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, 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. The bill would require the return of the security system to the committee that paid for the security system 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 and reporting of the reimbursement to the Fair Political Practices Commission, as specified. 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.