Political Reform Act of 1974: security expenses.

Assembly Member Bonta, with Principal coauthor Assembly Member Rivas and Senator Ashby, presents AB 789 as a reconfiguration of how campaign funds may cover security costs for candidates and elected officials, removing the lifetime cap through 2028 and instituting a $10,000-per-calendar-year ceiling beginning in 2029, while expanding the class of relatives whose security payments are exempt from the definition of security expenses. The measure also introduces a coordinated, conditional framework with AB 808 that governs when these amendments would take effect. The bill is positioned as an amendment to the Political Reform Act of 1974 with a two‑thirds vote requirement and contains no explicit new appropriation.

The bill preserves the core elements that define security expenses—reasonable costs for installing and monitoring home or office security, reasonable costs of personal security, and other tangible security-related items—and retains the current exclusion for firearms. It expands exemptions to include a broader list of relatives, described as spouses, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, in‑laws, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, first cousins, and the spouses of any such relatives, thereby removing many of these payments from the security-expenses category. The cap on spending is lifted entirely until January 1, 2029, after which an annual cap of $10,000 applies, regardless of the number of offices a candidate or official seeks or holds.

Campaign committees would continue to be able to use campaign funds to pay or reimburse security costs if a threat to safety arises from a candidate’s or officeholder’s activities or status, with the usual reporting and verification requirements intact. Reimbursements must be equal to the fair market value of the items, and timing rules require return or reimbursement within a year after leaving office or ceasing candidacy, with an exception for continuing threats verified by law enforcement. The immediate family or staff are not personally liable for reimbursements. Expenditures and reimbursements must be reported on campaign statements and accompanied by a form signed under penalty of perjury documenting the threat, with detailed records maintained as part of campaign records.

Implementing provisions describe a staged operative framework in coordination with AB 808, such that AB 789’s amendments to the security-expenses provision would become operative only under a specified sequence of enactment and effective dates. The bill also preserves the reporting, verification, and recordkeeping architecture administered by the Fair Political Practices Commission, while clarifying how the expanded exemptions could affect enforcement and transparency.Stakeholders including campaign committees, the immediate family and staff of officeholders, the FPPC, and law enforcement would navigate changed expenditure dynamics, reporting obligations, and potential guidance needs as the two-bill framework interacts with timelines and cross‑bill sequencing.