(a) "Advertisement" means information or materials, other than nonpaid social media messages, that are mailed, e-mailed, posted, distributed, published, displayed, delivered, broadcasted or placed in a communication medium and that are for the purpose of influencing an election.
(b) "Agent" means any person who has actual authority, either expressed or implied, to represent or make decisions on behalf of another person.
(c) "Anonymous contribution" means a contribution that is missing information necessary to adequately identify the contributor.
(d) "Ballot measure expenditure" means an expenditure made by a person that expressly advocates the support or opposition of a clearly identified ballot measure.
(e) "Best effort" means that a committee treasurer or treasurer's agent makes at least one written effort, including an attempt by e-mail, text message, private message through social media or other similar communication, or at least one oral effort that is documented in writing to identify the contributor or an incomplete contribution.
(f) "Business day" means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
(g) "Calendar quarter" means a period of three (3) consecutive months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31.
(h) "Campaign Contract" means a signed agreement between a candidate and the City wherein the candidate agrees to abide by limitations on candidate's personal contributions, limitations on campaign expenditures, and limitations on the use of all contributions as specified in the City Charter, in exchange for public matching funds.
(i) "Campaign Period" means the entire time from the date on which an individual becomes a candidate until the election or defeat of the candidate. The campaign period ends on the date the mayor and council canvass and declare the results of the election at which the candidate is elected or defeated.
(j) "Candidate" means an individual who receives contributions or makes expenditures or who gives consent to another person to receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of that individual in connection with the candidate's nomination, election or retention for any public office.
(k) "Candidate, Public Funding" means a candidate who has signed a campaign contract agreeing to limit their campaign expenditures in exchange for public matching funds.
(l) "Clearly identified candidate" means that the name or a description, image, photograph or drawing of the candidate appears or the identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by unambiguous reference.
(m) "Committee" means a candidate committee, a political action committee or a political party.
(n) "Contribution" means any money, advance, deposit or other thing of value that is made to a person for the purpose of influencing an election. Contribution includes:
(1) A contribution that is made to retire campaign debt from a previous election cycle.
(2) Money or the fair market value of anything that is directly or indirectly provided to an elected official for the specific purpose of defraying the expense of communications with constituents.
(3) The full purchase price of any item from a committee.
(4) A loan that is made to a committee for the purpose of influencing an election, to the extent the loan remains outstanding.
(p) "Coordinated party expenditures" means expenditures that are made by a political party to directly pay for goods or services on behalf of its nominee.
(q) "Day" means a calendar day unless otherwise specified.
(r) "Direct Campaign Expense" means expenses related directly to further the campaign of the individual candidate, such as printing campaign literature, media space or time, mailings, campaign headquarters rent, or paying for campaign staff salaries.
(s) "Earmarked" means a designation, instruction or encumbrance between the transferor of a contribution and a transferee that requires the transferee to make a contribution to a clearly identified candidate.
(t) "Election" means any election for any ballot measure or any candidate election during a primary, general, recall or special election for any office in the city.
(u) "Election Campaign Account" means a restricted account in the general fund into which shall be deposited such sums as may be appropriated from time to time in the annual budget, gifts and donations made to the city for the support of public election campaign financing, and such sums as may otherwise be appropriated to said account.
(v) "Election cycle" means the two (2) year period between the scheduled date of the city's general election and the scheduled date of the immediately following general election. For the purposes of a recall election, "election cycle" means the period between issuance of a recall petition serial number and the latest of the following:
(1) The date of the recall election that is called pursuant to section 12-170 of this code.
(2) The date that a resignation is accepted pursuant to section 12-169 of this code.
(3) The date that the city clerk provides notice pursuant to section 12-167 of this code that the number of signatures is insufficient.
(w) "Entity" means a corporation, limited liability company, labor organization, partnership, trust, association, organization, joint venture, cooperative, unincorporated organization or association or other organized group that consists of more than one (1) individual.
(x) "Excess contribution" means a contribution that exceeds the applicable contribution limits for a particular election.
(y) "Expenditure" means any purchase, payment, or other thing of value that is made by a person for the purpose of influencing an election.
(z) "Expressly advocates" is based on the determination by the city clerk who shall consider the following three (3) components:
(1) Even if it is not presented in the clearest, most explicit language, speech is express if its message is unmistakable, unambiguous, and suggestive of only one (1) plausible meaning.
(2) Speech may only be termed advocacy if it presents a clear plea for action, and thus speech that is merely informative is not covered by this article.
(3) It must be clear what action is advocated. Speech cannot be considered express advocacy of the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate when reasonable minds could differ as to whether it encourages a vote for or against a candidate or encourages the reader to take some other kind of action. If any reasonable alternative reading of speech can be suggested, it cannot be express advocacy.
(aa) "Family contribution" means any contribution that is provided to a candidate's committee by the parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, child or sibling of the candidate or the candidate's spouse, including the spouse of any of the listed family members, regardless of whether the relation is established by marriage or adoption.
(bb) "Firewall" means a written policy that precludes one person from sharing information with another person.
(cc) "Identification" means:
(1) For an individual, the individual's first and last name, residence location or street address and occupation and the name of the individual's primary employer.
(2) For any other person, the person's full name and physical location or street address.
(dd) "Incomplete contribution" means any contribution that is received by a committee for which the contributor's complete identification has not been obtained. For public funding candidates this includes the original signature.
(ee) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by a person, other than a candidate committee, that complies with both of the following:
(1) Expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.
(2) Is not made without cooperation or consultation with or at the request or suggestion of a candidate or the candidate's agent.
(ff) "Individual" means a natural person.
(gg) "In-kind contribution" means a contribution of goods, services or anything of value that is provided without charge or at less than the usual and normal charge.
(hh) "Itemized" means that each contribution received or expenditure made is set forth separately.
(ii) "Mega PAC status" means official recognition that a political action committee has received contributions from five hundred (500) or more individuals in amounts of ten dollars ($10) or more in the four (4) year period immediately before application to the secretary of state.
(jj) "Nominee" means a candidate who prevails in the primary election and includes the nominee's candidate committee.
(kk) "Permanent Early Voting List" or "PEVL" is a permanent list of voters, maintained by the county voter registrar, that elect to automatically receive an early ballot for any election for which the voter is a qualified elector.
(ll) "Person" means an individual or a candidate, nominee, committee, corporation, limited liability company, labor organization, partnership, trust, association, organization, joint venture, cooperative or unincorporated organization or association, as well as, a natural person.
(mm) "Personal monies" means any of the following:
(1) Assets to which the individual or individual's spouse has either legal title or an equitable interest.
(2) Salary and other earned income from bona fide employment of the individual or individual's spouse.
(3) Dividends and proceeds from the sale of investments of the individual or individual's spouse.
(4) Bequests to the individual or individual's spouse.
(5) Income to the individual or individual's spouse from revocable trusts for which the individual or individual's spouse is a beneficiary.
(6) Gifts of a personal nature to the individual or individual's spouse that would have been given regardless of whether the individual became a candidate or accepted a contribution.
(7) The proceeds of loans obtained by the individual or individual's spouse that are secured by collateral or security provided by the individual or individual's spouse.
(8) Family contributions.
For public funding candidates, personal monies shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the maximum expenditure limit.
(nn) "Political Action Committee" means an entity that is required to register as a political action committee pursuant to section 12-83 of this code.
(oo) "Primary purpose" means an entity's predominant purpose. Notwithstanding any other law or rule, an entity is not organized for the primary purpose of influencing an election if all of the following apply at the time the contribution or expenditure is made:
(1) The entity has tax exempt status under section 501(a) of the internal revenue code.
(2) Except for a religious organization, assembly or institution, the entity has properly filed a form 1023 or form 1024 with the internal revenue service or the equivalent successor form designated by the internal revenue service.
(3) The entity's tax exempt status has not been denied or revoked by the internal revenue service.
(4) The entity remains in good standing with the corporation commission.
(5) The entity has properly filed a form 990 with the internal revenue service or the equivalent successor form designated by the internal revenue service in compliance with the most recent filing deadline established by the internal revenue service regulations or policies.
(pp) "Qualified Elector" means any person who is qualified to register to vote pursuant to section 12-3 of this code and is properly registered.
(qq) "Qualified Signer" for purposes of nominating petitions, means any of the following:
(1) A qualified elector who is a registered member of the party from which the candidate is seeking nomination.
(2) A qualified elector who is a registered member of a political party that is not entitled to continued representation on the ballot.
(3) A qualified elector who is registered as independent or no party preferred.
(rr) "Resident" means an individual who has actual physical presence in the City combined with intent to remain. A temporary absence does not result in a loss of residence if the individual has an intent to return following their absence. An individual has only one (1) residence for purposes of this chapter.
(ss) "Separate segregated fund" means a fund established by a corporation, limited liability company, labor organization or partnership that is required to register as a political action committee.
(tt) "Social media messages" means forms of communication, including internet sites for social networking or blogging, through which users create a personal profile and participate in online communities to share information, ideas and personal messages.
(uu) "Sponsor" means any person that establishes, administers or contributes financial support to the administration of a political action committee or that has common or overlapping membership or officers with that political action committee.
(vv) "Standing committee" means a political action committee or political party that is active in more than one (1) reporting jurisdiction in this state and that files a statement of organization in a format prescribed by the secretary of state.
(ww) "Surplus monies" means those monies of a terminating committee that remain after all of the committee's expenditures have been made, all debts have been extinguished and the committee ceases accepting contributions.
(Ord. No. 11525, § 2, 2-21-18)