Rescue California

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Pressure is growing on the state's Fair Political Practices Commission to close a loophole in election law that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante is using to accept a $1.5 million political contribution for his recall campaign for governor.

September 04, 2003

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of denunciations that the FPPC was failing to fulfill its duties by shutting the loophole.

"If you're not going to stand up to this, what is this agency here to do?" Thomas Hiltachk, a lawyer for Rescue California, the principal recall campaign committee, asked Wednesday at the commission meeting.

But commissioners said the matter was not on its meeting agenda and public meeting laws prohibited them from taking it up.

Commission staff members confirmed that they have received a complaint from Johnson.

"We have it under review," said FPPC spokeswoman Sigrid Bathen. "The FPPC, which has limited resources and received 1,000 complaints last year, will conduct an enforcement investigation, which has to proceed like any investigation. We can't discuss it."

Johnson was furious -- and said he is preparing to go to court if the FPPC doesn't act immediately.

"They are standing idly by in the face of what I regard as a blatant violation of Prop. 34," he said. "Their failure to act today is a confirmation that they are a toothless political watchdog."

Others echoed Johnson's complaints about the FPPC.

"I think the FPPC ought to carry out the intent of the law and the intent of the law is not that extremely large amounts of new money should be able to come into a new campaign, just because they have been passed through an old committee," said Daniel Lowenstein, professor of election law at UCLA and chairman of the FPPC from 1975-79.

Experts on California campaign finance law said the FPPC has given mixed signals on the loophole.

The commission issued informal advice in a news release last week saying state law prohibits using pre-Prop. 34 committees to raise money for post-Prop.

34 campaigns.

But commission staff said Wednesday that last week's news release had no force as an opinion or a legal ruling.

Previous commission actions seem to give Bustamante wiggle room to use the donation from the tribe and other similar contributions that have been made to the lieutenant governor.

"The FPPC has not made a clear pronouncement about whether the transfer of the funds is legal. . . . The signals I'm getting from them, it doesn't seem clear-cut to them," said Paul Ryan, political reform project director for the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.

"What is certainly clear is that the spirit of Prop. 34 was to limit campaign contributions," Ryan said. "I believe Bustamante is utilizing an accounting loophole in order to circumvent the campaign contribution limits."

But experts don't expect the issue to be resolved quickly.

Even when the FPPC receives a complaint, it usually works meticulously on its investigations, refusing to comment on any aspect until its review is complete.

"The commission is terribly slow," said Nielsen.

"That is a criticism that has been made against the commission," said Steve Russo, chief of the FPPC's enforcement division. "We respond as quickly as we can."

But experts said the commission can launch its own enforcement action and it can decide quickly.

"The can move fast if they need to," said Lowenstein.

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