When voters passed the Political Reform Act in 1974, they simultaneously created the FPPC to administer and enforce the landmark ethics law, as well as inform and assist public officials, employees and candidates to comply with its provisions. Specifically, the Act gives the FPPC authority to adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act. In addition to interpreting and enforcing the Act, the FPPC focuses on providing current information and useful assistance to encourage compliance.
The FPPC...
Informs
The FPPC Inform Page strives to suit the needs of all interested parties with regard to details of the Act, current and previous enforcement actions, and any questions of the FPPC in the media.
Assists
The FPPC provides multiple tools to Assist in learning about and complying with the Act, including manuals, fact sheets & guides, training and outreach, and technical advice.
Interprets
It is the task of the FPPC to Interpret the Act through regulations and legal advice.
Enforces
The FPPC Enforcement Division investigates and administratively prosecutes violations of the Act with a team of attorneys, investigators, auditors, and political reform consultants who work vigorously to ensure that cases are handled swiftly and fairly.
How to File a Complaint
Anyone who suspects a violation of the Act should file a sworn complaint with the Enforcement Division.
Electronic Complaint System
Complaint: If you suspect someone has violated the Political Reform Act, file a complaint with the FPPC’s Enforcement Division using the Electronic Complaint System. To file, provide the requested information on the complaint below, attach all documents you have containing evidence of the violations using the document uploader, and click submit. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your complaint if you provide a return email address. If you file a sworn complaint, you will receive notifications regarding your complaint.
Attachments: If you are filing an anonymous complaint and are attaching documents, please take a moment to delete any descriptive metadata (information about the author of a document or location a picture was taken that is stored within the document).
If you are unfamiliar with this process, please click this link for more information on how to remove it. Remove Metadata from Office Files, PDFs, and Images. Remove Metadata From Mac Word.
Enforcement staff does not redact metadata from documents and complaints and attachments are available for public inspection under the CA Public Records Act.
Referral: Filing officers can submit referrals to the Enforcement Division using the Electronic Complaint System. To refer a matter for prosecution by the Enforcement Division, provide the information requested below, attach the respondent’s most recent statement or report and a copy of your conflict of interest code (if applicable), and click submit. You will receive an email confirming receipt of the referral and notification when the FPPC takes action on the referral.
Disclaimer: The complaint form works best on Google Chrome and we suggest you use this browser to submit the complaint. If you are unable to see the complaint form on your screen, please try clearing cache and cookies from your browser. Close the browser after clearing, open a new window, and start again. We are working to resolve this issue.
If you have questions or problems submitting your complaint or referral, please email complaint@fppc.ca.gov and we will assist you.
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