On November 5, voters in the City of Los Angeles approved Ballot Measure ER, which changes the City Ethics Commission’s authority and operational independence.

The measure establishes a minimum annual budget for the City Ethics Commission; increases the commission’s authority over spending decision and hiring matters; and allows the commission to obtain outside counsel in limited circumstances.

It also increases the penalties for violations of the city’s ethics laws from $5,000 to $15,000 per violation.

The measure passed overwhelmingly with almost 75% of voter approval and will become effective December 6.

Gov. Newsom signed a bill into law specifically covering the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) Board code of conduct and lobbying rules.

Assembly Bill 3123 revises and recasts the agency’s code of conduct by specifying board members and certain designated employees will be subject to all applicable state law and the authority’s administrative code.

This change eliminates specific rules regarding a construction company, engineering firm, vendor, or other various business entities from giving a board member or employee a contribution of over $10 in value.

The revolving door provision for board members and certain designated employees of LAMTA is also reduced from 3 years to 12 months.

The bill become effective January 1, 2025.

The county has recently proposed governance changes through charter reform which will go before voters as a ballot measure this upcoming November.

Some of the proposed changes include expanding the Board of Supervisors from five to nine while also creating a position of an elected County Executive.

The measure would also create an independent ethics commission to further increase transparency and accountability of government officials.

Voters will have an opportunity to vote for this measure come November 5, 2024.

The Los Angeles’ Ad hoc committee on governance reform has recommended the approval of an ethics commission report that would change the rules on persons and organizations lobbying the city.

The commission, whose origins revolves around a controversial leaked audio tape from two former members of the city council, have been tasked on overhauling the city’s ethics laws.

The commission recommended setting a compensation threshold of $5,000 per year that would require a person to register as a lobbyist.

The recommendation also included a requirement for lobbyists to identify their positions on matters about which they are lobbying and lowering the threshold which triggers disclosures when lobbyists distribute political fundraiser solicitations to 15 or more people, down from a threshold of 50 people.

The next step is for the City Council to vote on the commission’s recommendations at their next meeting.

City Council approved a special election to fill the empty District 6 seat on April 4, 2023, with a runoff taking place June 27 if necessary.

The election follows Nury Martinez’s resignation after a leaked conversation about redistricting was made public.

In the recording, Martinez with fellow council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin De Leon were heard using racist and demeaning language when discussing how to manipulate the city’s redistricting process.

After pressure for all three to resign, only Martinez has stepped down.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission announced the fundraising window for the regular 2022 primary election.

The window for citywide candidates will open March 8, 2020, while primary election are scheduled for March 8, 2022.

City law specifies the primary election fundraising window for citywide races will be 24 months.

Additionally, the window for City Council and Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education (LAUSD) races will be 18 months.

The fundraising window for City Council and LAUSD candidates in the regular 2022 primary election will open September 8, 2020.

The Ethics Commission has not changed the campaign contribution limits for candidates at this time.

The Los Angeles City Council is repealing a law requiring companies seeking city contracts to disclose any ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA).

This comes weeks after a federal judge blocked the city from enforcing the ordinance.

Council members unanimously voted 12-0 without discussion to repeal the ordinance.

The law required companies vying for city contracts to disclose contracts or sponsorship’s between them or their subsidiaries and the NRA.

In December, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson issued a preliminary injunction preventing the law from being enforced.

A federal judge temporarily blocked a Los Angeles law requiring businesses seeking city contracts to disclose any links to the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance in February requiring companies doing business with the city to disclose any financial connections to the gun-rights advocacy organization.

The NRA responded with a federal lawsuit against the city, arguing the policy silences NRA members and supporters in the city by forcing them to disclose their ties with the organization.

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ordinance while the case moves forward.

However, the judge granted the city’s motion to dismiss claims the ordinance violates the NRA’s equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and the ordinance has the effect of compelling speech.

Also, the judge removed Mayor Eric Garcetti and the city clerk as defendants in the lawsuit.

The city may appeal the ruling or the NRA may request the injunction be made permanent.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to prevent real estate developers who have project applications pending at city hall from making campaign contributions to elected officials or candidates for municipal office.

City Councilman David Ryu introduced the proposal to ban developer donations to prevent interference with the ethical commitments candidates make when running for office.

Under the new ordinance, real estate developers will be barred from giving political contributions to Los Angeles city officials and candidates for council, mayor, or city attorney while the city decides on key approvals for building projects.

These restrictions will be in effect for one year after a final decision on each developer application.

The law does not prohibit developers from hosting fundraisers or raising money from other donors and does not apply to major subcontractors on a development project.

Critics contend the new rules will spur developers to donate more money to independent expenditure committees, which have no limits on how much they can receive and cannot coordinate with their chosen candidates.

The council also voted to have a committee reexamine possible restrictions on behested payments, which are donations solicited by candidates or elected officials for various charities or causes.

The ordinance becomes operative the first day a candidate for elected city office can file a Declaration of Intent to Solicit and Raise Contributions for the 2022 general election.

Mayor Eric Garcetti has until December 16 to act on the ordinance.

The Los Angeles City Council rules committee voted to have the city attorney draft two versions of a proposed ban on donations to city officials from developers seeking approval for their building projects.

Version one would directly follow the Ethics Commission’s recommendation to restrict non-individuals and developers from making political contributions. The restriction would apply from the date the project application is filed until 12 months after the final resolution of the application.

Version two would ban donations from any person or entity pursuing or currently working on large development projects with the city.

Both proposals would ban elected officials from soliciting behested payments from restricted sources, and lower the disclosure threshold for behested payments to $1,000 per payor per year.

Additionally, the proposals would require the disclosure of behested payments to identify whether the payor is a lobbyist, lobbyist firm, bidder, contractor, or developer.

These drafts are expected to be presented to the full City Council within the next few weeks.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission backed new restrictions on political contributions from real estate developers seeking city approval for their building plans.

The proposed ban applies to those who are “substantially involved” in a proposed development project, such as real estate executives, architects, engineers, and others.

The commission also supports new restrictions on behested payments, and it endorsed the idea of banning contributions from businesses, unions, organizations, and other entities, allowing only for contributions from individuals.

The FBI is continuing its probe into corruption at City Hall.

The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance on February 12 which requires companies that have contracts with the city to disclose under affidavit any contracts or sponsorships they or their subsidiaries have with the National Rifle Association.

A letter last week sent from the NRA threatened legal action if the ordinance passed, stating the proposal violates the First Amendment and is “an unconstitutional effort to restrict and chill an individual’s right to associate and express their political beliefs.”

Ordinance 18-0896 passed on a 14-0 vote and is headed to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s desk for review.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission announced it will be taking another look at a proposal to ban certain developer contributions to elected officials and candidates after Los Angeles City Council members revived the idea.

Six council-members reintroduced the new motion last week, with Council President Herb Wesson seconding it.

The motion prohibits developers from making political contributions to city elected officials or candidates from the date of application for the property is filed until 12 months following the final resolution of the application.

The Ethics Commission also announced it could include restrictions on nonindividual entity contributors and payments made by third parties at the behest of elected officials.

The Los Angeles Unified School District will hold a special election on March 5, 2019, to fill the vacancy for the Board of Education’s District 5 seat.

The seat was vacated earlier this year by Ref Rodriguez, who is currently facing felony and misdemeanor charges related to an alleged money laundering scheme.

A special runoff election will be held on May 14, 2019, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote.