San Jose City Council approved an ordinance amending the definition of “committee” to increase the qualifying threshold for the receipt of contributions from $1,000 to $2,000 to be consistent with the Political Reform Act. The ordinance will go into effect July 28, 2016.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has announced a project with the University of California and California Forward to update the Political Reform Act (PRA).

The FPPC plans to submit revisions based on public input from this project to the Legislature in 2017. A webinar is scheduled for Thursday, July 14, at 10 a.m. with FPPC Chair Jodi Remke to discuss the project. Interested persons can register for the webinar at www.cafwd.org/PRAtalk.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a first reading of an ordinance to establish a county ethics commission.

The ordinance was introduced after the passage of Measure A, which called for the county to amend its charter and campaign finance ordinance to establish a five-member commission to provide administrative oversight of county ethics and campaign ordinances.

Discussions at the ordinance’s first reading mostly dealt with staff and budget issues relating to the commission, and there is no timeline yet for when the commission will actually be up and running. The ordinance is scheduled for a second reading and possible adoption on July 12, 2016.

Gov. Jerry Brown has announced his support of sweeping reforms to the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The overhaul comes as the PUC faces accusations of back-channel dealings and calls for change to create more transparency and independence from utility companies. The reform package will require people lobbying the PUC to register as lobbyists and ban former utility executives from serving on the PUC for two years post-employment.

Photo of the Edmund G. Brown State Office Building by Coolcaesar on Wikimedia Commons.

California’s Senate Bill 254 became law without the governor’s signature on June 9, 2016.

The measure will place a ballot question on the November 8, 2016 ballot asking voters whether California’s elected officials should use all of their constitutional authority, including proposing and ratifying one or more amendments to the United States Constitution, to overturn the Citizens United decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

A previous version of this bill was approved by lawmakers in 2014, but was blocked by legal challenges until January 2016 when the Supreme Court of California upheld the Legislature’s power to use advisory ballot measures.

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) will consider a proposed regulation to further clarify the definition of “lobbyist” at a public hearing set for July 21, 2016.

The proposed regulation would create a rebuttable presumption that all compensation from a person for services that include direct communication with a qualifying official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action received within a calendar month is for the purpose of direct compensation.

The FPPC is accepting written comments on the proposal until July 18, 2016.

On June 7, Orange County voters approved Measure A to create a county ethics commission.

The measure amends the County’s charter and campaign finance ordinance to establish a five-member commission that will provide administrative oversight of county ethics and campaign ordinances.

Voters widely supported the measure, with 70 percent voting in favor of the proposal.

On June 2, the California Assembly passed AB 2002.

The bill requires consultants lobbying the California Coastal Commission to register as lobbyists. It also bans private communications between commissioners and lobbyists within 24 hours of a commission hearing.

The bill passed 54-23 and is being sent to the Senate.

In California, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with NetFile Inc. to create a new electronic filing system for campaign finance reporting.

The new system is supposed to be more user friendly, which will increase transparency and allow the public to more easily access campaign finance data.

Electronic filing is not mandatory and the county will still accept paper filings.

The California Assembly passed AB 2523 on Thursday.

The bill would limit campaign contributions to $4,200 in local governments that do not already have established campaign contribution limits. The bill includes a provision for local governments to reject the limit if local voters agree.

The bill passed 43-15 and is being sent to the Senate.

Mountain View City Council approved the introduction of new campaign finance rules aimed at increasing transparency.

The ordinance establishes an electronic filing system for campaign finance documents and creates new rules for independent expenditures and disclosures on political advertisements.

The ordinance is set for a second reading on June 14, 2016. If passed, the measure will become effective 30 days after adoption.

The San Diego Ethics Commission released a draft of proposed amendments to San Diego’s Election Campaign Control Ordinance.

The proposed changes would extend the one-year pre-election fundraising time period to January 1 of odd-numbered years and eliminate the third pre-election filing for primarily formed recipient committees.

Comments and suggestions regarding the draft amendments can be made at the next commission meeting on June 9, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. Written comments can also be sent via email to ethicscommission@sandiego.gov.

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed Assembly Bill 1200.

The bill would have revised the definition of lobbyist to include third-party consultants who work to influence governmental procurement.

The governor’s veto message said the bill is not necessary and cited the existence of numerous laws already regulating state procurement.

The California Senate voted to reverse the ban on members raising money from lobbyist employers during budget negotiations.

The ban would have gone into effect upon the governor’s release of the revised budget, which is set for May 13. The reversal of this rule comes amid an election year where many members of the Senate are running for re-election.