Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 07, 2023
Ordinance Second Reading
SUBJECT:
Title
SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE REPEALING SECTION 2419 OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE RELATED TO RESTRICTIONS ON COUNCILMEMBER MASS MAILINGS AT PUBLIC EXPENSE (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
This item transmits a request for City Council to conduct a Second Reading of an Ordinance to Repeal Carson Municipal Code (“CMC”) Section 2419 (“Prohibited Mass Mailings by Councilmembers”), consistent with City Council action taken at the February 21, 2023, City Council Meeting.
The recommended action would revert the City back to compliance with state law (the Political Reform Act and the FPPC Regulations thereunder) rather than also being subject to compliance with the more restrictive current City codes and policies, as detailed in the background section of this report.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
CONDUCT a Second Reading by title only and with full reading waived, Ordinance No. 23-2302, entitled “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, REPEALING SECTION 2419 (PROHIBITED MASS MAILINGS BY COUNCILMEMBERS) OF CHAPTER 4 (CITY OFFICES - COUNCIL CHAMBERS - MEETINGS) OF ARTICLE II (ADMINISTRATION) OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE” (Exhibit No. 1).
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE any other action the City Council deems appropriate that is consistent with the requirements of the law.
IV. BACKGROUND
Current City Rules re: Mass Mailings
CMC 2419 provides, “No member of the City Council nor Mayor shall cause to be designed, produced, printed, copied, or distributed, by any means, to any person’s residence, place of employment or business, or post office box, any newsletter, brochure, flyer, letter, or other mailing at City expense, excluding any single letter sent in response to an unsolicited request, without the prior approval of the City Council.”
Current State Law re: Mass Mailings
The Political Reform Act, at Government Code Section (“GC”) 89001, provides that “no newsletter or other mass mailing shall be sent at public expense.” “Mass Mailing” is defined to mean “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. GC 82041.5.
Per GC 89002(a), unless an exception applies (discussed below), a mailing is prohibited by GC 89001 if all of the following criteria are met:
(1) An item sent is delivered, by any means, to the recipient at the recipient's residence, place of employment or business, or post office box. The item delivered to the recipient must be a tangible item;
(2) The item sent either: (i) features an elected officer; or (ii) includes the name, office, photograph, or other reference to an elected officer, and is prepared or sent in cooperation, consultation, coordination, or concert with the elected officer. “Features an elected officer” means that the item mailed includes the elected officer's photograph or signature or singles out the elected officer by the manner of display of the elected officer's name or office in the layout of the document, such as by headlines, captions, type size, typeface, or type color;
(3) Any of the costs of distribution are paid for with public money or the costs of design, production, and printing exceeding $50 are paid with public moneys, and the design, production, or printing is done with the intent of sending the item other than as permitted by GC 89002; and
(4) More than 200 substantially similar items are sent in a single calendar month, excluding any item sent in response to an unsolicited request and any item that meets one of the exceptions in GC 89002(b).
Exceptions
GC 89002(b) lists 11 types of items and states that a mass mailing of any of those items is not prohibited under GC 89001 even if all the criteria of GC 89002(a) (discussed above) are met. Among the exceptions are the following:
Exception 1: “An item in which the elected officer's name appears only in the letterhead or logotype of the stationery, forms, including “For Your Information” or “Compliments of” cards or stamps, and envelopes [including the return address portion of a self-mailer] . . . . In any such item, the names of all elected officers must appear in the same type size, typeface, type color, and location. The item shall not include the elected officer's photograph, signature, or any other reference to the elected officer, except as specifically permitted by [GC 89002]. The item may, however, include the elected officer's office or district number and the elected officer's name or district number in the elected officer's internet website address or electronic mail address”; and
Exception 9: An announcement of any meeting or event of either of the following: (i) an announcement sent to an elected officer's constituents concerning a public meeting that is directly related to the elected officer's incumbent governmental duties, is to be held by the elected officer, and that the elected officer intends to attend; or (ii) an announcement of any official agency event or events for which the agency is providing the use of its facilities or staff or other financial support. Any announcement provided for under this exception shall not include the elected officer's photograph or signature and may include only a single mention of the elected officer's name except as permitted per another exception.
It is important to note that per Gov’t Code §89003, Exceptions 1 and 9 are not available for a mass mailing sent within the 60 days preceding an election by or on behalf of a candidate whose name will appear on the ballot at that election; such mailings are prohibited if they meet the criteria of GC 89002(a) even if one or more of these exceptions would otherwise apply. Additionally, FPPC Regulation 18901.1 provides that the mass mailing prohibition of GC 89001 can also be violated by sending campaign-related mailings sent at public expense, with limited exceptions.
Effect of Proposed Action re: Mass Mailings
The proposed action would repeal CMC 2419, thus reverting the City to the state law requirements of the Political Reform Act/FPPC regulations in regard to mass mailing. This would constitute a loosening of current restrictions and would restore the availability of the aforementioned state law mass mailing exceptions to the City. Although rescinding the policy would leave the City with no established required stationary for such mailings, the City Council could adopt a new/modified required stationary separately at a later date. Additionally, the City Attorney’s office could prepare a quick reference guide or handbook to be made available to the Councilmembers in advance explaining how to comply with the state laws with respect to mass mailings at City expense.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed action on mass mailings would allow for Council member mailings at public expense consistent with the restrictions of the Political Reform Act and FPPC regulations, which are less restrictive than the current CMC 2419 as discussed above. Fiscal impact is unknown at this time, as this would depend on the total number of mass mailings.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Ordinance No. 23-2302 (proposed for Second Reading) (pgs. 5 - 6)
Prepared by: City Attorney's Office and City Manager's Office