Patricia Guerro has been sworn in as one of the seven judges on the bench of the California Supreme Court.

Gov. Newsom appointed Guerro to the court after Justice Mariano-Florentine resigned to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Prior to her appointment, Guerro served as a judge for California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One.

The San Francisco Ethics Commission will hold a special remote meeting Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. to discuss proposed amendments to the city’s gift and ethics laws.

The meeting will focus on amendments to expand the definition of who is a restricted source and whether the giver of an unlawful gift should be subject to penalties.

The proposed amendments clarify and remove exemptions to the gift prohibition.

If the Ethics Commission passes an ordinance by a four-fifths vote before the next general election, the commission may place the ordinance on the ballot.

Assemblywoman Autumn R. Burke announced she is resigning as the representative of California’s District 62.

Burke cited the need to spend more time with her family as the reason for her departure.

Gov. Newsom declared the special election for the vacant seat will be held on June 7, with the special primary being held on April 5.

Oakland has raised political contribution and expenditure limits.

Candidates who adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling may accept contributions up to $900 from individuals and businesses, and up to $1,800 from qualified board-based political committees per election cycle.

Candidates who do not adopt the expenditure ceiling may accept contributions up to $200 from individuals and businesses, and up to $400 from board-based political committees.

Gov. Newsom announced a special election to replace former Congressman Devin Nunes to be held on June 7, with the primary being held on April 5.

The election in Congressional District 22 will follow the old Congressional map.

The new map, approved late last year, will be used for the November 8 elections.

Nunes stepped down to take over as chief executive of former President Trump’s new media company, Trump Media & Technology Group.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has introduced a bill to restrict how public officials can solicit behested payments.

The legislation prohibits elected officials and city department heads from requesting donations to charities from lobbyists, persons seeking contracts with the city, and other interested parties.

Additionally, the San Francisco Ethics Commission is slated to discuss a ballot measure to lay out stricter guidelines on bribery, gifts, prohibited behaviors, and ethics training.

These changes come on the heels of the 2020 arrest of Public Works Director Nuru, after three Recology subsidiaries admitted to conspiring to bride Nuru in exchange for raising garbage rates.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) passed regulations regarding reporting payments for online communications and accounting of lobbying entities.

Regulation 18421.10 seeks to shed light on social media manipulation by “purchasers” and “bots.”

Under the new rules, committees who pay more for exposure on social media will have to disclose the amount spent and the type of manipulation bought, whether it is for more likes, followers, or shares.

Regulation 18612 replaced the old regulation, increasing the reporting requirements and clarifying the style (i.e., journal, ledger, or record) of record keeping.

Similarly, the FPPC amended Regulation 18610 and Regulation 18615 involving lobbyist accounting and lobbyist employer accounting.

Both amended regulations and 18612 clean up the language of the regulation and heighten the record-keeping requirements mandated by the state.

Assemblymember Jim Frazier announced he is resigning as representative of California’s 11^th District at the end of the year.

Frazier’s stated reason for leaving was to seek new opportunities in the field of transportation.

No date has been set for the special election at this time.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a special election for the 17^th Assembly District on April 19, 2022, with a special primary on February 15, 2022.

The former Assemblymember David Chiu vacated his seat after accepting a position as San Francisco’s city attorney in early November.

California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentine Cuellar has resigned to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace after serving as a justice for seven years.

Gov. Newsom will be tasked with appointing a replacement.

To remain a justice, the appointee will have to stand for retention in an election during the next gubernatorial race.

Once an appointed judge wins their retention election, the judge will serve a 12-year term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill extending automatic voting by mail and three bills increasing election transparency and integrity.

The marquee bill signed Monday, Assembly Bill 31, requires county elections officials to mail a ballot to every active registered voter for all elections.

The bill additionally extended the window for mail ballots to be sent to elections offices to seven days after the election.

California automatically sent ballots to voters the starting in early days of the pandemic.

During the 2020 presidential election, California saw a record-breaking 70% participation, the highest voter turnout since 1952.

Assembly Bill 319 forbids foreign governments or foreign principals from making a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with a state or local ballot measure or election.

Assembly Bill 1367 would make a person who uses campaign funds in a manner that violates the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 and results in an egregious personal benefit liable in an administrative or civil action brought by the commission for an amount of up to 2 times the amount of the unlawful expenditure.

Senate Bill 686 requires a limited liability company that qualified as a committee or a sponsor of a committee under the act, as specified, to file a statement of members with the Secretary of State.

The bill requires the statement to include a list of all persons who have a membership interest in the LLC of at least 10% or who have made a capital contribution of at least $10,000 to the LLC after it qualified as a committee or sponsor of a committee, or within the 12 months before it qualified.

These bills become effective January 1, 2022.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has announced that on October 21 the Commission will consider proposed regulations concerning behested payment reporting.

The regulation seeks to shed light on a growing problem occurring in California elections, large donations being made to candidate-controlled charities in place of trackable political contributions.

The regulation, prospectively codified as § 18424.3, would increase the reporting requirements to the behested payment report.

The regulations will require more detailed disclosures as to the name of the payor and the “single source” of the behested payment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has defeated the recall effort utilizing a campaign focused on his pandemic efforts and threats of “Trumpism.”

Newsom had a large lead entering the final day of voting due to the enormous turnout of mail-in voters and Newsom’s unrestricted campaign fundraising.

In February, California passed a bill mandating all active registered voters be sent a ballot each election.

This increased voter turnout brought relief to many Democrats who feared voter apathy would allow Republican front-runner, Larry Elder, to win the governorship.

The recall election cost California roughly $300 million, a price tag officials are hoping to reduce by next year when Newsom faces reelection.

The California Legislature adjourned late last week, just in time for today’s recall election of Gov. Newsom.

The trifecta government passed close to 900 bills this year as Democratic lawmakers utilized a budget surplus to enact many progressive policies such as police reform, health care for undocumented immigrants, and climate change.

Assembly bills 319 and 1367 are on Newsom’s desk awaiting signature.

AB 319 prevents a foreign government or principal from making a contribution or expenditure to a candidate for state or local office.

While AB 1367, raises the penalty for a person who uses campaign funds that results in an egregious personal benefit to an amount up to three times the amount of the unlawful expenditure.