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HomePenal CodeLegislative Bribery ProhibitionPt. 1§ 86 Legislative Bribery Prohibition

§ 86 Legislative Bribery Prohibition

Penal Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 86 Legislative Bribery Prohibition

This law says politicians or government officials can't take bribes or trade votes for favors. If they do, they can go to jail and pay big fines.

Key Takeaways

  • •Politicians can't take money or favors to change their votes.
  • •If they take a bribe, they can go to jail for 2-4 years.
  • •Fines depend on the bribe amount but are at least $4,000 or the bribe value, whichever is higher.
  • •The fine can't be more than double the bribe or $20,000, whichever is bigger.

Example

A city council member takes $10,000 from a company to vote for their project.

The council member broke the law by taking money to influence their vote. They could go to jail and pay a fine of at least $10,000 (the bribe amount) or more.

How to Calculate

Fine = max(actual bribe amount, $4,000) or up to min(double the bribe, $20,000)

  1. Check if a bribe was actually received.
  2. If no bribe was received, the fine is between $4,000 and $20,000.
  3. If a bribe was received, the fine is at least the bribe amount or $4,000 (whichever is bigger), but no more than double the bribe or $20,000 (whichever is bigger).

A politician receives a $5,000 bribe.

Result: The fine would be at least $5,000 (since it's bigger than $4,000) but no more than $10,000 (double the bribe). The judge picks the exact amount based on what the politician can pay.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 86 Legislative Bribery Prohibition

PENAL CODE - PEN PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS [25 - 680.4] ( Part 1 enacted 1872. ) TITLE 6. OF CRIMES AGAINST THE LEGISLATIVE POWER [85 - 88] ( Title 6 enacted 1872. ) 86. Every Member of either house of the Legislature, or any member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other special district, who asks, receives, or agrees to receive, any bribe, upon any understanding that his or her official vote, opinion, judgment, or action shall be influenced thereby, or shall give, in any particular manner, or upon any particular side of any question or matter upon which he or she may be required to act in his or her official capacity, or gives, or offers or promises to give, any official vote in consideration that another Member of the Legislature, or another member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other special district shall give this vote either upon the same or another question, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years and, in cases in which no bribe has been actually received, by a restitution fine of not less than four thousand dollars ($4,000) or not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or, in cases in which a bribe was actually received, by a restitution fine of at least the actual amount of the bribe received or four thousand dollars ($4,000), whichever is greater, or any larger amount of not more than double the amount of any bribe received or twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), whichever is greater. In imposing a fine under this section, the court shall consider the defendant’s ability to pay the fine. (Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 881, Sec. 2. (AB 1666) Effective January 1, 2015.)

Last verified: January 9, 2026

Key Terms

bribeofficial voterestitution fineimprisonment

Related Statutes

  • § 93 Judicial Bribery Penalties
  • § 67 Bribing Executive Officers
  • § 68 Bribery Of Public Officials
  • § 92 Bribery Of Judicial Officials
  • § 17 Felony And Misdemeanor Classification

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Penal Code. Section 86.
View Official Source