Editorials

Critics say money will just flow through different channels with same effect 

SACRAMENTO – Tony Miller is a longtime supporter of campaign contribution limits, but he won’t be popping any champagne corks to welcome California’s latest plan to cap donations. 

Miller, a former chief elections officer for the state, was one of the leading opponents of the new limits, which were approved by voters on Nov. 7 as Proposition 34. 

“Time will tell if it’s effective at all,” he says. “My concern is the same amount of money, if not more, will flow through different channels into the same bank accounts.” 

The new limits were put on the ballot by the Legislature and Gov. Gray Davis. They take effect Jan. 1 for legislative candidates, but won’t impact candidates for governor and other state offices until after the 2002 elections. 

The limits will allow most donors to give up to $3,000 per election to someone running for the Legislature. So-called small contributor committees — groups of at least 100 people who chip in no more than $200 each — can give up to $6,000. 

Candidates for governor will be able to take up to $20,000 per election from most contributors. For other statewide candidates, the per-election limit will $5,000 from most donors, although small contributor committees could give twice that amount. 

But there will be no limits on how much political parties can give to candidates and how much the parties can raise for a variety of political purposes, and that’s where Miller and groups like Common Cause and the League of Women Voters see big problems with the proposition. 

The measure allows a donor to give up to $25,000 a year to a party to contribute to its candidates, but there’s no restrictions on how much parties can accept for voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote efforts — even independent campaigns for candidates. 

“I can give $1 million to the party, which can make mailings for candidates A and B and candidates A and B can provide the copy,” he says. “It’s a huge loophole.” 

But Lance Olson, general counsel for the state Democratic Party, predicts the parties will prefer to give money directly to candidates instead of making independent expenditures and that the $25,000 limit is generous enough to let them do that. 

The proposition also includes voluntary spending limits and some additional disclosure requirements for candidates and ballot measures. 

The state had no limits on donations when voters adopted Proposition 34, except in races to fill midterm vacancies in the Legislature. Five- and six-figure contributions had become common, increasing concerns that wealthy special interests had too much clout at the Capitol. 

Nearly 60 percent of the campaign money collected by Davis in the first half of 2000 came in donations of more than $20,000, but the governor says he doesn’t let big contributors influence his decisions. 

Previous efforts to impose limits were either rejected by lawmakers or voters, vetoed by the governor or struck down by the courts. 

Limits were in effect temporarily after voters approved Proposition 73 in 1988 and Proposition 208 in 1996, but most of the provisions of those measures were blocked by court rulings. 

A federal judge concluded that 208’s limits were too low and that 73’s favored incumbents. 

Miller and other critics contend that the real reason lawmakers put Proposition 34 on the ballot was to avoid the possibility that courts would revive 208’s tougher limits. 

The critics are already talking about trying to put an initiative on the ballot in 2002 or 2004 to strengthen 34’s requirements. 

Davis, who raised a whopping $21.6 million in contributions during his first 18 months in office, said the new limits would “strike the right balance between reducing the amount any one person can give to you and still passing constitutional muster.” 

“Even though some other (measures) were supported by the people..., they have not fared well in the courts,” he said. I am convinced that this bill will pass constitutional muster and will finally put campaign reform in place.” 

The lead author of Proposition 34, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, bristles when critics suggest that the measure didn’t get enough public scrutiny before it was approved by California lawmakers. 

The bill that became Proposition 34 was put together by a two-house conference committee and had only one hearing before it was adopted. 

“We did not have a plethora of public hearings, but it was a lot more public a process than with 208 or any of the other citizens’ initiatives that have ever been put on the ballot,” he said. 

Olson, who helped draft the proposition, said Burton believed that if the bill followed the usual route of going through several committees “it would get buried in amendments and it would die.” 

Burton said 208’s limits were so low they would make it impossible for most challengers to raise enough money to defeat an incumbent and would encourage special interests to put on their own campaigns to elect or defeat officials. 

Proposition 34 “is not perfect but it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing,” he said. 

CONTRIBUTION LIMITS 

Legislative candidates: $3,000 per election from most sources, $6,000 per election from small contributor committees that have been in existence at least six months, give to at least five candidates and have at least 100 members who chip in no more than $200 each. No limit on donations from political parties. No donations from lobbyists. 

Gubernatorial candidates: $20,000 per election from most sources. No limit on donations from political parties. No donations from lobbyists. 

Other statewide candidates: $5,000 per election from most donors and $10,000 from small contributor committees. No limit on donations from political parties and no donations from lobbyists. 

Political parties: $25,000 a year for donations to candidates. No limit on donations for other purposes. VOLUNTARY SPENDING LIMITS 

State Assembly candidates: $400,000 for the primary, $700,000 for the general election. 

State Senate candidates: $600,000 for the primary, $900,000 for the general election. 

Gubernatorial candidates: $6 million for the primary, $10 million for the general election. 

Other statewide candidates: $4 million for the primary, $6 million for the general election.  

DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS 

Paid endorsements: Requires state and local ballot measure ads to disclose if a person appearing in the ad is being paid $5,000 or more. 

Donations: Requires candidates and ballot measure committees to report with 24 hours any donations of $1,000 or more received with 90 days of an election. 

Advertising payments: Requires persons to disclose when they spend $50,000 or more to buy campaign ads that identify a candidate for state office but do not clearly support the candidate’s election or defeat.