NEVADA CITY, Calif, August 10, 2026 – In November 2022 Nevada County voters rejected Measure V, a sales tax increase to be used for community-wide wildfire mitigation work. Nevada County sent two mailers to voters ahead of the election and a complaint was filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC.) Today, an agreed settlement between FPPC’s Enforcement Division and Nevada County was published and provided to us from various sources. To resolve seven violations the stipulated agreement proposes, and Nevada County agreed to, a penalty of $31,500 will be paid by the county.

The stipulation goes before the FPPC Commission on August 20, 2026 and the Commission can adopt or reject the order.

The seven violations are:

  1. Prohibited mass mailing at public expense (Mailer #1) – §89001 / Reg. 18901.1
  2. Prohibited mass mailing at public expense (Mailer #2) – §89001 / Reg. 18901.1
  3. Failure to include proper ad disclosure (Mailer #1) – §84502
  4. Failure to include proper ad disclosure (Mailer #2) – §84502
  5. Failure to timely file semi-annual campaign statement ($34,614 in independent expenditures) – §84200(b)
  6. Failure to timely file a 24-hour Independent Expenditure Report (Mailer #1) – §84204
  7. Failure to timely file a 24-hour Independent Expenditure Report (Mailer #2) – §84204

Counts five to seven were added by the Enforcement Division once the determination was made that the mailers were campaign mailers, not informational only as the county stated.

A press release by the county reads, in part, “The County takes its obligations under the Political Reform Act seriously and is committed to ensuring compliance moving forward. The County has agreed to pay a discounted administrative penalty to resolve the case after four years in the FPPC process. The FPPC is expected to make a final determination on the agreement reached with the County at its Aug. 20 meeting.”

The Enforcement Division recognized that “As part of the negotiated settlement, corrective campaign reports and statements have been filed now to provide full disclosure. Additionally, the County was cooperative during the investigation and exhibited intent to resolve the matter expeditiously.”

Noteworthy is the fact that the Enforcement Division has very little latitude to lower penalties for local governments. The FPPC Commission has directed their staff to seek 90%+ of the maximum in public-fund campaigning cases.

The full order is here.