Political Reform Act of 1974: security expenses.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's full text is not provided, so details about specific relatives and their exact definitions are not fully verifiable.

Security Expenses for Political Candidates

AB-789 modifies the limits on security expenses paid from campaign funds and expands the list of relatives who can receive payments without being counted as part of these expenses.

What This Bill Does

• Eliminates the $10,000 lifetime limit for spending campaign funds on security costs until January 1, 2029.
• After January 1, 2029, sets a new yearly limit of $10,000 for using campaign money on security expenses.
• Expands the list of relatives who can receive payments from campaign funds without being counted as part of security costs.

Who It Names or Affects

• Candidates and elected officers who use their campaign funds to pay for security measures or personal protection services.

Terms To Know

Security expenses

Money spent on protecting a candidate or elected officer, including electronic security systems and personal security guards.

Campaign funds

Money collected by candidates for political campaigns to support their activities and pay for campaign-related costs.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill's changes will only take effect if it passes the final stages of approval.
• It incorporates additional changes from another bill, AB-808, which must also pass for these changes to be included.

Official Summary Text

AB 789, Bonta.
Political Reform Act of 1974: 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 reasonable costs of installing and monitoring a home or office electronic security system or for another tangible item related to security, 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 or from staff’s position as staff of the candidate or elected officer. The act permits a candidate or elected officer to expend a maximum of $10,000 of campaign funds
for these purposes during their lifetime.
This bill would eliminate that monetary cap until January 1, 2029. Beginning January 1, 2029, the bill would instead permit a candidate or elected officer to expend a maximum of $10,000 of campaign funds for these purposes per calendar year.
Existing law exempts payments to a relative, within the third degree of consanguinity, of a candidate or elected officer from the definition of “security expenses.”
This bill would instead exempt payments to the candidate’s or elected officer’s spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, or first cousin or the spouse of any such person from the definition of “security expenses.”
This
bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 89517.5 of the Government Code proposed by AB 808, to be operative only if this bill and AB 808 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
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
2
/
3
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.

Current Bill Text

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