Amber Maltbie Quoted on Using Campaign Funds for Childcare

Government Relations & Regulation Partner Amber Maltbie was quoted in the Huffington Post article, Moms Are Fighting to Use Campaign Funds for Child Care. Recently, Amber led Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s efforts to introduce Assembly Bill 220 to the California legislature which, if passed, will amend the California Political Reform Act to allow state and local candidates to use campaign funds for childcare costs incurred while engaged in campaign activities. 

For the Huffington Post piece, Amber commented on why under current law, it is usually not permissible for political candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child care. She stated that while campaign finance law varies from state to state, generally the law boils down to a prohibition on using campaign funds for personal expenses. This often leads state ethics officials to interpret the law to allow campaign spending only on child care during campaign-related events. 

The article also highlights Amber’s efforts in California and notes that she has been a long-time advocate of this issue, having tried as early as 2011 to persuade California lawmakers to introduce legislation making child care a permissible campaign expense. 

For the full article, click here.