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Draft Campaign Finance Amendments for June 8

Posted: Thu May 11, 2017 2:56 pm
by Amy Smith (D7)
Posting for Council Member Leslie Pool:

Dear Colleagues,
I plan to bring draft amendments to the campaign finance ordinance to Council on June 8 to address the fundraising election window left open in a court ruling. As you recall from the Zimmerman lawsuit, Judge Yeakel upheld the contribution limits but threw out the city’s 180-day election window to fundraise. This proposal, linked below, would give candidates 365 days to fundraise before the election. Winning candidates would have no more than six months to pay off their debt and fund their officeholder account (up to $20,000). Losing candidates would have no deadline to pay off their debt.
I’m pleased to report that the Ethics Review Commission has given the draft its unanimous support on the recommendation of an ERC working group assigned to review the proposal. The City Clerk is now reviewing the draft amendments to determine the number of reporting periods that will be required. Invited co-sponsors include Mayor Adler and Council Members Casar, Kitchen, and Flannigan. I welcome your feedback.

Leslie

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 44552.docx