The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission deferred a decision on a bill to ban political donations from real estate developers.

Rather than vote down the proposal, commissioners plan to define the scope of coverage for individuals seeking council approval for new developments. They may also choose to explore an alternative option.

They could require elected officials to recuse themselves from development proposal decisions if they have received contributions from the involved developers.

Commission President Serena Oberstein is concerned a ban on developer contributions would lead to money being funneled through independent expenditure committees.

She also questions whether direct contributions actually lead to corruption.

The Los Angeles, California City Ethics Commission announced the annual adjustments to campaign contribution limits.

The contribution amount allowable per-person increased for mayoral, city attorney and controller elections, but not for Los Angeles City Council elections.

The amounts apply to city elections in which the primary election fundraising window opens after March 1, 2018.

The limits do not apply to Los Angeles Unified School District elections.

On December 19, the Los Angeles, California Ethics Commission approved a set of recommendations requiring more disclosure from lobbyists, which will go to City Council for approval.

The recommendations require lobbyists to disclose direct communications with city employees by specifying the date of the communication, the employees title, division, and agency.

Additionally, the recommendations expand the current registration exemption for 501(c)(3) organizations.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission has recommended multiple changes to the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance.

These changes include increasing the registration threshold from $2,000 to $5,000; expanding the 501(c)(3) organization exemption; amending and adding definitions regarding lobbying; expanding gift restrictions; revising registration statements, deadlines, and fees; creating a bimonthly reporting calendar instead of quarterly; and increasing civil penalties for violations of lobbying laws.

The next commission meeting is on October 17, and comments regarding the proposal can be emailed to ethics.policy@lacity.org.

The Los Angeles City Council voted to draft a law that would require contractors doing business with the city to disclose whether they have any contracts connected with the proposed border wall between Mexico and the United States.

The current proposal would not ban companies working on the wall from doing business with Los Angeles, but many council members said it would be a factor they could consider when voting on city contracts.

The City Council voted 13-0 to have city attorneys draft the ordinance. Once drafting is complete, the council will consider the ordinance for approval.

Five City Council members recently asked the Los Angeles Ethics Commission to address the issue of real estate developers making political contributions.

Developers can appear to be benefiting when elected officials they’ve supported grant them land-use perks such as zoning exemptions.

This campaign finance reform initiative focuses on restricting donations specifically from developers, contractors, and subcontractors whose projects are being reviewed by the city.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to hold a special election March 7, 2017, for voters to consider a quarter-cent sales tax to fund efforts to reduce homelessness.

It has yet to be officially announced, but other city and district elections might be consolidated on the March 7 countywide ballot. A consolidated election would allow the county to split the election costs with the other involved jurisdictions.

City Councilman Felipe Fuentes will resign on September 11, nearly 10 months before his term ends, to become a lobbyist with the Apex Group in Sacramento.

In his new role, Fuentes will advocate for Associated General Contractors of California, a statewide trade association.

The council could call for a special election to fill his seat, but the 2017 city election schedule makes the scenario unlikely. The municipal election is already scheduled for March; if no candidate receives a majority in the March election, a May runoff will be held.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission announced it will begin a full review of the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance at the next commission meeting on August 9, 2016.

The commission plans to focus the review on possible amendments to key definitions in the ordinance.

Comments and suggestions from the public regarding the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance can be sent to the commission via email to ethics.policy@lacity.org.

City Councilman David Ryu is working to keep his campaign promise of shaking up the status quo at city hall.

He has sent a letter to the city Ethics Commission requesting they look into the possibility of banning contributions to candidates by businesses, labor unions, and other groups.

He had planned to introduce legislation to accomplish this change; however, when no other council member would sign onto the legislation, Ryu turned to the Ethics Commission, asking them to explore ways to achieve such a ban.

While reform groups support such a ban, critics of the proposal fear it will lead to legal challenges and drive more money to independent expenditure groups.

In September, the Los Angeles, California’s Ethics Commission will be soliciting public comment on the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance. Meetings for interested persons will be held at City Hall at 11:30 a.m. on September 9 and 2:00 p.m. on September 17. The commission is requesting interested persons to sign up for the meetings by email at ethics.policy@lacity.org by September 4.

City Council incumbents and Charter amendments fared well in this year’s March city elections.

Five incumbent City Council members retained their seats by receiving over 50 percent of the vote, but a May runoff will be necessary in the 4^th District to replace termed-out Councilman Tom LaBonge.

Voters passed Charter amendments intended to increase voter turnout by moving city and school board elections to even-numbered years when presidential and gubernatorial races are held, beginning in 2020.

Photo of the Los Angeles skyline by Nserrano on Wikimedia Commons.

In light of the United States Supreme Court ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission announced it would no longer enforce the aggregate limits on contributions to city and school board candidates.

Limits on contributions to individual candidates remain in place.

Photo of the Los Angeles skyline by Nserrano on Wikimedia Commons.

City Council has approved campaign reform measures for candidates and political committees. The new ordinance raises contribution limits to candidate campaigns from $500 to $700 in council races and from $1,000 to $1,300 in citywide races.

Beginning in 2015, public matching funds will be given for donations raised only within city limits. To be eligible for the city money, candidates will have to collect contributions from at least 200 people living in the district they hope to represent.

Beginning next year, candidates will also be eligible for increased matching funds, including four public dollars for every dollar contributed during the general election and two dollars for every dollar contributed during the primary. Donors will also be able to give to campaigns via text message.

The ordinance is scheduled for a final vote next week.

Photo of Los Angeles by Bobak on Wikipedia.