CA: FPPC approves four-year plan that seeks additional funding

ap on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 12/1/05 | ap - Sacramento

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's campaign watchdog agency approved a four-year operations plan Thursday that hopes for a significant increase in funding but prepares for continued tight budgets.

A declining budget forced the California Fair Political Practices Commission to drop 225 enforcement cases this year.

"It's really an effort to kind of wave the flag a little bit to say we really need more resources to do what we do," said Liane Randolph, chairwoman of the five-member commission.

Commission officials said in October that they had to drop the cases because of budget cuts that have cost the agency about a third of its work force since 1991.

The plan adopted by the commission calls for a 50 percent increase in funding, which would give the agency an additional $3 million and allow it to do "the basic level of cases that we need to do," Randolph said.

"It would significantly increase our capacity and it would allow us to do more education outreach, which would reduce the number of violations," she said. "I would describe 50 percent as adequate, but not ideal."

Randolph said the FPPC wasn't necessarily expecting to receive the full 50 percent in the upcoming 2006-07 fiscal year, despite getting "a lot of positive feedback" from the state Department of Finance and the Legislature about a budget increase.

The plan's objectives also include developing criteria that would prevent the commission from opening enforcement cases that it didn't have the resources to prosecute, "particularly those involving a low factor of public harm."

It also calls for developing diversion programs that would require low-level violators to pay to take training courses instead of facing prosecution.

The FPPC enforces the state's campaign finance and conflict-of-interest laws, including statutes that require candidates and campaign committees to report donations and expenditures by a series of deadlines.

[NormsRevenge]

The article makes it sound like the legislature will give them additional funding but only if punishment is limited to slaps on the wrist and have to take training courses to avoid prosecution.

That's our state gubamint, a bunch of 'rat bastards from top to bottom.. ;-)

[NormsRevenge]

CA: FPPC shelving about 225 cases because of funding shortage ^

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1496722/posts