The CA Form 497 has two main uses:
- Primarily, a 24-hour Contribution Report, which is required for contributions received -OR- non-independent expenditure made in the amount or aggregate of $1,000 or more, filed within the 90-day period before an election
- A 10-day report, required for single contributions received in the amount of $5,000 or more -OR- non-independent expenditures made in the aggregate of $5,000 or more, filed anytime outside of the 90-day period before an election
Please note the Form 497 is not required when a transfer is made between two campaign committees for elective office controlled by the same candidate.
Every time a donation is made, the aggregate resets back to $0. Per the FPPC manual, if a committee receives a contribution after a
24-hour report is filed but that contribution amount does not reach the $1,000 threshold, another 24-hour report is not needed until that threshold is crossed again.
Determining when contributions should pull to a 497 can be confusing. Here are a few examples to help demonstrate situations that are most common.
Example 1: A donor gives $800 in aggregate outside of the 90-day reporting period. They then donate $500 in the 90-day reporting period. This $500 amount would not pull because it’s under the $1,000 aggregate amount for the 90-day reporting period.
Example 2: A donor gave $500 in the 90-day reporting period. They then give another $600 in the same 90-day reporting period. This donor now aggregates to $1,000 or more in the 90-day reporting period and will need to be reported on a 497.
Example 3: A donor gives $1,100 in the 90-day reporting period. This is reported on a 497. The donor then gives another $700 in the 90-day reporting period. This $700 amount is not reported on a 497 because the aggregate has reset back to $0 when the first 497 was filed.
Why isn’t my contribution to support another candidate, committee or PAC appearing on the CA Form 497?
Furthermore, if you are expecting a contribution made (expense to another committee) to pull to a 497 and it is not, then consider these two scenarios:
- Support/Oppose Memo is missing or incorrect. Since the 497, or 24-hour Contribution Report, is based on Support/Oppose Memos, check to make sure there is a Support/Oppose Memo on the contribution made transaction you’re expecting to report. Note that the entity on the whole transaction will not show unless it’s a direct contribution to that committee.
- The election on the Support/Oppose Memo does not match the Current election. For the standard Form 497 report, the election listed on the S/O Memo must match the current election selected for the report. If the election does not match, the contribution will not appear.
About Contributions Received
Generally Political Action Committees (PACs) do not have to report Contributions Received, so Page 1 is automatically
excluded for them.
The exception is Political Committees that are organized to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. For proper reporting, please make sure that supported/oppose entities are properly linked to your filer via the relationships section.
Beyond this, page 1 will also be excluded for the Ten Business Day version (see below for more information about versions) or if the option is selected when generating the report to suppress this section.
Loan Checkbox (indicating a loan on E-filing or on PDF/Paper file)
Please note when the State created the e-filing specifications for the Form 497, they did not add a section where the loan box can be checked. Instead, the document note is used to indicate that it is a loan. The loan box cannot be checked when e-filed; only when paper filed.
Contributions Made to State/Local Elections Using Federal Funds
When contributions are made to state or local races using federal funds, the itemization rules slightly change. There is no reset, and the contributions made are reported as info, or what we would call memo. These expenses will itemize once they reach the $1,000 threshold and will continue to itemize. In addition, Support/Oppose Memos with IE to Support, IE to Oppose or Non-IE to Oppose will not be included on the 497.
Non-federal expenses DO reset after they hit the $1,000 threshold.
Expense Texts
For additional public disclosure, we include additional text for every expense.
- If the parent transaction has the MBR code, the text will say:
Membership Communication in reference to [S/O Memo Name] was made in either Opposition or Support (depending if the S/O Memo has tag Non-IE to Oppose or not) - If the parent transaction does NOT have the MBR code, the text will say:
Contribution Made to [S/O Memo Name] was made in either Opposition or Support (depending if the S/O Memo has tag Non-IE to Oppose or not) - If the original expense was made from the Federal Account / using Federal Funds, there will also be “with funds spent from the Federal Account.” at the end of the text.
Report Versions
These different versions allow generation of the report with different business logic, either based on different agency requirements or stylistic preferences. Please make sure you’re choosing the right version when generating.
CA Form 497 Standard
- Candidate/Officeholder Committees
- Ballot Measure Committees
- State/County Political Party
The Standard version is filed by state and local committees making or receiving contributions whose combined total is $1,000 or more in the 90 days before an election.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
These committee types include:
CA Form 497 Ten Business Day
This version must be filed within 10 business days by state committees that make contributions totaling $5,000 or more in connection with a state ballot measure.
This must also be filed by state committees that receive single contributions of $5,000 or more.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
CA Form 497 Third Pre-Election Report
This version is for certain Local Jurisdictions (ie: San Diego) who are choosing to use the 497 for a Third Pre-Election Report instead of the 460.
Contribution Received Aggregate is for $100, rather than $1000. However, the Page 2 Aggregate for Expenses Made remains at $1000.
This version ONLY pulls transactions associated with the election selected with “Current Election”. This is per advice from the FPPC.
Five Hundred Report
This version is often used by certain Local Jurisdictions (ie: Santa Barbara) who are choosing to use the 497 for a Third Pre-Election Report instead of the 460.
Contribution Received Aggregate is for $500, rather than $1000. However, the Page 2 Aggregate for Expenses Made remains at $1000.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
Standard
- Candidate/Officeholder Committees
- Ballot Measure Committees
- State/County Political Party
The Standard version is filed by state and local committees making or receiving contributions whose combined total is $1,000 or more in the 90 days before an election.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
These committee types include:
Ten Business Day
This version must be filed within 10 business days by state committees that make contributions totaling $5,000 or more in connection with a state ballot measure. This version will itemize contributions received even if the filer is a PAC.
This must also be filed by state committees that receive single contributions of $5,000 or more.
The difference between this version and the Ten Business Day-Qualification Version is this version itemizes contributions of $5000 or more, whereas the Ten Business Day-Qualification version itemizes contributions of $100 or more.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
Ten Business Day Qualification
This version must be filed within 10 business days by state committees that make contributions totaling $5,000 or more to support or oppose the qualification or passage of a single state or local ballot measure. This version will itemize contributions received even if the filer is a PAC.
The difference between this version and the Ten Business Day Version is this version itemizes contributions of $100 or more, whereas the Ten Business Day version itemizes contributions of $5000 or more.
NOTE: When using this version, the From Date is the day after the closing date of the last filed report.
Third Pre-Election Report
This version is for certain Local Jurisdictions (ie: San Diego) who are choosing to use the 497 for a Third Pre-Election Report instead of the 460.
Contribution Received Aggregate is for $100, rather than $1000. However, the Page 2 Aggregate for Expenses Made remains at $1000.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
Threshold Transactions Only
- Candidate/Officeholder Committees
- Ballot Measure Committees
- State/County Political Party
This version is filed by state and local committees making or receiving contributions whose combined total is $1,000 or more in the 90 days before an election.
This version shows only the transaction(s) that reaches the $1000 or more threshold, rather than ALL the transactions associated with the entity. In addition, this version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
These committee types include:
Transactions Regardless of Current Election
This version includes ALL transactions in the time period, rather than those just associated with what is selected for Current Election.
Two Hundred Fifty Report Itemization
This version is for local committees making or receiving contributions whose combined total is $250.00 or more in the 90 days before an election.
Contribution Received Aggregate is for $250, rather than $1000. However, the Page 2 Aggregate for Expenses Made remains at $1000.
This version only pulls transactions associated with the election selected with Current Election. This is per advice from the FPPC.
