Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: bribery fines.

Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay or reimburse fines, penalties, judgments, or settlements, except as specified. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. Existing law subjects any member of the Legislature or any member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other special district who asks for or receives a bribe in exchange for influence over his or her official action to imprisonment in a state prison and imposes prescribed restitution fines based on whether a bribe has actually been received. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 89513 of the Government Code, proposed by AB 1692 and SB 831, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would increase the restitution fines to twice the original amount and prohibit the use of campaign funds to pay for the restitution fines. By introducing a new prohibition, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, the bill would create a crime, thereby imposing 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 and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.