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The proposed ordinance provides that a candidate must submit the voluntary campaign expenditure limit pledge at the time of filing nomination papers with the City Clerk, and verify compliance with each campaign statement filed. However, the proposed ordinance provides that there are no penalties for violations of the limit. The proposed ordinance also amends the existing Municipal Code to clarify that expenditures must be cumulated on campaign statements and included in the final statement due four days prior to the election. Altematives in addition to the staff recommendations are set forth in the Alternatives section, below. Staff recognizes that due to First Amendment considerations, as well as Federal and State election regulations, there is no perfect way to implement campaign finance reform, and other cities have chosen various approaches to achieve this objective. The recommendations and alternatives reflected in this report would also move Pleasanton towards achieving this objective. FINANCIAL STATEMENT The cost of preparing a Code of Fair Campaign Practices would be minimal, as it will be modeled on State law, and compliance would be voluntary. The cost to see if voluntary campaign expenditure limits are observed is de minimus, as staff already verifies the filing of campaign statements, which will total these amounts. BACKGROUND "Campaign Finance Issues and Options for Change" are a Council priority and information was presented for the Council's consideration on October 16 and December 18, 2007. At the December meeting, Council introduced an ordinance to begin requiring electronic filing of campaign statements, and public availability on the City's website. That action is reflected as a second reading /ordinance adoption on this January 15th's consent calendar. Also at the December 18th meeting, Council supported a voluntary campaign expenditure limit set at $1.00 per registered voter, indexed for inflation, and asked staff to return with a recommendation for the election period during which expenditures would cumulate. DISCUSSION Code of Fair Campaign Practices. On December 18th, the Council discussed options for developing a pledge for council and mayoral candidates related to ethical and fair campaign practices. While other jurisdictions have such voluntary pledges, such as San Ramon, those pledges often repeat existing regulations (e.g. municipal code requirements about removing campaign signs, etc.). Rather than developing such a pledge from whole cloth, or repeating existing municipal code requirements, staff recommends that the State model from the Elections Code be Page 2 of 7