City officials are accepting applications for the ethics commission approved by voters last November.

The charter amendment established a seven-member ethics commission.

The ethics commission will implement campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest, and governmental ethics laws.

Qualified applicants may not concurrently hold elective office, work as an officer for a city candidate campaign, be a city employee, or employ or be employed by anyone required to register as a city lobbyist.

The mayor and city auditor will make four appointments to be confirmed by City Council.

The remaining three members will be appointed by the confirmed commissioners.

The deadline for submitting applications is June 7.

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.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special election to fill the vacancy in the 1st Senate District.

The seat was vacated by Ted Gaines, who was sworn in as a member of the California State Board of Equalization.

The special primary election will be held on March 26, and, if necessary, a special runoff election will be on June 4.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special election to replace Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in Senate District 33.

The special primary election will be held on March 26, and, if necessary, a special runoff election will be held on June 4.

Candidates that have announced their campaigns are Long Beach Councilmembers Lena Gonzalez and Al Austin, former Lynwood Mayor Leticia Vasquez-Wilson, and South Gate Councilwoman Denise Diaz.

There will be a special election on March 12 to fill the vacancy in the Third Supervisorial District.

The vacancy was created when Todd Spitzer won last November’s general election to become Orange County District Attorney.

The district includes Orange, Yorba Linda, Villa Park, Tustin, and parts of Irvine and Anaheim.

Irvine City Council unanimously approved legislation to strengthen its conflict of interest policy this week.

The bill adds a provision to contracts with the city that allows the city to cancel a contract and get reimbursed if a member of council or an employee of the city lobbied on behalf of a contractor, paid or unpaid.

Councilwoman Christina Shea said she brought the item forward after she learned former Councilman Jeff Lalloway helped a Los Angeles-based firm with an Irvine office try to get a contract for the Anaheim streetcar project.

On November 15, the California Fair Political Practices Commission approved proposed regulations to make biennial cost of living adjustments to campaign contribution and gift limits that will apply from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2020.

The proposed regulations would change the gift limit from $470 to $500 and make increases to campaign contribution limits for candidates.

Adjusted contribution limits for gubernatorial candidates would increase from $29,200 to $31,000.

The city council of San Diego voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance providing tighter restrictions on the handling of confidential documents by council members.

Following a breach and subsequent criminal probe for information provided to investors by a council member last year, the council voted to close the loophole allowing disclosure if done as a necessary function of official duties.

In addition, new language in the code now makes it illegal for lobbyists who may receive confidential documents from using or disclosing them in any way.

Lobbyists are also prohibited from disseminating a confidential document through intermediaries, such as a spouse or a cousin.

Penalties for lobbyists who illegally review or disseminate confidential documents include potential misdemeanor charges and the possibility of being sued by the city for damages.

City of San Diego voters approved Measure L to limit lobbying and campaign activities of elected city officers.

The measure increases the restriction on lobbying by former city officials from one to two years.

The measure also eliminates the city elective officer exception to receiving honoraria prohibited by state law.

The City of Long Beach, California voted to establish a city ethics commission.

Measure CCC creates an independent ethics commission charged with administering and implementing rules concerning campaign financing, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics.

The commission will also develop an educational program for candidates and lobbyists with the city.

The city’s agreement with the Fair Political Practices Commission to assist in the enforcement of local ethics laws remains in place.

The city of Long Beach, California has a measure to amend the city’s charter on Tuesday’s ballot.

Measure CCC seeks to create an independent ethics commission charged with administering and implementing rules concerning campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics.

Critics of the measure argue that the mayor and auditor’s appointment privilege signifies that the commission would not be sufficiently independent.