Councilmember Tharp raised questions and asked that the Governance Committee provide a recommendation. She pointed out that the second page of the agenda item summary includes a list of the amendments contained in the Ordinance and asked if the Committee had questions about any of the amendments. Mayor Martinez asked for clarification of a new proposed provision prohibiting joint contributions that exceed the contribution limit for a single person. Chief Deputy City Clerk Harris explained that during the April 2001 election campaign,many of the contribution and expenditure reports contained joint contributions from married couples (for example, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith - $150). She stated that the Clerk's office received several questions about those contributions and how anyone could be sure that such a contribution was split evenly and in compliance with contribution limits. This amendment would limit joint contributions to the amount a single individual could make ($75 for mayoral candidates). Assistant City Attorney Daggett stated an possible alternative would be to have both parties sign a joint check with direction on how the contribution is to be split. The Committee agreed to add that alternative to the Ordinance. Mayor Martinez asked for clarification of a new proposed provision requiring any committee which has not accepted any contributions or made any expenditures to file reports reflecting that information. City Clerk Krajicek stated that years ago,under the Campaign Reform Act which was repealed and replaced with the Fair Campaign Practices Act, this type of report was required. Ms.Hams pointed out that the primary reason for proposing this amendment is to avoid uncertainty when a committee fails to file a report on the date due. Currently, if no report is filed, staff does not know if it is because the committee missed the filing date or because the committee had nothing to report. She stated citizens who routinely review the reports often ask staff why there is no report for a particular committee. The report reflecting no contributions and no expenditures will be limited to one page and be made as simple as possible. Mayor Pro Tern Bertschy had a question about the amended definition of"political committee". Ms.Harris stated that the definition has been amended to state that any group previously established for a primary purpose outside of the scope of elections (such as the Sierra Club) that makes an expenditure to support or oppose an issue or support a candidate is not a political committee. It was noted that, if such a group did make an expenditure, they would be required to report it as an independent expenditure. Ms. Harris stated that candidate committees, issue committees and political committees are two or more people who have associated themselves for election-related purposes. In the case of a group like the Sierra Club,they were formed for other purposes,and not specifically for participating in an election. Ms. Krajicek pointed out that the draft Ordinance does not address the concerns expressed by Councilmember Tharp regarding contributions in the last election cycle made to candidates who did know the contributor. Ms. Krajicek stated Councilmember Tharp questioned whether those contributors may have been reimbursed by their employer. She noted that no complaints were filed during the April election. In response to a question from the Committee, Ms. Hams pointed out that there are currently provisions in the Code that address this issue. Section 7-135(a) states in part". . .No person shall make a contribution or contribution in kind in the name of another person or knowingly permit one's name to be used by another person to effect such a contribution or contribution in kind. . . ." In addition, Section 7-135(g)states: "No person shall make a contribution to a candidate committee, issue committee or political committee with the expectation that some or all of the amounts of such contribution will be reimbursed by anotherperson.No person shall be reimbursedfora contribution made to any candidate committee,issue committee orpolitical committee,norshall anyperson make such reimbursement." Councilmember Weitkunat noted that Council and staff continue to monitor complaints and to address concerns and issues raised by citizens regarding fair campaign practices and,being an off- election year, the Council will probably not address any additional issues until after the April 2003 election. The Committee unanimously recommended adoption of the Ordinance with the aforementioned amendment relating to joint contributions. Other Business In response to a question from Mayor Pro Tern Bertschy, Ms. Krajicek stated the County is conducting the election by mail ballot and that ballots will be mailed to all active voters. An elector is considered "active" if he or she (1) cast a ballot in the last General Election (November of even-numbered years);(2)registered to vote since the last General Election; or(3)made an update (such as an address or name change) to their voter registration record. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m.