April 2021 A quick update on the legal wrangling over the vote requirement for citizens’ initiatives seeking to increase local parcel, gross receipts and other taxes – in short, special tax increases placed on the ballot by citizen initiative require approval of a majority (rather than two-thirds) of voters, subject […]
March 2021 As you certainly have heard, proponents of the effort to recall Governor Newsom claim to have submitted more than 2.1 million signatures as of last Wednesday’s deadline, well over the 1.5 million needed to qualify the recall for the ballot. Given these numbers, and that the validity rate of […]
March 2021 The San Francisco Ethics Commission has adopted a new “Streamlined Administrative Resolution Program,” which permits certain violations of the City’s lobbying law to be resolved through lower, fixed penalties – similar to the issuance of parking tickets. The new fines are $500, $700 or $900, and the reporting violations […]
December 2020 A new state law effective January 1, 2021 (but originally enacted in October 2019) creates “default” campaign contribution limits for all cities and counties which do not already have their own limits. The new law requires all cities and counties without their own contribution limits to adopt the current […]
Knowing Your Campaign’s Rights And Options Can Make All The Difference Every election, candidates and ballot measure campaigns find themselves in close races, where a few votes can make the difference between victory and defeat. Campaigns in these circumstances must navigate the ballot-counting process as the Registrar’s office finishes its official […]
For your use and reference in the upcoming campaign season, we have compiled information about all of the San Francisco and statewide ballot measures which will appear on the November 2020 ballot. Summaries and full texts of the measures are attached. San Francisco Measures 1 of 2 San Francisco Measures […]
The FPPC recently passed significant new rules regarding how political contributions from LLCs must be publicly disclosed. The new rules were prompted by concerns that individuals set up phony LLCs and use them to make political contributions in order to avoid publicly disclosing the true source of the contributions. Though […]
The FPPC recently passed significant new rules regarding how political contributions from LLCs must be publicly disclosed. The new rules were prompted by concerns that individuals set up phony LLCs and use them to make political contributions in order to avoid publicly disclosing the true source of the contributions. Though […]
As the November 3, 2020 election season heats up, candidates, ballot measures and consultants should keep in mind that the law allows campaigns to challenge false, misleading, or improper information which will appear in the voter information pamphlet and/or on the ballot. These include candidate ballot designations, candidate […]
Though the federal indictment against former Los Angeles City Councilperson Mitch Englander and the plea agreements of fundraiser Justin Kim and lobbyist George Chiang allege criminal activities, including official governmental action in exchange for political contributions, trips, and cash payments, the prosecutions should serve as a reminder to lobbyists, political […]