Sen. Dodd: Committee Approves Bill to Limit Donations in School, Special District Elections

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

SACRAMENTO – Legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would place limits on the amount of money that can be donated to candidates for school boards and special district offices, ensuring fairness in local elections, was approved today by a Senate committee.

“Getting big money out of elections for smaller community offices is essential,” Sen. Dodd said. “These well-financed campaigns favor the wealthy at the exclusion of grassroots candidates and people of color. My bill puts a cap on donations to ensure fairness while encouraging a more diverse field that is more reflective of the population.”

California has thousands of publicly elected governing boards managing an assortment of agencies including schools, community colleges and special districts. Elections often receive little media coverage and even less scrutiny of campaign donations, which are not limited by state law and can exceed money given to candidates for higher office. Currently the default is to allow unlimited contributions, and only three special districts statewide have adopted voluntary limits.

In response, Sen. Dodd introduced Senate Bill 328, which sets an individual donation limit of $5,500 by a person, business or committee to a candidate for school board, community college board or special district board. The contribution limits are equal to those set for the state Legislature. The bill would allow local governments to vote to adjust the limits, but the default would no longer be unlimited. The bill uses the framework of then-Assemblymember Kevin Mullin’s Assembly Bill 571 that set the same limits for city and county offices in 2019.

SB 328 was approved in the Senate elections committee on a 6-0 vote.

“This is a good governance measure that will help maintain the public trust in our local elections,” said U.S. Rep. Mullin, who was elected to Congress last year. “I appreciate Sen. Dodd carrying on that legacy and I’m proud to support this important reform.”

A second bill written by Sen. Dodd in partnership with Secretary of State Shirley Weber also was approved by the committee. SB 437 would increase transparency in presidential elections by establishing a statutory deadline for political parties to supply the names of party nominees.

  

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Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.