For City Council Meeting July 28, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Tanya Williams, City Manager
FROM: Eric S. Vail, City Attorney
Title
Request that the City Council Consider Approval and Adoption of Resolution No. 8551 Establishing Campaign Contribution Limits for the City's Elective Offices (Mayor, Councilmembers, City Clerk, and City Treasurer) and Other Related Campaign Regulations.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council consider approval and adoption of the Resolution entitled: "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND OTHER RELATED CAMPAIGN REGULATIONS."
BACKGROUND
The City currently does not have any campaign contribution limits. This means that the City currently defaults to the contribution limits set by Government Code Section 85301. At this time, the current contribution limit established is $5,900 per election, which is adjusted in odd numbered years by the Fair Political Practices Commission based upon the Consumer Price Index. However, Government Code Section 85702.5 permits the City to impose a limit on contributions that are different from this limit. Further Government Code Section 81013 permits the City to impose additional requirements so long as those requirements do not prevent compliance with the Political Reform Act.
Accordingly, we recommend that the City Council revisit this issue by considering the attached Resolution as an alternative to the State campaign contribution limits.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
If adopted, the attached Resolution establishes a campaign contribution limit of $5,900 per calendar year and would be applicable to the offices of mayor, city councilmember, city clerk, and city treasurer. Although the dollar amount is the same as the State's limit, the use of "per calendar" provides greater clarity compared to the State limit that is imposed on a "per election" basis since elections, in genera...
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