Fppc

Fair Political Practices Commission v. Californians Against Corruption

Good Law

109 Cal. App. 4th 269·134 Cal. Rptr. 2d 659·2003 Cal. App. LEXIS 792·2003 Daily Journal DAR 5770·2003 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4499

Court of Appeal of CaliforniaMay 29, 2003C038246California4,737 words

Opinion

Nicholson, J.

In 1995, Ravi Mehta, Chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC or Commission), signed a document delegating some of the Commission’s functions to employees of the FPPC. Before the FPPC ratified the delegation, the employees held proceedings against an organization and two of its treasurers for violations of the Political Reform Act. When the organization and treasurers failed to respond to notices from the FPPC employees, a default decision was entered against the organization and treasurers including a fine of $808,000.

The FPPC initiated this action to obtain a civil judgment against the organization and its treasurers. The trial court entered judgment in the FPPC’s favor for almost $1.1 million, including interest. On appeal, defendants assert (1) the FPPC was not entitled to judgment pursuant to Government Code section 91013.5 because it did not follow the procedures set forth in the Political Reform Act and implementing regulations, (2) the FPPC failed to consider mitigating evidence, and (3) the penalty was unconstitutionally excessive. We affirm.

Background

Californians Against Corruption (CAC) was organized on March 26, 1992, with Carl Russell…

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