Campaign Financing (Municipal Code)
Sec. 1-2-401. Name. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the City of Irvine Campaign Financing Law. Sec. 1-2-402. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure an environment in the City of Irvine wherein all candidates for elective office are placed on an equal plan relative to the amount of campaign contributions received by them, and further to ensure that the amount contributed by any person does not materially influence the outcome of any election. To achieve this purpose, this chapter imposes a maximum limitation on the amount of campaign contributions which may be received from a single source for an election campaign. Sec. 1-2-403. Relation to Political Reform Act. This chapter is intended to be a supplement to and in no way be in conflict with the Political Reform Act. Unless otherwise defined in this chapter, words and phrases shall have the same meaning here as that given to them by the Political Reform Act. Sec. 1-2-404. Contribution limitations. A. No person other than the candidate shall make, and no candidate or campaign treasurer shall solicit or accept from any person, any contribution which will cause the total amount contributed by such person in any election cycle for that City candidate to exceed $300 as adjusted in accordance with section 1-2-405. B. Any person, including any committee, that makes any independent expenditure during an election cycle in support of or opposition to any City candidate, shall not accept any contribution(s) from any person which exceeds in the aggregate the amount set forth in this section for that election cycle. * *Note—Section 1-2-404(B) was challenged in a federal court lawsuit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that contribution limits for independent expenditure committees are subject to judicial review under the strict scrutiny standard. (Lincoln Club v. City of Irvine (9th Cir. 2001) 292 F.3d 934.) Afterward, the City entered into a stipulated judgment not to enforce the provisions of Section 1-2-404(B). However, because Section 1-2-404(B) was enacted by the voters (Initiative Ordinance 96-01), it cannot be formally repealed without approval of the voters. Therefore, its provisions remain in the Municipal Code, although they are not subject to enforcement.
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City of Irvine Candidate Handbook
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