Higher Fines for Late Finance Reports Vetoed

Legislation authorizing fines of up to $1,000 a day for candidates who file late preelection campaign finance reports has been vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

The Republican governor turned down a bill Monday by state Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco) that was sought by state election officials to crack down on widespread late reports on 11th-hour donations.

California’s top election official, Republican Secretary of State Bill Jones, said the bill was “critical legislation that would have finally given the Political Reform Act the teeth it needs to enforce the key late contribution report provisions.”

“Under the present system there is no incentive to report a late contribution of $500,000 received by a campaign,” he said. “And why bother when the fine is a paltry $10 a day?”

The bill covers donation reports required when a candidate or ballot measure campaign receives donations of $1,000 or more in the last several days before an election. Those donations must be reported within 24 hours.

Kopp’s bill would authorize election officials to impose a fine of $100 per day when reports are late for donations between $5,000 and $9,999, $500 a day for late reports on donations between $10,000 and $19,999, and $1,000 a day for donations of $20,000 or more.

Local election officers now can impose fines of $10 a day, although the Fair Political Practices Commission can also fine campaigns up to $2,000 for any late contribution report.

Wilson said he was concerned about giving election officials additional power.

“While the goals of [the bill] are laudable, it would be more appropriate for this increased authority to be administered by the Fair Political Practices Commission,” he said.

Wilson also said he was concerned that the increased penalties, particularly those on the upper end of the scale, would be found unconstitutional.