HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2026-04 | Urgency Ordinance Amending Campaign Finance Limits | Adopted 06/15/2026ORDINANCE NO.2026-04
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF GILROY AMENDING CHAPTER 8B OF THE
GILROY CITY CODE RELATING TO VOLUNTARY
CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE CEILING
WHEREAS, the Political Reform Act of 1974 (the "Act") set forth in California
Government Code section 81000 et. seq. governs the conduct of campaigns, and sections 81013
and 85703 grant local agencies the power to enact certain ordinances that govern the financing of
local elections so long as the requirements do not interfere with a person's compliance with the
Act; and
WHEREAS, monetary contributions and expenditures relating to political campaigns are
a legitimate form of participation in the American political process, but large contributions and
expenditures may have an undue influence on candidates or create the appearance of undue
influence in the political process, and regulations are needed to prevent such undue influence;
and
WHEREAS, Chapter 8B of the Gilroy City Code currently sets forth a monetary
voluntary expenditure ceiling that a candidate may agree to, which ceiling is based upon the
entire City population;
WHEREAS, the City of Gilroy adopted ordinance 2025-04 to establish the election of
members of the City Council by six districts; and
WHEREAS, the election for the office of Mayor continues to remain an at-large
election; and
WHEREAS, on June 1, 2026, the City Council reviewed the City's campaign finance
regulations and directed amendments to the City's voluntary campaign expenditure ceiling
provisions; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that immediate implementation of these amendments
is necessary to provide certainty to candidates and committees participating in the upcoming
2026 election cycle and to promote orderly election administration; and
WHEREAS, the subject ordinance amendment is covered under Section 15061(b)(3) of
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as an activity that can be seen with
certainty to have no possibility for causing a significant effect on the environment
WHEREAS, this ordinance is adopted pursuant to the City's police powers and
applicable provisions of the Political Reform Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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Ordinance No. 2026-04
Urgency Ordinance Amending Campaign
Finance Limits
City Council Regular Meeting | May 18, 2026
Page 2 of 4
1) SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 8B.4(a)
Gilroy City Code Section 8B.4(a) governing voluntary expenditure ceiling is hereby
amended to read as follows:
a) The city council does hereby establish a voluntary campaign expenditure ceiling as
follows:
i) City Council District Elections. A candidate for the office of City Councilmember
and for any and all controlled committees of such candidate, who voluntarily agrees
to a campaign expenditure ceiling, shall not make qualified expenditures exceeding
Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) per election. Should a candidate who has
elected to comply with the voluntary campaign expenditure ceiling exceed that
ceiling, he/she shall immediately notify all opponents and the city clerk by telephone
and confirm the same in writing the day that such expenditure ceiling is exceeded.
ii) Biennial Adjustment. Beginning in January 2028, the City Clerk shall, in even-
numbered years, adjust the expenditure ceiling amount established in subsection (i)
based solely upon the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U), San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Area, or successor index. The
adjustment called for by this section shall be the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)
computed by reference to the CPI as indexed from a base year that commences in
October 2025. (By way of example, in January 2028, the City Clerk will adjust the
voluntary expenditure ceiling amounts by determining the increase in CPI from
October 2025 to October 2027). The adjustment to the voluntary expenditure limit
shall be adopted by the City Council by resolution. The adjusted amount shall be
rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100).
iii) Mayoral Elections. A candidate for the office of Mayor and for any and all controlled
committees of such candidate, who voluntarily agrees to a campaign expenditure
ceiling, shall not make qualified expenditures exceeding one dollar ($1.00) multiplied
by the population of the City of Gilroy as established by the most recent annual
population estimate published by the California Department of Finance and as
acknowledged by the City Council by resolution.
2) SECTION 2. REMAINING PROVISIONS UNCHANGED
Except as specifically amended by this ordinance, all other provisions of Chapter 8B of the
Gilroy City Code shall remain in full force and effect. All references in other provisions of
the Gilroy City Code to Chapter 8B or to the election campaign finance shall continue to
apply to Chapter 8B as amended by this ordinance.
3) SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY
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Ordinance No. 2026-04
Urgency Ordinance Amending Campaign
Finance Limits
City Council Regular Meeting | May 18, 2026
Page 3 of 4
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is held invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
4) SECTION 3. URGENCY FINDINGS
The City Council finds that this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, safety, and welfare because immediate implementation is required to
provide certainty to candidates, committees, election officials, and the public regarding
applicable campaign finance rules for the upcoming election cycle and to ensure orderly
administration of municipal elections. Accordingly, this ordinance will go into effect
immediately as an urgency ordinance under state law and an emergency ordinance under
Gilroy Charter Sections 602 and 608(d). As a fully separate basis upon which the ordinance
will go into effect immediately, this ordinance is also an “ordinance calling or otherwise
relating to an election” within the meaning of Gilroy Charter Section 602(a).
5) SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon adoption pursuant to the urgency
ordinance provisions of applicable law and the City Charter.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Gilroy on the 15th
day of June 2026, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: BRACCO, CLINE, FUGAZZI,
MARQUES, RAMIREZ, BOZZO
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: HILTON
APPROVED:
Greg Bozzo, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________
Kim Mancera, City Clerk
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Ordinance No. 2026-04
Urgency Ordinance Amending Campaign
Finance Limits
City Council Regular Meeting | May 18, 2026
Page 4 of 4
CERTIFICATE OF THE CLERK
I, KIM MANCERA, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby certify that
the attached Ordinance No. 2026-04 is an original resolution, or true and correct copy of
a City Resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a Regular
Meeting of said Council held on Monday, June15, 2026, with a quorum present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Official
Seal of the City of Gilroy this Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Kim Mancera
City Clerk of the City of Gilroy
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