2020 a record breaking year for the FPPC despite the pandemic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2021

For More Information Contact:

Jay Wierenga (916) 322-7761

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), California’s governmental ethics and campaign disclosure agency, released its 2020 Annual Report, which shows 2020 setting a record for penalties imposed. Despite 2020 being both a busy election year and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission approved 271 settlements with a record $1,940,107 million dollars in penalties. This follows a record number of cases (343) in 2019 with penalties approved by the Commission. In total, the Commission successfully resolved a total of 1,526 Enforcement cases in 2020.

“This report shows the tremendous work done by our Enforcement Division to hold accountable those who aren’t following the rules,” said FPPC Chair Richard C. Miadich. “There is a great amount of skepticism about politics these days, and this should help assure the public we work diligently to make sure there’s a level playing field for campaigns and there’s a price to pay for not following the law.”

In addition to the Enforcement figures, the FPPC Annual Report also highlights the work done to educate the public and the political community about the law and provide help in understanding the Political Reform Act. Despite the normal increase in workload during an election year and a global pandemic, the FPPC maintained its workload to help promote and ensure compliance with the Act. The Administration Division and IT Department helped facilitate remote work capabilities which enabled each Division to successfully adjust to the challenging environment.

Although the pandemic forced most workshops to be provided digitally, the FPPC still offered 43 workshops for various jurisdictions and agencies to provide training and understanding of the law. The Education unit also answered 7,250 phone calls and its online tutorials saw more than 7,000 views over the course of the year.

In addition, the FPPC Legal Division answered 12,263 phone calls for advice and issued 160 Advice Letters during 2020.

“I’m extremely proud of the work done by our entire staff in helping people understand and comply with the law,” said Chair Miadich. “We will continue to look for ways to expand our outreach and provide the transparency to the public so they can see even more of the information they’re entitled to.”

A link to the full report can be found here:

https://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/NS-Documents/Annual-Report/2020-Annual-Report.pdf

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