Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
(a) A "general purpose" committee is defined
in Section 82027.5 to include all committees
formed under Sections
82013(b) and (c),
and recipient committees formed under Section
82013(a) that
support or oppose multiple candidates or ballot measures, except as provided in
Section 82047.5. (In contrast, a "primarily
formed" committee, as defined in Section
82047.5 and Regulation 18247.5,
supports or opposes a single candidate or measure, or a group of specific
measures or local candidates on the same ballot.)
(b) Filing. Under Section
84215 and other provisions
contained in Chapter 4, general purpose committees file their semi-annual and
preelection statements as follows:
(1) A
state general purpose committee files with the Secretary of State's
office.
(2) A county general
purpose committee files with the county elections official.
(3) A city general purpose committee files
with the office of the city clerk.
(c) State, County or City. Under this
regulation a committee is considered a state committee unless it qualifies as a
city or county committee. To determine whether a general purpose committee is a
state, county or city committee under Section
82027.5, the following definitions
apply:
(1) City General Purpose Committee. A
"city general purpose committee" is a committee that makes more than 70 percent
of its contributions or expenditures to support or oppose candidates or
measures voted on in only one city, or in one consolidated city and county,
including contributions to city general purpose committees in the same city or
the same consolidated city and county.
(2) County General Purpose Committee. A
"county general purpose committee" is a committee that makes more than 70
percent of its contributions or expenditures to support or oppose candidates or
measures voted on in only one county, or in more than one jurisdiction within
one county, including contributions to county general purpose committees in the
same county.
(3) State General
Purpose Committee. A "state general purpose committee" is a committee that
meets the criteria in subparagraph (c)(3)(A), (c)(3)(B) or (c)(3)(C):
(A) The committee makes contributions or
expenditures to support or oppose candidates or measures voted on in state
elections, including making contributions to other state general purpose
committees, or in more than one county, and does not meet the criteria for a
city or a county committee set forth in subdivisions (c)(1) or (c)(2)
above.
(B) The committee is a
political party committee, as defined in Section
85205.
(C) The committee is a major donor or
independent expenditure committee under Section
82013(c) or (b)
that has made any amount of contributions or expenditures during the calendar
year to support or oppose candidates or measures voted on in state elections,
including contributions to other state
committees.
(d)
Review.
(1) A general
purpose committee shall verify its filing jurisdiction quarterly at the end of
March, June, September and December. An existing general purpose committee that
has not made contributions and/or expenditures of $5,000 or more to support or
oppose candidates or measures in the preceding quarterly time period is not
required to review or change its status.
(2) Newly organized committees. A recipient
committee under Section
82013(a) that
files its initial statement of organization within six months of an election in
connection with which the committee makes contributions or expenditures shall
verify its filing jurisdiction at the end of each month prior to the election,
unless the committee has not made contributions and/or expenditures of $1,000
or more to support or oppose candidates or measures during that
month.
(3) For purposes of
determining where to file under subdivision (c), a recipient committee formed
pursuant to Section
82013(a) shall
count contributions and expenditures made to support or oppose candidates or
measures during whichever of the following time periods most accurately
reflects the current and upcoming activities of the committee:
(A) The immediately preceding 24 months;
or
(B) The current two-year period,
beginning with January 1 of an odd-numbered year and ending with December 31 of
the following even-numbered year.
(4) For purposes of determining where to file
under subdivision (c), a major donor or independent expenditure committee
formed under Sections
82013(c) or (b)
qualifies anew as a committee each year, and accordingly shall count
contributions or expenditures made to support or oppose candidates or measures
during the current calendar year.
(5) In determining its status, a contributing
committee may rely on the jurisdiction stated in the receiving committee's most
recent statement of organization on file with the California Secretary of
State's office at the time the contribution is made.
(e) Change of Status.
(1) Amend Statement of Organization. A
recipient committee whose status changes from one jurisdiction to another, or
between general purpose and primarily formed shall amend its statement of
organization pursuant to Section
84103 to reflect the change. If,
after filing reports with one jurisdiction, a committee changes jurisdiction,
in addition to filing reports with a new filing officer, the committee must
continue filing reports with the original filing officer through the end of the
calendar year under Section
84215(g).
(2) Local Committee Contributing to State
Candidates from its Area. A city or county general purpose committee that makes
up to four contributions per calendar year to candidates for elective state
office whose districts include part of that jurisdiction, but which committee
would otherwise still qualify as a local committee, is not required to change
its status to a state committee based on those
contributions.
(f)
Avoidance of Disclosure. A committee shall not knowingly file in an incorrect
jurisdiction or as an incorrect type of committee, with the intention of
avoiding the appropriate legal disclosure of campaign contributions and
expenditures to the public.
1. New section
filed 1-5-2012; operative 2-4-2012. Submitted to OAL for filing pursuant to
Fair Political Practices Commission v. Office of Administrative Law, 3 Civil
C010924, California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, nonpublished
decision, April 27, 1992 (FPPC regulations only subject to 1974 Administrative
Procedure Act rulemaking requirements and not subject to procedural or
substantive review by OAL) (Register 2012, No.
1).
Note: Authority cited: Section
83112,
Government Code. Reference: Section
82027.5,
Government Code.
