California Fair Political Practices Commission

Frequently Asked Questions:Campaign Activity
Getting Started…………………..Page 1

Ballot Measure Committees……Page 3

Fundraising…………….............. Page 4

Expenditures.……………………. Page 6

Communications……………….. Page 7

24-Hour Contribution Reports... Page 7

Enforcement.……………………. Page 8

Candidates……….……………..…Page 8

The FAQs listed below are selected from questions people frequently ask the FPPC about
campaign-related activity under the Political Reform Act (“Act”). All efforts have been made toprovide helpful, easy to understand, answers to common questions. Please note that this fact
sheet cannot address all of the unique variables and circumstances related to campaign activity.
For more information, see the FPPC’s campaign disclosure manuals or contact the FPPC withspecific questions.
Getting Started Questions

1. Q. When must a committee file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) with the Secretaryof State’s office?
A. The Form 410 is required to be filed within 10 days of raising $2,000 or more, which is
the threshold for qualifying as a committee.

2. Q. Is it possible for a committee to receive a committee ID number prior to meeting the$2,000 threshold?

A. Yes. The Secretary of State will issue a committee ID number upon receipt of the Form
410, even if $2,000 or more has not yet been raised. The “Not Yet Qualified” box should
be marked and once the $2,000 threshold is met, an amendment must be filed within 10
days to report the date the committee qualified.

3. Q. Is there a fee to register as a committee?

A. Yes. Committees are required to pay a $50 fee to the Secretary of State within 15 daysof filing the Form 410. In addition, a $50 fee is required to be paid to the Secretary ofState by January 15 of each year until the committee terminates.

4. Q. Who must be identified on the Form 410?

A. The name and contact information of the treasurer and principal officers, if any, must be
provided, in addition to any candidate controlling the committee. If the committee will
have an assistant treasurer, his or her contact information must be also included.

5. Q. Are there any specific accounting qualifications for someone to serve as a committee’s
treasurer?
A. No. However, no individual should accept the position as a mere figurehead. To
adequately perform the duties, the treasurer must have a basic understanding of thecampaign finance laws and the responsibilities of a committee treasurer.

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6. Q. May a candidate serve as his or her committee’s treasurer?
A. Yes.

7. Q. Who is considered the principal officer for a non-candidate controlled committee?

A. The principal officer(s) is the individual or individuals responsible for approving thepolitical activities of a committee, including: 1) authorizing the content of committee
communications; 2) authorizing the committee’s expenditures; and, 3) determining thecommittee’s campaign strategy. The principal officer must ensure that accurate records
are maintained and may be held liable for violations. A committee may have several
principal officers. If there are more than three individuals serving as principal officers,
only three must identified on the Form 410. If no individual other than the treasurer is aprincipal officer, the treasurer must be identified as both the treasurer and the principal
officer.

8. Q. After filing a Form 410, what is the next form required to be filed?

A. Typically, the Form 497 (24-Hour Contribution Report) is the next required form. In fact,
the Form 497 may be required to be filed before the Form 410 is required if thecommittee qualifies within the 90 days before the election or on the date of the election.
During this period, a committee must file a Form 497 within 24 hours each time it
receives contributions that total in the aggregate $1,000 or more from a single source.

9. Q. What are the requirements for naming a candidate’s committee or a committee primarily
formed to support or oppose a ballot measure?

A. For a candidate’s campaign committee, the name must include the candidate’s last
name, office sought, and year of the election. For example, “Wallace for Supervisor
2020” or “Re-Elect Rosa in 2020 for Water Board” would meet the naming requirements.
For a primarily formed ballot measure committee, the name must include:•••

The measure’s designation (e.g., Proposition 124; Measure BB);The committee’s position (support or oppose) on the measure;

If sponsored, the name(s) of the sponsor(s) (e.g., “sponsored by the Auto Dealers
Association”);

For a comprehensive list of all committee naming requirements, see the Form 410
instructions.

10. Q. May a committee use an electronic recordkeeping system or are records required to be
kept on paper?
A. Electronic records are permitted so long as all of the required information is collected
and recorded in a timely and uniform manner that ensures the information is accurate
and reliable. Committees are responsible for ensuring that electronic records can beread and/or printed for auditing purposes during the required retention period – four
years from the date the campaign statement was filed.

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11. Q. Is a committee required to have a tax ID number?

A. The FPPC does not require a tax ID number; however, some banks may require one inorder to open a campaign bank account. A tax ID number may be requested through theInternal Revenue Service website, www.irs.gov.

Ballot Measure Committee Questions
12. Q. A group has raised $2,000 to circulate petitions for a ballot measure. When does thegroup trigger reporting obligations?

A. Reporting obligations begin when proponents start gathering signatures (initiative) or
when a legislative body acts to place the proposal on the ballot (referendum). Certain
contributions received and expenditures made are required to be disclosed even if they
were received or made before the proposal became a measure. (See Campaign
Disclosure Manual 3 for details.)

13. Q. May a candidate control a ballot measure committee? If so, is the candidate required tofile a Form 501 (Candidate Intention Statement)?

A. Yes, a candidate may control a ballot measure committee so long as the committee’s
funds are not used to support the candidate’s election or to support or oppose othercandidates. The candidate’s last name must be included in the committee name and theForm 410 requires specified information to be disclosed related to the measure ormeasures for which the committee is formed. A Form 501 is not required.

14. Q. Are there any special reporting requirements for ballot measure committees controlled
by a candidate?

A. Ballot measure committees controlled by a state officeholder (e.g., Governor, legislator)
or a candidate for elective state office have additional disclosure requirements whenreporting expenditures. For each expenditure of $100 or more, the committee must
identify the measure or potential measure associated with the expenditure. For example,
a payment to a campaign consultant for research or polling on a specific measure in a
local jurisdiction could state: Research/polling for Measure B, City of Sacramento. A
committee’s expenditures for operating costs, administrative overhead, fundraising,travel, compliance costs and attorney fees do not require the itemization if the payment
cannot be attributed to a specific measure or potential measure.

15. Q. During the 90 days before an election, a local primarily formed ballot measure committee
for Measure A made a $10,000 contribution to another primarily formed ballot measurecommittee for Measure A. Does this contribution trigger the filing of a 24-hour
Contribution Report (Form 497)?
A. Yes, both committees are required to file a Form 497, even if they are both formed tosupport the same ballot measure.

16. Q. During the 90 days before an election, supporters of a ballot measure, in coordination
with the primarily formed ballot measure committee, will be paying for phone banks. The
payments will be considered nonmonetary contributions to the primarily formed ballot
measure committee. Rather than file several reports, may the committee file one Form
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497 estimating the value of all nonmonetary contributions anticipated to be received fromthis source during the 90-day period before the election and on the date of the election?

A. Yes. The committee may make a good faith estimate of the value that will be contributed
during the period. The Form 497 must be filed within 48 hours of receiving the initial$1,000 in nonmonetary contributions. If the actual value differs from the estimatedamount by 20 percent or more, an amendment must be filed within 24 hours ofdetermining the correct amount.
17. Q. If a non-profit organization makes a contribution to a primarily formed ballot measurecommittee, what are the campaign reporting requirements for the non-profit
organization?

A. Depending on the amount of the contribution and several other factors, the organization
may be required to register as a recipient committee and file campaign reports disclosing
its donors or the organization may instead qualify as a major donor committee and berequired to file the Form 461. To determine the applicable reporting requirements, see
the detailed information in the Multipurpose Organizations Reporting Political Spending
fact sheet.

Fundraising Questions

18. Q. If a committee receives two monetary contributions of $99 from one contributor, must thecontributor be itemized?
A. Yes. When a person’s contributions, including monetary, non-monetary, and loans,aggregate to $100 or more in a calendar year, the contributor must be itemized on all
applicable schedules of the Form 460.

19. Q. A committee is hosting a dinner fundraiser. The committee is charging $100 per person,
but the actual cost of the event to the committee will be $25 per person. When a personpurchases a ticket to attend, what amount is considered as the contribution received?
A. The contribution received is $100. The entire cost of the ticket for the fundraiser is theamount of the contribution – the actual costs to the committee are not subtracted fromthe ticket price.

20. Q. A committee is going to charge $50 per person at their next fundraiser. May an attendee
pay with a $100 bill?

A. No. Even if change is immediately provided, a committee may not accept $100 or morein cash from a single source. The payment must be made by personal check, debit card,or credit card.

21. Q. Is volunteer work provided by some people considered a nonmonetary contribution
because of the volunteer’s profession, such as free legal advice provided by a lawyer orbookkeeping done by a CPA?
A. No. Volunteer personal services, regardless of the profession of the individual, are notreportable, so long as the individual providing the services is not paid by a third party.

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22. Q. An individual is hosting a fundraising event in her home for a friend who is running forcity council. She will spend $425 to provide tea, coffee, wine, cheese, and fruit. Is theamount she pays for the event considered a nonmonetary contribution to the candidate?
A. No. So long as she does not spend more than $500, the event meets the home/office
fundraiser exception. Note: The home/office fundraiser exception does not apply to astate lobbyist (or a cohabitant of a lobbyist) or a lobbying firm.

23. Q. May a private service, such as PayPal, be used to collect contributions electronically?

A. Yes, so long as for each contribution of $100 or more, (a) the service is able to provide
the name of the contributor, and (b) the committee reports all the information needed tomeet the statutory recordkeeping requirements, including the name, address,
occupation, and employer of individual contributors of $100 or more. Even if thecompany deducts a fee from the amount of the contribution, the entire amount of thecontribution must be disclosed. The fees charged by the private service are reported as
expenditures.

24. Q. May a committee accept a contribution in the form of bitcoin, a type of digital currency
A. No. Contributions may not be made or received in cryptocurrency.

25. Q. If a committee receives a contribution of $100 from an individual, but the individual did
not provide the required occupation and employer information, what should thecommittee do?

A. The individual contributor should be contacted to obtain the occupation and employer
information. If the committee is required to report the contribution before the informationis received, the committee should indicate on its campaign statement that the
information has been requested and the statement will be amended when theinformation is received. However, if an individual’s occupation and employer information
is not received within 60 days of receiving the contribution, the contribution must be
returned.

26. Q. A business donated the use of an employee to work on two ballot measure campaigns
during the month before the election. The employee spent a total of seven percent of hercompensated time working on one measure and seven percent of her compensated timeon the other measure. Since more than 10 percent of her compensated time was not
spent on a single campaign, is her compensated time required to be reported as anonmonetary contribution to the ballot measure committees from her employer?
A. Yes. If an employee spends more than 10 percent of his or her compensated timeworking on campaign activity (one or multiple campaigns) in a calendar month, anonmonetary contribution from the business must be reported. In this situation, eachballot measure committee must report a nonmonetary contribution in the amount of
seven percent of the employee’s compensated time. The value of the nonmonetarycontribution is based on her gross salary; standard benefits (i.e., retirement and healthcare) do not need to be counted.

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27. Q. If a committee receives a large contribution from an individual or entity, are there any
special noticing requirements?

A. Yes. Generally, if a committee receives a contribution of $5,000 or more from anindividual or entity, the committee must notify the contributor in writing within two weeks
that he or she may need to file a major donor report. In the 90 days before an election, if
a contribution of $10,000 or more is received, the notification must be sent within one
week. Language for the notice is found in the applicable campaign disclosure manual.
An individual or entity qualifies as a major donor if contributions totaling $10,000 or moreare made in a calendar year to California (state and local) candidates and committees.

Expenditure Questions

28. Q. How does a committee report printing expenses of $100 or more paid for with thecommittee’s credit card?

A. The name and address of the credit card company and the amount paid must be listed
on Schedule E or F of the Form 460, and the printing vendor’s name and address mustbe listed underneath with the amount paid to that vendor. Another example of“subvendor” reporting is when a campaign consultant purchases television
advertisements, the names of the stations that air the advertisements must listed. The
campaign disclosure manuals contain examples of how to report subvendors on theForm 460.

29. Q. Is it permissible for a committee to have an agreement with an independent contractor(e.g., committee fundraiser) to pay additional money if fundraising goals are surpassed?

A. Yes, under the Act, a contingency agreement may be made, such as a committee
paying a bonus to a contractor if fundraising goals are met or a committee not paying acontractor unless a particular outcome is achieved. The arrangement should be made aspart of a written contract. (Note that the Act strictly prohibits contingency fees to alobbyist for the outcome of legislation or to a placement agent for securing an investment
from a state retirement board.)

30. Q. Is it permissible to purchase gifts using campaign funds?

A. Campaign funds may be used to purchase a gift only if the payment is directly related toa political, legislative, or governmental purpose. Detailed information on the permissible
use of campaign funds may be found in the campaign disclosure manuals. In addition,
there are special reporting rules for candidate controlled committees when reporting
expenditures for gifts, meals, and travel. (See Question #57 below.)

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Frequently Asked Questions: Campaign Activity

Communications Questions

31. Q. What are the disclosure requirements for a mass mailing sent by a candidate?

A. When a candidate sends a mass mailing (more than 200 pieces of the same or similar
mail in a calendar month), the words “paid for by” and the name and address of thecandidate’s committee must appear on the outside of the mailing in no less than sixpoint type and in a color that contrasts with the background. If two or more candidate
controlled committees pay for the mailer, the name and address of at least one of thecommittees must be shown on the outside and the names and addresses of allcommittees must appear on at least one insert. The committee ID number is not required
to be included, but the FPPC recommends that committees include the committee ID
number on all public campaign materials.

32. Q. If a committee has more than one address, may any of the addresses be used on mass
mailings?
A. Any address that is on the committee’s Statement of Organization (Form 410) on filewith the Secretary of State’s office may be used.

33. Q. Are emails sent by a candidate’s committee required to include an advertisement
disclaimer statement?

A. Yes. Mass mailings, including emails, must include a “paid for by” disclaimer (e.g., “Paidfor by Jones for Supervisor 2020”).

34. Q. How does a committee report payments made to a person to provide favorable orunfavorable content on an Internet site about a candidate or ballot measure?

A. For each payment of $100 or more, use the code “WEB” and report the amount of thepayment, the payee, the name of the individual providing content, and the website nameor URL on which the communication is published in the first instance.

35. Q. Does a candidate or committee incur reporting obligations if an unpaid blogger or otherindividual endorses his or her candidacy in their Internet communications?
A. No. Uncompensated Internet activity, including blogging, social networking, sending or
forwarding an email, or providing a link to a website, does not trigger a reporting
obligation.

36. Q. Does the FPPC have a summary of the requirements for disclaimers on advertisements?
A. Yes, a summary of the requirements, as well as charts for each type of committee areavailable here.

24-Hour Contribution (Form 497) Report Questions
37. Q. If a contribution of $1,000 or more is made to one of a candidate’s campaign committees(e.g., legal defense, ballot measure, past election), but not to the committee that isformed for the election triggering the 90-day reporting, are the candidate and/or thedonor required to file a Form 497?

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A. Yes. When a candidate is in a 90-day reporting period, each contribution of $1,000 or
more to any of his or her committees requires the Form 497 to be filed by both thecandidate and the donor.
38. Q. During the 90-day reporting period, must a candidate file a Form 497 if a contribution of$500 is received by one of the candidate's campaign committees (e.g., legal defense,
ballot measure, past election) and another contribution of $500 from the same donor isreceived by the committee that is formed for the election triggering 90-day reporting?
A. No. Because a single committee did not receive $1,000 or more, the candidate is not
required to file a Form 497. The donor is also not required to file a Form 497 as thedonor did not make a contribution of $1,000 or more to a single committee.

39. Q. A candidate received $500 from a donor for the special primary election a few days
before the election, and another $500 from the same donor a few days after the primaryelection when the candidate moved to the special general election. Both contributions
were received during the 90 days before the general election. Is a Form 497 required tobe filed by the donor and/or the candidate?

A. No. Because $1,000 or more was not received in connection with one election, the Form
497 is not required to be filed.

40. Q. Must a candidate file a Form 497 if, during the 90 days before the election or on the dateof the election, he or she makes a contribution of $1,000 or more from personal funds to
his or her campaign?
A. Yes. The candidate’s personal funds are contributions and subject to reporting in thesame manner as other contributions received.

41. Q. What are the 24-hour contribution report (Form 497) requirements for contributions
received by a political party committee?

A. A political party must report each contribution of $1,000 or more received within 90 daysof any state election or on the date of a state election (including a special election). If thecontributor is a committee, the contributor must also file the Form 497 within 24 hours.

Enforcement Question

42. Q. If a campaign statement is filed late, what are the potential consequences?

A. The filing officer with whom the statement is required to be filed may assess a fine of up
to $10 for each day that the statement is late (or up to $20 per day for a statement and acopy). In addition, filing officers are required by law to refer non-filers to an enforcement
authority. If a matter is referred to the FPPC’s Enforcement Division for failure to file, thefine may increase up to a maximum of $5,000 per violation. In 2017, 149 committees
were fined by the FPPC for failing to timely file campaign statements.

Candidate Questions

43. Q. When may a candidate begin to solicit and raise funds for an election?

A. Upon filing a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), a candidate may begin to solicit
and receive contributions. The Form 501 is considered filed when it is personallydelivered or placed in the mail to the filing officer.
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44. Q. Is a candidate required to file a Form 501 when running for reelection to the sameoffice?

A. Yes. A separate Form 501 is required for each election, including reelection to the sameoffice.

45. Q. If a candidate does not intend to raise any funds from others and will be spending
personal funds only for the filing fee and ballot statement fee, is the candidate required
to file a Form 501 and open a campaign bank account?
A. No, the candidate is not required to file a Form 501 or open a bank account; only theForm 470 (Campaign Statement – Short Form) is required.

46. Q. If a candidate does not intend to raise funds from others, but will be spending $2,000 or
more of his or her personal funds on his or her campaign (in addition to the filing feesand ballot statement fees), is the candidate required to open a bank account?

A. Yes. Even if a candidate does not raise funds from others, if he or she spends $2,000 or
more on the campaign (not counting personal funds spent on filing fees and ballot
statement fees), he or she qualifies as a committee and must open a campaign bankaccount. Campaign funds may not be commingled with personal funds.

47. Q. What are the rules related to a candidate spending personal funds on his or her own
campaign?

A. Except for payments for the filing fee, ballot statement fee, and $50 Secretary of Stateannual committee fee, a candidate must deposit personal funds into the campaign bankaccount before making campaign expenditures, even if he or she does not want to be
reimbursed. Personal funds may be reported as loans or monetary contributions.
Personal funds may not be commingled with campaign funds and campaign
expenditures may not be made from a personal account.

48. Q. Prior to learning that it was not permitted, a candidate starting up his campaign usedpersonal funds to pay for some campaign expenses. How is this reported on the Form
460?

A. So that the activity is properly disclosed, the amount of personal funds used should bereported on Schedule A as a contribution and the expenditure is reported on Schedule
E. If the candidate has not yet been reimbursed by the committee, the amount may bereported on Schedule F as an accrued expense. Non-disclosure of the payments is aviolation of the Act. All future payments must be made from the campaign bank account;personal funds must be deposited into the account before making expenditures.

49. Q. May a campaign worker use personal funds to make campaign expenditures and be
reimbursed by the committee?

A. Yes. Anyone other than the candidate may use personal funds to make campaign
expenditures, such as purchasing printing, and be reimbursed after providing a receipt or
invoice to the campaign. However, if the campaign does not reimburse the individual
who made the expenditure within 45 days, the committee must report the amount
expended as a nonmonetary contribution received.

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50. Q. What are the contribution limits for local elections?

A. The Act does not impose contribution limits on local elections. However, many local
jurisdictions have adopted campaign finance ordinances that include contribution limits.
Contact the city clerk or county elections office to determine if there are local contribution
limits. The FPPC’s website also posts local campaign ordinances.

51. Q. If a candidate occasionally uses his or her personal vehicle to attend campaign eventsand meet with voters, is the use of the vehicle reportable even if the candidate does notwant to be reimbursed for the mileage?

A. Incidental use of a candidate’s personal vehicle for campaign purposes is not considereda contribution or expenditure and is not reportable. However, if the use of the vehicle isdirectly related to a political, legislative or governmental purpose, and the candidate
would like to be reimbursed by the committee, the reimbursement must be made at therate approved by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to Section 162 of the Internal
Revenue Code.

52. Q. If a candidate makes long-distance calls using his or her home phone to request support
from organizations statewide, may committee funds be used to pay the phone bill?
A. Committee funds may be used for the campaign portion of the bill; however, the noncampaign portion must be paid with personal funds.

53. Q. If a candidate is defeated in a local election, may the leftover funds be used to run again
in the next local election?

A. Yes, if specified requirements are met. An unsuccessful candidate who plans to run forthe same office in a future election must file a new Form 501 and an amended Form 410
before the funds become surplus. Leftover funds become surplus 90 days after anofficial leaves office (incumbents) or 90 days after the end of the post-election reporting
period, whichever is later. The end of the post-election reporting is June 30 for elections
held between January 1 and June 30, and December 31 for elections held between July
1 and December 31. (Note: Candidates should check with the local jurisdiction todetermine if there is a local ordinance that does not allow a candidate to use the samecommittee for a future election.)
An unsuccessful candidate who plans to run for a different office must file a new Form
501, a new Form 410, and open a new campaign bank account and transfer the funds
before the funds become surplus as described above.

54. Q. If a candidate receives a refund for a filing fee after his or her committee has alreadybeen terminated, must the committee and bank account be reopened in order to accept
the refund?
A. No. Candidates are allowed to accept refunds from a governmental entity without
reopening the committee and campaign bank account.

55. Q. If a candidate controls a ballot measure committee, must the ballot measure committee
file a preelection statement when the candidate’s committee is required to?
A. Yes. If a candidate has multiple controlled committees, each of the committees are
required to file on the dates the candidate is required to file preelection statements inconnection with his or her election to office. (See Regulation 18405.)

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56. Q. May a law enforcement officer, who is running for city council, wear his or her uniform at
campaign events or when appearing in political advertisements for his or her campaign?
A. The Political Reform Act does not contain restrictions related to a candidate wearing a
law enforcement uniform; however, other laws may apply. The candidate should contact
the District Attorney or City Attorney.

57. Q. What are the special reporting requirements for expenditures made by a candidate
controlled committee when purchasing gifts, travel, and meals?

A. Itemized expenditures made by a candidate controlled committee for gifts, meals, ortravel, must be further explained in the “Description of Payment” column, whether or not
an expenditure code is used, as described below.

Gifts: Briefly describe the political, legislative, or governmental purpose of the expenditure,and provide the date of the gift and a description of the gift. If the gift was made to anindividual recipient, the name of the recipient must be included. If a gift was made to a groupof recipients, the name of each recipient who received a benefit of $50 or more is required.
When the recipient of a gift with a value of $50 or more is not known at the time the payment
is required to be reported, the committee must report that the gift was for an “undeterminedrecipient.” Once the gift has been given to the recipient, the campaign statement must be
amended within 45 calendar days to disclose the name of the recipient.
Meals: Briefly describe the political, legislative, or governmental purpose of theexpenditure, and provide the date of the meal, the number of individuals who were present
at the meal, and whether the candidate, a member of his or her household, or an individualwith authority to approve expenditures of campaign funds was present at the meal. It is notnecessary to include the names of individual attendees on the report. However, the namesof the attendees must be maintained in the committee’s records. For meals reported as an
itemized expenditure for travel, the reporting rules below apply.

Travel Payments (including lodging and meals): Briefly describe the political, legislative,
or governmental purpose of the expenditure, and provide the date or dates of the travel, thedestination, and the goods or services purchased. The description must also include thenumber of individuals for whom the payment was made and whether the trip included thecandidate, a member of his or her household, or an individual with the authority to approve
expenditures of campaign funds. The names of individuals who traveled are not required tobe disclosed on the report. However, the names of the travelers must be maintained in thecommittee’s records.

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