California Fair Political Practices Commission Frequently Asked Questions: Campaign Activity
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 in order to open a campaign bank account. A tax ID number may be requested through the Internal 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 the group 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 to file 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 other candidates. The candidate’s last name must be included in the committee name and the Form 410 requires specified information to be disclosed related to the measure or measures 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 when reporting 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 measure committee 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 to support 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 497 estimating the value of all nonmonetary contributions anticipated to be received from this source during the 90-day period before the election and on the date of the election?
www.fppc.ca.gov FPPC Advice: advice@fppc.ca.gov (866.275.3772) FPPC EAEU • 016 11-2022 • Page 3 of 11
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