Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...Gov. Gavin Newsom has agreed to pay a $31,500 fine after California’s political watchdog agency found he’d missed deadlines to report more than $5.5 million in donations made by major corporations at his behest, largely tied to recovery efforts for the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission said in its decision that the 36 donations, which were made in 2024 and 2025, were disclosed between 64 and 229 days late. The state’s Political Reform Act, which regulates campaign finance laws, requires elected officials to report donations of $5,000 or more made at their request to other organizations within 30 days.
All but $100,000 of the donations went to the California Fire Foundation — a nonprofit organization that provides financial support to firefighters and fire victims — and came from companies like Apple, PayPal, Paramount Studios and DoorDash.
During the Eaton and Palisades fires, which burned 37,700 acres, destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other structures and killed 31 across the greater Los Angeles area in January 2025, Newsom issued an executive order that would extend filing deadlines for Los Angeles public officials, however, it didn’t apply for state offices.
The fine will be approved at the commission’s June 18 meeting as the stipulation notes that Newsom has already agreed to pay the penalty.
Kendall Bonebrake, the FPPC’s chief of enforcement, noted in the decision that the “public harm stemming from a violation of behested payments law is primarily the erosion of public trust and governmental transparency by obscuring potential conflicts of interest.” State law requires disclosure of these types of payments because it is a potential way donors might look to gain favor with elected officials.
“The law exists to provide public disclosure of payments — made for charitable, legislative, or governmental purposes at the behest of an official — that are not campaign contributions or gifts, but which nevertheless have the potential for undue influence over a public official, especially if the payor has business or proceedings before that official’s agency,” Bonebrake wrote.
A spokesperson for Newsom said none of the money was misused and that the fine was simply for late paperwork. The spokesperson added that the governor’s office was focused on emergency response and helping the impacted communities during that time period.
Newsom also contends that he was first notified of two of the donations after the filing deadline had already passed, according to the decision.
The fine will be deposited into the state’s general fund and can be paid using campaign dollars.
The FPPC weighs several factors when deciding the fine amount including the potential public harm of the violation, how much experience the elected official might have with the Political Reform Act, a past record of violations and similar cases.
Bonebrake said “a slightly higher penalty is justified” because Newsom has served in public office since 1997, making him “experienced and sophisticated” with state law. However, she said the governor ultimately filed all necessary reports prior to the FPPC’s enforcement division making contact and fully cooperated with the organization.
This isn’t the first time the political watchdog has slapped the governor with a fine. In 2024, Newsom paid a $13,000 fine for for a similar violation, failing to timely disclose 18 donations made at his behest between 2019 and 2024, totaling $14.4 million.
“There is evidence to suggest these violations were part of a pattern of repeated violations as Newsom failed to timely file 18 behested payment reports in a previous case within the past five years,” Bonebrake wrote in her decision. “However, over the course of his officeholding, Newsom and his Office have timely filed hundreds of behested payment reports, which Newsom contends also shows a pattern of good faith compliance.”