For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
A. “Campaign contribution limitation” means contributions over a given election cycle from the contributing person in support of or in opposition to any candidate, including contributions to all the candidate’s controlled committees, of $440 for the 2006 election cycle, provided, that such dollar limit shall increase by 12% on January 1, 2010, and by the same percentage on January 1st of every fourth year thereafter. This amount shall be rounded up or down to the nearest amount divisible evenly by $25.
B. “City office” means an elected office of the city, including the city council, the city clerk and city treasurer, or any other office which shall become elective in the future.
C. “Election cycle” means:
1. For an incumbent candidate seeking re-election, a period beginning from the date the office holder assumes his or her city office for his or her present term, and ending on the date the newly elected person assumes the city office following the election in which the candidate seeks re-election;
2. For an incumbent city office holder raising funds for election to any other city office, a period of two years prior to the date of the election for the city office sought;
3. For non-incumbent candidates in any regular election for city office, a period commencing from the date of the last regular election and ending on the date of the election for the city office sought;
4. For non-incumbent candidates in any special elections for city office, a period beginning from the date the special election is set for the ballot and ending on the date of the special election for the city office sought.
D. “Express advocacy” means communications that advocate support or opposition of a clearly identified candidate or ballot measure. A communication expressly advocates support or opposition when it uses words such as “vote for,” “elect,” “support,” “cast your ballot,” “vote against,” “defeat,” “reject,” “sign petitions for,” or the communication, taken as a whole, unambiguously urges a particular result in an election.
E. “Independent expenditure” means:
1. an expenditure having a value of one-hundred dollars ($100) or greater, made by any person in connection with a communication which expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or the qualification, passage or defeat of a clearly identified measure, or taken as a whole and in context, unambiguously urges a particular result in an election but which is not made to or at the behest of the affected candidate or committee.
2. An independent expenditure is made on the date the payment is made, services are rendered, or consideration, if any, is received, whichever is earlier.
3. An expenditure made at the behest of the affected candidate or committee is not an independent expenditure.
F. For purposes of this chapter, street address means the street name and building number, and the city, state, and ZIP Code, or the Army and Air Force Post Office (A.P.O.) or Fleet Post Office (F.P.O.) address assigned by the United States government to an individual or a dependent who resides with the individual when the individual is on government duty outside the United States and does not have a conventional street address.
G. For purposes of this chapter, spouse shall include Domestic Partner as defined by Section 297 of the Family Code of California.
H. "Advertisement" means:
1. Any general or public communication that is authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures.
2. The definition of "advertisement" does not include any of the following:
i. A communication from an organization, other than a political party, to its members.
ii. An electronic media communication addressed to recipients, such as email messages or text messages, from an organization to persons who have opted in or asked to receive messages from the organization. This subsection (H)(2)(ii) does not apply to a customer who has opted in to receive communications from a provider of goods or services, unless the customer has provided express approval to receive political messages from that provider of goods or services.
iii. Any communication solicited by the recipient, including, but not limited to, acknowledgements for contributions or information that the recipient communicated to the organization, or responses to an electronic message sent by the recipient to the same mobile number or email address.
iv. A campaign button smaller than 10 inches in diameter; a bumper sticker smaller than 60 square inches; or a small tangible promotional item, such as a pen, pin, or key chain, upon which the disclosure required cannot be conveniently printed or displayed.
v. Wearing apparel.
vi. Sky writing.
vii. Any other type of communication, as determined by the regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission, for which inclusion of the disclosures required by Sections 2.90.087 to 2.90.099, inclusive, is impracticable or would severely interfere with the committee's ability to convey the intended message due to the nature of the technology used to make the communication.
I. "Cumulative contributions" means the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months before the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster.
J. 'Top contributors" means the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more. A tie between two or more contributors qualifying as top contributors shall be resolved by determining the contributor who made the most recent contribution to the committee, in which case the most recent contributor shall be listed before any other contributor of the same amount.
K. "Mass mailing" means over 200 substantially similar pieces of mail, but does not include a form letter or other mail which is sent in response to an unsolicited request, letter or other inquiry.
L. "Online platform" means a public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application, including a social network, ad network, or search engine, which sells advertisements directly to advertisers. A public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application is not an online platform for purposes of this article to the extent that it displays advertisements that are sold directly to advertisers through another online platform.
M. "Online platform disclosed advertisement" means either of the following:
1. A paid electronic media advertisement on an online platform made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, for which the committee pays the online platform, unless all
advertisements on the platform are video advertisements that can comply with Section 2.90.090. Individual posts, comments, or other similar communications are not considered online platform disclosed advertisements if they are posted without payment to the online platform.
2. A paid electronic media advertisement on an online platform that is not any of the following:
i. A graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the advertisement allows to hyperlink to an internet website containing required disclosures, as described in subsection (B) of Section 2.90.092.
ii. Video, audio, or email.
iii. Electronic media advertisements that are not online platform disclosed advertisements as defined in subsection (M)(2)(ii) shall follow disclosure requirements for electronic media advertisements under Section 2.90.092.
(Ord. 2020-06-1513 §2: Ord. 2014-04-1469 §1 (part): Ord. 2010-04-1412 §§1, 2: Ord. 2006-08-1362 §1)