{"id":212181,"date":"2026-03-09T22:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/212181\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T22:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:10:09","slug":"fresno-transportation-authority-faces-27k-fine-for-election-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/212181\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Transportation Authority Faces $27K Fine for Election Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

A state agency says the Fresno County Transportation Authority violated state election laws ahead of the failed Measure C renewal effort in 2022 by paying for advertisements with taxpayer money and not properly disclosing the source.<\/p>\n

The California Fair Political Practices Commission recommends a $27,000 fine to the Measure C oversight agency for six alleged violations in 2021 and 2022, according to a February order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of public funds to support or oppose ballot measures is prohibited because of the public harm of taxpayer funds being used to influence the voting public\u2019s views on ballot measure,\u201d the order stated. \u201cHere, the FCTA supported the passage of a local measure using $14,774 in public funds. The FCTA influenced the election with the video ad and website, but Measure C failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nAd Run During Fresno Fair Improperly Endorsed Measure C<\/p>\n

In October 2022, the authority paid nearly $9,749 for a 30-second video ad that ran during the Big Fresno Fair. By outlining the successes of the half-cent sales tax on roads and highways, the order says the ad \u201ccan be construed to have urged support of Measure C.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem is that nearly $10,000 comes from tax money overseen by both the Fresno Council of Governments and the authority. A tagline used at the end, \u201cMeasure C, promises made, promises kept,\u201d further endorses the act, the order states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe continuous and unmistakable reference to a specific ballot measure makes it highly probable that a reasonable person would interpret the communication as an electoral appeal for Measure C,\u201d the order stated.<\/p>\n

Measure C Website Constituted Endorsement<\/p>\n

Ahead of Measure C\u2019s 2022 renewal effort, the authority also paid $11,227 for the website MeasureCRenewal.com. The website featured accomplishments under the transportation tax, and while it does not expressly advocate a position, the URL alone urged a call to action, the order stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes beyond mere advocacy of an issue and constitutes a strong electoral message,\u201d the order states.<\/p>\n

The FPPC also fined the authority for not filing as an independent expenditure committee. Given its apparent advocacy supporting a Measure C renewal, the authority should have filed with the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public harm inherent in campaign late-filing violations is that the public is deprived of important, time-sensitive information regarding campaign activity, which is heightened when related to
pre-election activity and 24-Hour reporting,\u201d the order states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A state agency says the Fresno County Transportation Authority violated state election laws ahead of the failed Measure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-212181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}