Lawmakers passed a bill to include lobbyist employers in the prohibitions against fictitious lobbying practices. Existing law currently prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from attempting to create a fictitious appearance of public favor or disfavor of any proposed legislative or administrative action. A lobbyist or lobbying firm may not cause any communication to be sent to any elected state officer, legislative official, agency official, or state candidate in the name of any fictitious person or in the name of any real person, except with the consent of the real person. Assembly Bill 1736 extends these prohibitions to lobbyist employers and is effective January 1, 2027.

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Does California State Lobbyist Registration Cover Local Lobbying?

No. California’s state lobbyist registration does not cover lobbying directed at local jurisdictions. Before engaging with any county or local official, you must determine whether that jurisdiction has its own lobbying ordinance.

State Registration and Local Lobbying in California

California’s state lobbying law governs activity directed at state officials and state government entities. It does not extend to lobbying at the local level. That means a registered state lobbyist may still need to register separately with individual cities, counties, or local governmental bodies before making contact with their officials.

The scope of local lobbying requirements varies widely. In some cases, a locality, its county, and governmental entities within that county each maintain their own independent lobbying ordinances.

The Los Angeles area is a clear example of this complexity. Each of the following has its own lobbying requirements:

• City of Los Angeles
• County of Los Angeles
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA)
• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

There is no unified registration that covers all of these entities. Each must be evaluated and addressed separately.

How to Approach Local Lobbying Compliance in California

Because no single registration covers local jurisdictions in California, the starting point for any local lobbying effort is identifying two things before outreach begins:

1. The officials you intend to contact, and
2. The governmental entities those officials represent.

From there, you can determine which local ordinances apply and what registration, reporting, or disclosure obligations must be met.

For organizations operating across multiple California jurisdictions, this process can be complex. State and Federal Communications provides lobbying compliance consulting to help government affairs professionals navigate these requirements efficiently.

California Gift Laws and Local Jurisdictions

Gift law compliance adds another layer of consideration for California lobbyists operating at the local level.

California’s state gift laws differ in scope from its lobbying laws. While state lobbying laws do not apply to local jurisdictions, state gift laws do apply at the local level. This means lobbyists engaging with local officials in California must still comply with state gift rules even if they are not required to register with the state .

However, local governments in California are free to adopt their own gift rules, and those local rules may be more stringent than state law. The City of Los Angeles is one example where local gift rules are more stringent than state requirements.

Best practice: always review applicable local gift ordinances before providing any gifts or hospitality to public officials, even if you believe the gift would be permitted by the state gift law.

Where to Find California Local Lobbying Guidance

Navigating local California lobbying requirements requires jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis. State and Federal Communications maintains detailed guidance through its online compliance guidebooks, which cover local lobbying ordinances and gift rules across California jurisdictions.

For hands-on support, the firm’s lobbying compliance consulting services can help ensure your organization meets all applicable local requirements before engaging public officials.

The Office of City Clerk recently announced a new and improved lobbyist registration and weekly reporting system, beginning in February 2026. The upgraded platform is intended to streamline the filling process and provide an overall enhanced user experience. Training resources will be provided on the city’s webpage and a training session will be recorded and made available for remote viewing. As part of the system rollout, the lobbyist registration deadline will be extended to February 28, 2026. Until further notice, the current system remains operational.

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During 2025, lawmakers passed legislation on various topics such as reducing energy costs and pollution, addressing a $12 billion budget deficit, and the national redistricting debate. Legislation involving campaign finance included Assembly Bill 953, expanding prohibitions on foreign governments and principals from making contributions in elections to include foreign nationals. Legislators also passed Senate Bill 852, which expands the prohibition on the receipt, delivery, or attempted delivery of a contribution in certain forums to now apply to local government office buildings and offices for which the state or a local government pays rent, while eliminating the exception for legislative district offices. The 2025-2026 session will end recess and begin in the new year on January 5, 2026.

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Q: My company is a registered lobbyist employer in California. We are sponsoring an invitation-only reception and want to invite state officials. Are there any gift laws or other requirements we need to worry about?

A: The California gift laws allow lobbyist employers to provide gifts to an official with an aggregate total value of $630 or less each year. The gift would be reportable as an activity expense on your quarterly lobbyist employer report. Lobbyist employers must also comply with notification rules when an official receives a gift aggregating $50 or more in a calendar year.

Where notifications are required, lobbying entities must include a notice in all written or printed invitations to events at which an official will receive a reportable gift. The notice must state attendance at the event by a public official will constitute acceptance of a reportable gift. The lobbying entity must also send the official a written notice of the gift’s value after the event. The notice must be sent to an official who received a gift within 30 days following the end of the calendar quarter in which the gift was provided.

For valuation purposes, the amount of the gift to each official is the official’s pro rata share of the total cost of the food, catering services, and entertainment, plus any item provided at the event. Only those officials who attended the event should be disclosed. To determine which officials to include on the lobbyist employer report, it is a good idea to have a sign-in sheet or guest book to track attendance. Immediate family members of officials must also be disclosed if the family member attended the event.

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The city of San Jose has increased lobbyist fees pertaining to annual registration, prorated registration, client fees, and late registration. The lobbyist annual registration renewal will increase from $219.36 to $330.99 per registration, with the prorated registration fee becoming $165.50 per half-year or less. The late registration fee is now $25 per business day and up to a maximum of 100% of the unpaid fee. Client fees will increase from $71.62 to $150.42 per client. These lobbyist fee increases will be effective through the fiscal year 2025-2026.

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Voters approved Proposition 50 yesterday, with 64% voting yes in favor of the measure and 36% voting against it. Prop 50 will create new congressional district boundaries and now gives Democrats a shot at winning as many as five additional seats. The proposition suspends House maps drawn by an independent commission and instead will replace them with districts adopted by the democratic-controlled legislature. These new districts will be in place for the upcoming 2026 election.

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Comply with state and local procurement lobbying rules. Our online guidebooks make it easy to view regulations all in one place. Learn more here.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special election to address authorization of state redistricting. Maps within the state of California are drawn by an independent commission and will require the voters to approve a state ballot measure allowing for such a redistricting effort. The election is set to coincide with the November 4 general election.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a proclamation declaring a special election to be held for Assembly District 63. The seat became vacant after Assembly member Bill Essayli announced he was resigning to take an appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. The special primary election will be held on June 24, followed by the special general election on August 26.

The Orange County Council has voted to raise the campaign contribution limit from $2,500 to $2,700 per election cycle. The Orange County Campaign Reform Ordinance requires the board to adjust the campaign contribution limitation in February of every odd year. The Orange County Council adjusts the contribution limit according to changes in the Consumer Price Index and rounds to the nearest $100. The new campaign contribution limit becomes effective April 10, 2025.

The Anaheim City Council recently passed Ordinance 6603, which raises the city’s campaign contribution limit for the 2025-2026 two-year election cycle. The limit will increase from $2,500 to $2,700 for corporations, PACs, individuals, and labor unions who give to local candidates and their controlled committees. The increase reflects the 7% rise in the consumer price index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim urban area, as required by Anaheim Municipal Code. The ordinance is effective retroactively beginning on January 1.

Q: I am an investment advisor registered as a lobbyist in the state of California because I qualified as a placement agent on the state level. I also want to solicit municipal public investment and retirement systems such as San Francisco City and County Employees’ Retirement System and San Jose Federated City Employees’ Retirement System. Do I need to do anything else, or does my state registration cover me?

A: You need to consider the local laws. Your California state registration does not cover your activities on the local level.

Not all California municipalities have lobbying laws. The local jurisdictions that do have lobbying laws also do not always require registration for investment advisor activity. You must look closely at each jurisdiction’s laws where you are active to determine if registration or reporting is needed.

In San Francisco, local lobbyist registration requirements cover placement agents lobbying public investment and retirement systems (including the San Francisco City and County Employees’ Retirement System). Monthly lobbyist reports are also required after registration.

San Jose also has local lobbying laws that apply to placement agents. Registration is due annually and activity reports must be filed weekly for each calendar week a lobbyist has engaged in lobbying activity.

It is a good idea to always check the applicable laws on our website prior to any government outreach.

 

More information can be found in the Lobbying Compliance section of the State and Federal Communications website.

City Council passed a resolution calling for a special election to fill the vacancy in District 2 and the vacancy for mayor created by the most recent recall election.

Mayor Shen Thao previously represented the city as mayor but left following his recall in last year’s election.

Former city council member Nikki Fortunato Bas was elected to the county board of supervisors leaving District 2 vacant.

The special election to fill these vacancies will be held April 15.

City Council passed a resolution calling for a special election to fill the vacancy in District 5.

Mayor Larry Agran previously represented District 5 but left following his election as mayor.

The special election will be held April 15.