May 22, 2013 •
California Governor Calls Special Election
July 23 primary set for Assembly District 52
Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Assembly District 52 to fill a vacancy following the resignation of Assembly Member Norma Torres.
The primary will be held July 23, 2013. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special general election will be held on September 24, 2013.
Torres vacated the Assembly seat following her successful election to Senate District 32 on May 14, 2013. Assembly District 52 covers parts of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
April 25, 2013 •
California FPPC Introduces Gift Tracker App
Smartphone app allows state officials to keep tabs on gift limits
The Fair Political Practices Commission has released the first known government ethics app. A free smartphone app called Gift Tracker is available for Android 4.0 phones (coming soon for iPhones) to let state officials and employees record gifts received from restricted sources.
Features allow users to record and search gift donors and the balance of allowable gifts remaining. In other words, an official sitting down to a free meal can check his phone to determine whether he orders the salad or the steak.
Information and download of the app are available here.
April 25, 2013 •
San Francisco Considers Ethics Reforms
Legislation would expand lobbying and squeeze exceptions
City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu have introduced legislation to better regulate lobbying and campaign finance within the city. The ordinance would amend the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code to expand the definition of lobbyist and require lobbyists to complete training online.
The lobbying exemption for contractors and their attorneys would be limited to in-house officers and employees. Outside consultants communicating with public officials regarding contract bidding and negotiating would be subject to the registration and reporting requirements of lobbying.
The ordinance would also require the Ethics Commission to publish a guide for campaign contributors regarding contribution regulations and reporting requirements.
The board may begin discussion of the legislation at the next meeting in May.
March 27, 2013 •
California Governor Calls Special Election
May 21 primary set for Assembly District 80
Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Assembly District 80 to fill a vacancy following the resignation of Assembly Member Ben Hueso.
The primary will be held May 21, 2013.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special general election will be held on July 30, 2013.
March 21, 2013 •
Los Angeles City Ethics Commission to Update Lobbyist Electronic Filing
System to be offline for five days
The City Ethics Commission is upgrading the Lobbyist Electronic Filing System (LEFS) at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, through 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 1, 2013.
Filers will not have access to LEFS and will not be able to file or amend registrations and quarterly reports during this time.
Lobbyists and authorized signers for firms must submit a paper CEC Form 59 by April 1 in order to use the new paperless system.
Photo of the Los Angeles City Hall by Brion Vibber on Wikipedia.
March 11, 2013 •
California Special Election Scheduled for 16th Senate District
Primary to be held May 21, 2013
Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate District 16 to fill a vacancy following the resignation of Senator Michael Rubio.
The primary will be held May 21, 2013.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special general election will be held on July 23, 2013.
January 8, 2013 •
California Special Election Scheduled
Senate Districts 32 and 40
Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate Districts 32 and 40 to fill vacancies.
The primaries will be held March 12, with runoffs on May 14, 2013.
December 6, 2012 •
California Biennial Legislative Session Begins
Democrats hold supermajority
State lawmakers convened the 2013-2014 legislative session on Monday, December 3, 2012.
Democrats hold a two-thirds supermajority in both houses, allowing passage of bills without Republican votes.
Photo of the California State Capitol Building by Sascha Brück on Wikipedia.
November 28, 2012 •
San Diego Ethics Commission Proposes Changes to Lobbyist Fundraising Reporting
Options to be discussed at December’s meeting
The Ethics Commission is considering ways in which an individual’s role in fundraising may be more accurately disclosed on the lobbyist quarterly disclosure reports. Currently lobbying firms and organization lobbyists must disclose the total amount of all contributions attributable to a reportable individual who has any degree of fundraising responsibility.
For individuals with limited involvement on a host committee, the total amount raised at a particular event may not be reflective of the individual’s limited fundraising efforts. In response, the commission’s staff has prepared three alternative options.
One option would simply allow notation on the report when the individual is not solely responsible for the amount raised. The other two options would amend the lobbying ordinance to remove the dollar amount disclosure requirement for those “assisting a host committee,” or to require reporting of only the amount an individual knows or has reason to know where collected as a result of his or her solicitations.
Discussions on this matter will be held at the commission’s December 13, 2012 meeting at 5:00 p.m. in Room 202 of Council Committee. Feedback may also be sent by email to ethicscommission@sandiego.gov.
Seal of San Diegocourtesy of Zscout370 on Wikipedia.
November 28, 2012 •
San Francisco Ethics Commission Announces Recommended Reforms
Discussion topics will consider following L.A.’s example
The Ethics Commission will conduct two interested persons meetings following a report comparing the city’s campaign finance, enforcement, and lobbying laws with the laws of the city of Los Angeles.
Discussion topics include whether or not the city should increase pay-to-play restrictions, prohibit political contributions from lobbyists, and whether to adopt more stringent enforcement policies.
The meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 408 of City Hall and for Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 416 of City Hall.
Feedback may also be sent by email to ethics.commission@sfgov.org.
November 7, 2012 •
California Voters Reject Proposition 32
Unions remain able to use payroll deductions for political activities
Voters defeated Proposition 32 and the effort to prohibit corporations and unions from collecting money for state political activities through paycheck deductions. The initiative would have impacted unions the most since corporations rarely deduct money from employee pay for political activities.
If Proposition 32 had passed, unions and corporations would have been prohibited from making donations directly to state candidates. It would not have stopped corporations, individuals, or unions from spending unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns through independent expenditure committees.
October 17, 2012 •
Santa Ana Passes Sunshine Ordinance
Additional Disclosures Will Not Include Lobbyist Registrations
City Council has passed the resident-driven Sunshine Ordinance with the intention to make city government more transparent. The ordinance requires builders to hold community meetings in connection with certain developments and calls for online posting of additional information regarding requests for proposals.
Although advocates originally proposed registration requirements for lobbyists, the new law provides only online access to city officials’ scheduled meetings with lobbyists and to information on forms already required to be filed by campaign committees and public officials.
The measure’s effective date will be November 14, 2012, 30 days from Monday’s final vote.
Photo of the Santa Ana City Hall courtesy of Eli Pousson on Wikipedia.
October 15, 2012 •
California’s Late Contribution and Expenditure Laws to Begin Earlier in Campaigns
Assembly Bill 481 passed to increase transparency
Assembly Bill 481, recently signed by Governor Jerry Brown, is the latest amendment to the Political Reform Act of 1974. The changes are an effort to increase accountability and transparency by requiring faster disclosure of major contributions and independent expenditures occurring shortly before an election.
Definitions for late contributions and late independent expenditures have been expanded to include any aggregated contributions or expenditures of $1,000 or more made within 90 days before the date of the election. Disclosure of these late transactions is required within 24 hours of delivery. The law also requires advertisements to contain a disclosure of the two top contributors of the committee making the independent expenditure.
The Fair Political Practices Commission is currently revising the 2013 filing schedules in preparation of the January 1, 2013 effective date.
October 8, 2012 •
California FPPC Delays Review of Campaign and Gift Regulations
Staff will obtain additional public input
The Fair Political Practices Commission has announced cancellation of the October 18, 2012 meeting. Regulations previously scheduled for review included a requirement for political committees to report expenses associated with online communications such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Biennial adjustment reviews of campaign contribution limits, voluntary expenditure ceilings, and gift limits have also been postponed.
These and other potential regulation changes are tentatively scheduled to be considered during the December 13, 2012 commission meeting at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will be held in Board Chambers Room 310, County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California 92101.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.