{"id":418,"date":"2025-01-28T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-democracy-index\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T10:19:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:19:00","slug":"california-municipal-campaign-finance-index","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/","title":{"rendered":"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index"},"template":"","class_list":["post-418","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-guide"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"The Municipal Campaign Finance Index (MCFI) is an organized accounting of campaign finance laws in all California cities. The Index and its accompanying report supply comprehensive data and context for California\u2019s municipal campaign finance landscape.","featured_image":5545,"resource_type":182,"authors":"","related_issues":[104,431,429],"related_work":[204],"location":3},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h4>2024 Updates<\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local campaign finance laws and contribution limits have changed since the inaugural MCFI and its accompanying report were released. An updated spreadsheet reflecting changes through December 2024 is now available, as well as a mini report outlining the significant changes. Both the updated index (as a spreadsheet) and mini report can be downloaded below. <\/span>\r\n\r\n<a class=\"button1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2024-MCFI-Index.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 Index<\/a>\r\n\r\n<a class=\"button1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/CA-Municipal-Index-Report_2024v4_publish_authored.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 Report\/Updates<\/a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Key 2024 updates include:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average campaign contribution limit for California cities with self-imposed reforms increased from $711 in 2022 to $777 in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The City of Escondido repealed its local campaign finance laws, reducing the number of MCFI cities from 180 to 179.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The City of Yucaipa opted out of the state\u2019s default contribution limits, increasing the number of California cities without campaign contribution limits from 13 to 14.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of cities officially adopting the state\u2019s default contribution limits (AB 571) through ordinance or resolution increased from nine in 2022 to thirteen in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The total number of California cities with either state or local contribution limits remained at 469 (out of 483 cities).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The City of Thousand Oaks transitioned to by-district elections, resulting in 93 by-district and 86 at-large cities in the MCFI, with 194 out of 483 California cities now conducting by-district elections. <\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>__________________________________________________<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">California has typically been a trailblazer in campaign finance reform over the last century, proposing and implementing reforms that attempt to address the adverse effects of money in politics. While there is no silver bullet for money\u2019s outsized role in our political system, there are plenty of good reforms, many of which are modeled by California cities.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/03\/MCFI-_clean_with-NO-notes-2024.xlsx\" target=\"blank\">The Municipal Campaign Finance Index (MCFI)<\/a> is an organized accounting of campaign finance laws in all California cities. The Index and its accompanying report<\/span>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/03\/CA-Municipal-Index-Reportv5-final-5_8_2024.pdf\" target=\"blank\"><i>Local Dollars and Local Democracy: A Comprehensive Analysis and Index of Campaign Finance Laws in California's Cities<\/i><\/a>, supply comprehensive data and context for California\u2019s municipal campaign finance landscape.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The index, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MCFI-_clean_with-notes-Notes_Extra-column-removed-2024.xlsx\" target=\"blank\">downloadable as an interactive spreadsheet<\/a>, lists the 180 California cities that have implemented campaign finance reforms in their charters and\/or municipal codes, indicates which reforms those cities have, and designates the strength and comprehensiveness of the reforms in each city.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/03\/CA-Municipal-Index-Reportv5-final-5_8_2024.pdf\" target=\"blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">breaks down the data provided in the Index, explains various campaign finance laws, provides a brief history of such laws in California, discusses the future of reform, and proposes best-practice reforms to mitigate the inequitable effects of money in politics.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MCFI is intended for multiple uses. A community activist can use the index to find out what types of campaign finance laws exist (or don\u2019t exist) in their town and how cities nearby or similarly sized to their own employ reforms. A city attorney can use the index to research the statutory language different cities use for a particular type of reform. Researchers can use the index as a starting point or springboard for studies on election and campaign finance reform.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of how one chooses to use the Municipal Campaign Finance Index, its purpose is education and advocacy. The hope is that the MCFI will lead to an expansion of meaningful campaign finance reform across California, which will mitigate corruption and increase faith in local democracy.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Index, which is composed of 2022 data, will be updated when possible to reflect new, amended, or repealed municipal reforms as California Common Cause is made aware of them. To report updates, please email Sean McMorris at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:smcmorris@commoncause.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">smcmorris@commoncause.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key findings in the report include:<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effect of state laws on municipal campaign finance<\/span><\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 571 (2019), 469 out of 482 California cities, or <\/span><b>97% of all CA cities, have campaign contribution limits<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 1439 (2022), <\/span><b>all 482 California cities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (as well as all other local jurisdictions) <\/span><b>have an anti-pay-to-play law<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that mandates recusal of electeds and government decision-makers who will vote on or influence matters that effect the monetary interests of campaign contributors who gave more than $250 to their campaigns in the past 12 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extent and quality of municipal campaign finance laws<\/span><\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">180 California cities, or <\/span><b>37% of all CA cities, have self-imposed campaign finance reform<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (i.e., reform other than what is required by state law).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">64 California cities, or <\/span><b>13% of all CA cities, have \u201cstrong\u201d campaign finance laws<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (which means a city\u2019s laws are generally well-designed and enforced to achieve their purpose).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">63 California cities, or <\/span><b>13% of all CA cities, have \u201ccomprehensive\u201d campaign finance laws<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (which means that a city\u2019s laws are multiple and thorough).<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public campaign finance systems<\/span><\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seven California charter cities, or <\/span><b>1% of all CA cities, have instituted campaign public financing systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laws that limit who can give to a campaign, when, and how much can be given<\/span><\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">143 California cities, or <\/span><b>30% of all CA cities, have self-imposed campaign contribution limits <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(i.e., limits other than what state law requires via AB 571).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">109 California cities, or <\/span><b>23% of all CA cities, have campaign contribution limits that are $1,000 or less<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enforcement and oversight of campaign finance laws\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">131 California cities, or <\/span><b>27% of all CA cities, have deterrent penalties for campaign finance violations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nine California cities, or <\/span><b>2% of all CA cities, have ethics commissions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that oversee or enforce campaign finance laws.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<a class=\"button1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/CA-Municipal-Index-Reportv7-Final_Authored.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inaugural Report<\/a>\r\n<a class=\"button1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MCFI-_clean_with-NO-notes-2024.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download 2022 Index (clean)<\/a>\r\n<a class=\"button1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/MCFI-_clean_with-notes-Notes_Extra-column-removed-2024.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download 2022 Index (with notes)<\/a>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_basic_html","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_basic_html":{"heading":"The AirTable below reflects updates through 2024","code":"<iframe class=\"airtable-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/embed\/appfA1mBBHz9SgLNV\/shrddIP3qzaUp4vMm?viewControls=on\" frameborder=\"0\" onmousewheel=\"\" width=\"100%\" height=\"533\" style=\"background: transparent; border: 1px solid #ccc;\"><\/iframe>","width":"medium"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_resources","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_resources":{"heading":"Related Resources","button_text":"See all Related Resources","manually_curate":false,"resource":null}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>California Municipal Campaign Finance Index - Common Cause California<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-29T17:19:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/MunicipalIndexArtWebpage.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1088\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/\",\"name\":\"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index - Common Cause California\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-28T16:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-29T17:19:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/\",\"name\":\"Common Cause California\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index - Common Cause California","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/","og_site_name":"Common Cause California","article_modified_time":"2025-07-29T17:19:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1088,"url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/MunicipalIndexArtWebpage.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/","name":"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index - Common Cause California","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2025-01-28T16:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-29T17:19:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/resources\/california-municipal-campaign-finance-index\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"California Municipal Campaign Finance Index"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/","name":"Common Cause California","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Common Cause California","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2615,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/418\/revisions\/2615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}