California Fair Political Practices Commission Frequently Asked Questions: Campaign Activity
A. No, the candidate is not required to file a Form 501 or open a bank account; only the Form 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 their personal funds on their campaign (in addition to the filing fees and 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 they spend $2,000 or more on the campaign (not counting personal funds spent on filing fees and ballot statement fees), they qualify as a committee and must open a campaign bank account. Campaign funds may not be commingled with personal funds. 47. Q. What are the rules related to a candidate spending personal funds on their own campaign? A. Except for payments for the filing fee, ballot statement fee, and $50 Secretary of State annual committee fee, a candidate must deposit personal funds into the campaign bank account before making campaign expenditures, even if the candidate 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 their campaign used personal 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 be reported 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 be reported on Schedule F as an accrued expense. Non-disclosure of the payments is a violation 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. 50. Q. What are the contribution limits for local elections? A. Pursuant to Assembly Bill 571 (Stats. 2019, Ch. 556, AB 571 Mullin), effective January 1, 2021 a state campaign contribution limit will by default apply to city and county candidates when the city or county has not already enacted a contribution limit on such candidates. The FPPC’s website posts contribution limit charts. 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.
www.fppc.ca.gov FPPC Advice: advice@fppc.ca.gov (866.275.3772) FPPC EAEU • 016 11-2022 • Page 9 of 11
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