Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
San Benito supervisors send revised campaign finance ordinance back to staff after heated debate
Summary
The Board of Supervisors declined to adopt a proposed campaign contribution ordinance as presented and directed staff to return with a revised draft raising the proposed per‑contributor limit to $2,500 and removing a self‑funding exemption; the discussion centered on disclosure thresholds, enforcement and independent expenditures.
San Benito County supervisors debated, but did not adopt, a draft local campaign finance ordinance on a split vote and instead directed staff to return with changes increasing the proposed individual contribution limit and removing a self‑funding trigger. The board voted down a motion to approve the ordinance as drafted and later voted 3‑2 to ask county counsel to revise the measure to a $2,500 per‑contributor limit and eliminate the provision that would have lifted limits if a candidate self‑funded past the threshold.
Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz outlined the draft ordinance at the meeting, saying it would impose a $1,000 contribution cap per contributor per election beginning with the 2026 cycle, include an automatic $100 increase every four years, require disclosure of contributions of $25 or more (lower than the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
