California panel changes donor rule as Democrat faces recall

The commission has long had a rule that politicians can only contribute $4,400 from their campaign accounts to help lawmakers facing a recall. Commissioners decided to lift the restriction as Democratic Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton fights a potential recall.

That matches the rule for individual contributors to recall campaigns, who can give without limit.

Two Republican commissioners and one Democrat agreed with Democratic lawyer Richard Rios, who said the longstanding guidance was wrong.

“We’ve perpetuated the error since 2002, and I think it’s time we fix it,” said Maria Audero, a Republican commissioner.

Commission Chair Jodi Remke, who cast the only dissenting vote, said changing the rule in the midst of a recall would send the wrong message.

“I believe that this is the wrong time and the wrong venue for us to reverse a longstanding commission interpretation of a statute,” Remke said.

A lawyer for the California Republican Party, Brian Hildreth, said the commission should hold off and conduct a more thorough public review.

Newman barely won last year in a district, mostly in Orange County, that has traditionally been represented by Republicans. His victory gave Democrats a supermajority, allowing them to raise taxes without GOP votes. The California Republican Party, anti-tax groups and talk radio hosts collected signatures to force a recall, citing Newman’s support for a gas tax increase.

Democrats have fought hard to boost Newman’s chances of surviving a potential recall. In addition to requesting the change in campaign finance rules, they slipped into the state budget a major change in the process for certifying signatures on recall petitions. The change was put on hold by a state appeals court.