Reimbursements: A little-known provision of recall law

California taxpayers could be on the hook for hefty bills if the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom fails.

That’s because of a little-recognized provision of the state constitution that declares: “A state officer who is not recalled must be reimbursed by the State for the officer’s recall election expenses legally and personally incurred.” 

As governor, Newsom is a state officer and he falls within that constitutional provision in Article II, Sec. 18.

The constitutional language does not cover the big-ticket costs of political campaigning — including the purchasing of ads, TV spots, mailers, fund-raisers and staff salaries. In a recall election, there are no limits on how much his campaign can collect in donations.

The constitution’s reimbursement language does not apply to local officials’ recalls, following a court ruling

But it does include recall-related legal costs and other expenditures, such as filing challenges with the secretary of state over ballot language or fighting rulings on signature gathering. Those costs could run into six figures, or even more, depending on the amount of legal work and challenges, by the time the recall ballot language actually goes to voters later this year, as expected.

“It’s not like you could recover the costs of a $100 million ad campaign,” said Sacramento attorney and law professor Chris Micheli. “It’s not that broad.  But some of the legal expenses and filing fees are recoverable.”

He noted that it is unclear how much the governor could be reimbursed.

“It has not really been tested to determine for certain what types of expenses could be reimbursed. One question would be, ‘What would the governor seek reimbursement for?'”

Thee constitution’s reimbursement language does not apply to local officials’ recalls, following a court ruling

The only statewide officer to be recalled in California was Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 2o03. Five other state officials, all members of the state Senate or Assembly, have been recalled, most recently in 2018 with the recall of Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, according to the secretary of state.

Supporters of the recall have so far raised approximately $4.7 million; opponents have raised about $17.9 million, some or most of which at least theoretically could fall under the above clause of the state constitution.  Spending on both sides will inevitably increase between now and when the date for balloting is set sometime this fall.

The Public Policy Institute of California’s May 25 poll has Newsom comfortably ahead; support for the recall was at 40%, and support for the governor was at 57%

Meanwhile, the California Republican Party has contributed $187,218 to the recall campaign, and the Mike Huckabee PAC $100,000.

Recall backers claim 1,719,943 signatures. Their website accuses Newsom of being “the most controversial and failed Governor in America” and blames him for, among other things, “unaffordable housing. Record homelessness. Rising crime. Failing schools.”

Newsom’s campaign, noting that the Republican party has not won a single statewide office since 2006, are working hard to attach the recall effort solely to the GOP and Donald Trump. Their most prominent campaign slogan is “Stop the Republican Recall” and they describe the recall effort as “A partisan, Republican coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, Q-Anon conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant Trump supporters.”

The Public Policy Institute of California’s May 25 poll has Newsom comfortably ahead; support for the recall was at 40%, and support for the governor was at 57% . Seventy-eight percent of Republicans were pro-recall, 47% of independents favored it, and only 11% of Democrats were in favor. 

The PPIC poll also reported California’s coastal-inland political divisions: Inland regions of the state showed the highest level of support for removing Newsom – 56%  in the Inland Empire and 49% in the Central Valley. Newsom’s highest level of support was in the coastal areas, with Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area showing only 32 % of those polled favoring recall.

And, California being California, there are other candidates as well, including reality TV star, former male Olympic athlete and transgender rights activist Caitlyn Jenner. 

 “The remarkably stable opposition to the recall of Gavin Newsom is driven by a large and consistent partisan divide that favors the Democratic governor,” Mark Baldassare, PPIC president and CEO, said in a statement accompanying the release of the poll.

When it does go before voters, the recall ballot will be split between two parts.

Part One will be an up-or-down, yes or no vote on whether Newsom should be recalled. If a majority of voters decide Newsom should go, they will then decide among a number of gubernatorial hopefuls on another part or the ballot. The candidate receiving a plurality of votes will become governor. Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, former Rep. Doug Ose and businessperson John Cox, who ran against Newsom unsuccessfully last time around, are all on the ballot.

And, California being California, there are other candidates as well, including reality TV star, former male Olympic athlete and transgender rights activist Caitlyn Jenner. 

Making a return engagement after running in the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis is Mary Carey, the star of such films as “Dirty Angels: Welcome to Lust Angeles” and “The Big Bust Theory.” Her campaign features the slogan “Finally a politician you want to be screwed by!” 

Although few things are absolutely predictable in politics, one outcome of all this surely is: California’s image in some parts of the country as the wacko state is already being reinforced.