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New Municipal Candidate Bill
Submitted by Councilman Goode on Wed, 09/06/2006 - 2:55am.
This bill looks like an improvement to me... Dan
AN ORDINANCE
Amending and clarifying the campaign finance provisions of Chapter 20-1000 of The Philadelphia Code; in particular, defining, for purposes of the Chapter, what it means to be a “candidate” for City elective office; prohibiting the acceptance of contributions in excess of the contribution limits; prohibiting candidates from spending the amount of any contribution in excess of the contribution limits, including any excess contributions made before a person became a candidate; providing that if one candidate makes contributions of his or her own resources in excess of a specified amount to his or her own campaign, then the contribution limits for all other candidates will be increased; providing for enforcement, including the imposition of civil penalties, by the Board of Ethics; and making certain technical changes; all under certain terms and conditions.
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 20-1000 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 20-1000. [CAMPAIGN] POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES
§20-1001. Definitions. For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Candidate.
(a) An individual who files nomination papers or petitions for City elective office;
(b) An individual who publicly announces his or her candidacy for City elective office.
(2) Candidate political committee. The one political committee used by a candidate to receive all contributions and make all expenditures as required by §20-1003.
(3) City elective office. The offices of Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions, City Commissioner or City Council.
[(2)] (4) Contribution. Money, gifts, forgiveness of debts, loans, or things having a monetary value incurred or received by a candidate or his/her agent for use in advocating or influencing the election of the candidate.
[(1)] (5) Covered election. Every primary, general or special election for [Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, City Commissioner and City Council] City elective office.
(6) Election Reform Board. A nonpartisan, non-governmental entity to be created that will execute and monitor voluntary contracts for [campaign] expenditure limitations and will include representation from the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia and/or the Committee of Seventy.
(7) Excess pre-candidacy contributions. The amount of a person or committee’s pre-candidacy contributions to a particular political committee that, had the contributions been made to a candidate for elective City office, would have been in excess of the contribution limitations set forth in subsections 20-1002(1) or 20-1002(2).
[(3)] (8) Expenditure. The payment, distribution, loan or advancement of money or any valuable thing by a candidate, political committee or other person for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election.
[(4)] (9) Person. [Any actual] An individual, [any business] partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship, or other form of business organization [permitted under the laws of the Commonwealth to make political contributions].
[(5)] (10) Political Committee. Any committee, club, association, political party, or other group of persons, including the [campaign] candidate political committee of a candidate for office in a covered election, which receives contributions or makes expenditures for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election.
(11) Pre-candidacy contribution. A contribution made to a political committee that: (a) has been transferred to, or otherwise becomes available for expenditure by, a candidate for City elective office; and (b) was made before such candidate became a candidate.
§20-1002. [Campaign] Contribution Limitations.
(1) [No] Except as provided in subsection (6), no individual shall make total contributions per calendar year, including contributions made to or through one or more political committees, of more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to a candidate for [Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, City Commissioner or City Council] City elective office.
(2) [No] Except as provided in subsection (6), no person, other than individuals who are covered under §20-1002(1), and no political committee shall make total contributions per calendar year of more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to a candidate for [Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, City Commissioner or City Council] City elective office.
(3) During those calendar years in which a covered election is not occurring, candidates shall be limited in receiving political committee contributions [to campaigns for such office] as follows:
(i) candidates for Mayor may receive political committee contributions totaling no more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per year;
(ii) candidates for District Attorney and City Controller may receive political committee contributions totaling no more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per year;
(iii) candidates for City Council, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court and City Commissioner may receive political committee contributions totaling no more than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per year.
(4) No candidate may spend any excess pre-candidacy contributions for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election in which he or she is a candidate, nor may any candidate political committee spend any excess pre-candidacy contributions for such purpose, including, but not limited to, the purpose of paying any expenses of such candidate political committee.
(5) A pre-candidacy contribution made in the same calendar year that a person becomes a candidate shall count toward the limitations on contributions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2).
[(4)] (6) The limitations imposed by this Chapter shall not apply to contributions from a candidate’s personal resources to the candidate’s [own campaign] candidate political committee. However, if such contributions total $250,000 or more (regardless of the time period over which such contributions are made), then the contribution limits set forth in this Section for all other candidates for that City elective office shall double.
[(5)] (7) The limitations imposed by this subsection shall not apply to volunteer labor.
[(6)] (8) On January 1, 2008 and on January 1 every four years thereafter, the maximum amounts set forth in §20-1002(1) and (2) shall be adjusted, as follows. On the December 15 immediately preceding the adjustment, the Finance Director shall calculate the "CPI Multiplier" by dividing the average consumer price index for Philadelphia during the then-current calendar year by the average consumer price index for Philadelphia during calendar year 2005. To determine the average consumer price index for Philadelphia, the Finance Director shall use the latest available figures for the Consumer Price Index for all urban Consumers (CPI-U) All Items Index, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as measured by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. After calculating the CPI Multiplier, the Finance Director shall calculate the new maximum amounts as follows:
(i) The maximum amount for purposes of §20-1002(1) shall equal $2,500, multiplied by the CPI Multiplier, rounded to the nearest $100.
(ii) The maximum amount for purposes of §20-1002(2) shall equal $10,000, multiplied by the CPI Multiplier, rounded to the nearest $100.
The Finance Director shall certify the new maximum amounts in writing to the Mayor, the City Council President and Chief Clerk of Council.
(9) No candidate for City elective office, and no political committee, shall accept any contribution which exceeds the contribution limits set forth in this Chapter.
§20-1003. [Campaign] Candidate Political Committee Accounts.
A candidate for [Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, City Commissioner or City Council] City elective office shall have no more than one [campaign] political committee and one checking account for the city office being sought, into which all contributions for such office shall be made, and out of which all [campaign] expenditures for that office shall be made. If the candidate for office maintains other political or non-political accounts for which contributions are solicited, such funds collected in these accounts shall not be used for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election [any campaign for municipal office].
§20-1004. [Campaign] Candidate Expenditure Limitations.
(1) [Campaign] Expenditure Contract.
(a) Effective for the elections for District Attorney and City Controller in the year 2005, and Mayor, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, City Commissioner and City Council in the year 2007 and thereafter, a candidate seeking election to any of said offices may sign a contract with the Election Reform Board to abide by limitations on [campaign] expenditures and agreeing to report his/her contributions and expenditures to the Election Reform Board to be publicly posted on a website developed by the Election Reform Board.
(b) The [campaign] expenditure contract for a particular covered election may be signed by an individual candidate no later than the last date upon which such individual may withdraw as an official candidate in said election.
(c) A candidate may sign [a campaign] an expenditure contract limiting his/her overall [campaign] expenditures as specified in §20-1004(2).
(2) Expenditure Limitations.
A candidate who signs [a campaign] an expenditure contract in accordance with this Chapter shall not make expenditures per covered election in excess of the following amounts:
Mayor $2,000,000
District Attorney $500,000
City Controller $500,000
City Council $250,000
Register of Wills $250,000
Sheriff $250,000
Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court $250,000
City Commissioner $250,000
§20-1005. Injunctive Relief.
Any person residing in the City of Philadelphia, including the City Solicitor may bring an action for injunctive relief in any Court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violations of, or to compel compliance with, the provisions of this Chapter. The Court may award to a prevailing plaintiff in any such action his or her costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney’s fees.
§20-1006. Required Notice of Contribution Limits.
(1) The Board of Ethics shall, at least every six months, arrange for the publication in the three newspapers with the largest circulation in the City and in such other newspapers as the Board shall determine, of a notice setting forth the contribution limits set forth in this Chapter, together with a plain English explanation of the provisions of this Chapter and the penalties and remedies for violations. Such notice shall also appear at all times on the City’s official website.
§20-1007. Penalties. A violation of this Chapter shall be punishable by a civil penalty in the amount set forth in §20-612 (relating to violations of the Standards of Conduct and Ethics). The provisions of this Chapter shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Ethics under §20-606, including, but not limited to, the Board’s powers and duties relating to education, training, issuance of advisory opinions, receipt of complaints, investigations, referral, and adjudication.
SECTION 2. Effective Date; Implementation.
(1) Effective date. This ordinance shall be take effect thirty (30) days after it becomes law.
(2) The first public notice required by §20-1006 of The Philadelphia Code shall be published within thirty (30) days after this ordinance takes effect.
W. WILSON GOODE, JR.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2006
Definitely an improvement.
Definitely an improvement.
Now, if we just add in a public funding component, we would be pretty close to where we need to be.
What is your sense of how many candidates would actually adhere to these limits? Obviously, if someone can't raise to the max, it is no skin off of their back. But, how about Mayor?
I suppose with Knox in the game, spending his 5 mil, it is sort of irrelevant this time around,
Municipal candidates must adhere to the limits.
Under the new bill, municipal candidates must adhere to the limits or be subject to penalties under the jurisdiction of the Board of Ethics.
WWGjr
Candidate vs. not a candidate
Just for clarity, is this the part that clears up the candidate vs. not a candidate question:
(4) No candidate may spend any excess pre-candidacy contributions for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election in which he or she is a candidate, nor may any candidate political committee spend any excess pre-candidacy contributions for such purpose, including, but not limited to, the purpose of paying any expenses of such candidate political committee.
So the bill basically says that regardless of whether you are a candidate according to the definition in §20-1001 (which uses the City Charter's definition of candidate), you can't spend any more than the limit that you would be subject to once you declare your candidacy. Am I reading this correctly?
If so, this would seem to clear it up quite nicely.
So the loophole remains?
Good point. I don't see anything in there about pre-candidacy expenditures. Would it even be possible to limit that kind of thing?
Keep it Whatever
Keep it fair? More like keep it political. "Progressive" ideals go out the window when political gain gets thown in the mix. There's pay-and-play, and there's pay-to-play. Comparing Rendell to the guy who purports to represent the 2nd PA Congressional District? Doesn't even merit a comparison. I remember a lot getting done when Rendell was Mayor, regardless of who paid for the campaigns.
Which in the case of someone
Which in the case of someone like Fattah, who has gotten those huge donations, will mean that he will do things like have a huge advertising blitz that introduces him to voters, right before actually declaring.
Pre-Candidacy Expenditure?! Huh?!
There is nothing wrong with draft and exploratory committees - or with their spending money on research, issue development and polling.
Furthermore, in the case of Fattah, he has at least three SEPARATE organizations. 1)The Congressional Office, 2)The Congressional Campaign, and 3)The Mayoral Exploratory Committee.
Would you rather that he use resources from the first two Congressional groups to explore a mayoral run?
You should find some satisfaction in the fact that the exploratory committee has arguably the best election counsel in town.
WWGjr
Whatever...
The population and job loss has slowed under Street. The crime and murder rate has also dropped from the Rendell years. Neighborhoods and schools have improved and so have real estate market values. Not to mention, the tax burden is lower. And Rendell had the Clinton Administration and economy to help him, Street had George W. - that's a fair analysis and I'm not a big Street fan. Plus, Rendell gave us Street.
If that is political, then what are "progressive ideals"?
WWGjr
How can you say what Chaka WILL do?
Come on, Dan!
Chaka is WAY ahead in the mayoral polls and name recognition, is on the November ballot for reelection to Congress, and has Bill Clinton coming to town to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his congressional campaign which can be used for advertising paid out of his congressional account?
Why would he possibly NEED to do what you claim? Did someone tell you that? No.
WWGjr
Fattah will spend that money on more then "research"
"There is nothing wrong with draft and exploratory committees - or with their spending money on research, issue development and polling."
But there is something wrong with spending that money on fancy websites that to the untrained eye, look exactly the same as a declared candidate's would.
Also, whay would be wrong with a law that limited the types of actions that you could use "campaign exploration" money for, e.g. NO Commercials, no advertisements, etc.
This is nothing but a legal loophole for certain people to weasel their way out of the public's attempt to reign in some of the control money has on our city.
On Street
This is totally, totally off-topic.
I saw Street speak today at the Neighboods 2006 conference. I got a much better grasp of who his base is and why they support him. Give him a room he's comfortable with and he can really grab a crowd. I had no idea.
Moreover, he an make a lot of sense when he talks. The moment he really got me today was when he previewed some upcoming announcement he's going to make with Vallas to undermine truancy and kids hanging out late at night.
He made a lot of other incisive points that impressed me as well, but when he touted this big truancy initiative, I couldn't help but think he really did have his finger on the pulse.
---
BradyDale OnLine
To clarify
You should find some satisfaction in the fact that the exploratory committee has arguably the best election counsel in town.
While I am serving as a member of the FMEC, I am not its election counsel.
So who's better than me -- Greg Harvey? Only if you're going to base it on experience, accomplishments and reputation.
Give me time.
Reeeelax. I did not say anyt
Reeeelax. I did not say anything about Fattah's name recognition, lead in polls, etc.
No one told me anything about what he plans to do with those huge contributions. But, if I had a couple of huge checks, which I already accepted, and, which I cannot use the minute I officially declare, what would I do? Advertise.
It is not like he has 100 percent name recognition. And, even if he did, a positive ad blitz about him is a pretty normal way to start a campaign. (See Rendell, Ed.)
The public's attempt?
"The public's attempt to reign in some of the control money has on our city."
Excuse me. You can sling all the mud that you want at Fattah but I'm not sure that is much of a contribution toward cleaning up anything.
And almost everytime that I've heard discussion of "loopholes", they've been aimed at Street or Fattah (with Doc thrown in at times) - and the discussion of "loopholes" continually brings images of a "lynching noose" !
WWGjr
Even better :)
I was referring to Greg Harvey ... but the FMEC is lucky to have both of you. :)
WWGjr
An ad blitz is a NORMAL way to start ... but
An ad blitz is a NORMAL way to start ... but Fattah's holding issues forums with complete voter input.
Maybe the other potential candidates need to consider ad blitzes since they need to triple their % of votes to beat him, according to every poll that I've seen.
And maybe he can loan them some money from the Clinton $1000-a-head event in October which may raise two times more money than he got from a few big checks.
WWGjr
Equal Opportunity Mud Slinging
"And almost everytime that I've heard discussion of "loopholes", they've been aimed at Street or Fattah (with Doc thrown in at times)"
I will throw mud at anyone whom I see as utilizing loopholes in the system. Is there anyone else that I should be aware of? As far as I have read only Doc & Fattah have not agreed to abide by the new finance laws (both before and after they declare)
And since when should anyone defend Street on campaign finance policy?
I am honest when I say, let's go after anyone in this city who would prefer to maintain power over cleaning up the mess we've had on our hands for hundreds of years in this city with money mattering more than what communities want & need. Please lets bring on the names, we all know there are dozens of them- you could start with most of the membership of DCC. I think that Street, Doc & Fattah come up most because they are mayoral names.
No one has violated the law yet!
No one has violated the law yet - as the court has already decided in two separate cases - in the context of the original legislative intent. And when the bill was introduced last term - almost three years ago - Fattah was not a prospective candidate even in his own mind. His candidacy is now welcomed by me! He is "political family".
For the record, our previous mayor was never subject to campaign finance reform in his runs for district attorney, mayor or governor - is he the shame of the city for accepting huge contributions? Are there any examples of his pay-to-play action that you care to cite? Three come to mind for me - one at each level - Freshie Foods, Ballard Spahr, Comcast.
Keep it fair. And simply let the majority decide the next mayoral election. That's democracy.
WWGjr