Voters will decide whether to pass a ballot measure this upcoming November election which would tighten the city’s public ethics laws.

Ballot Measure OO would establish and revise various requirements of the Public Ethics Commission and its members.

It would also amend the lobbyist registration act to prohibit lobbyists from making direct payments of more than $50 per year to local elected officials, candidates, and their families.

If approved by voters on November 5, the measure would be effective 10 days after the vote but the amendments to the lobbyist registration act would be effective January 1, 2025.

The Oakland Ethics Commission passed a Master Fee Schedule including a newly added annual lobbyist registration fee of $500 and a late filing fee of $10 per day for registrations and reports.

The City Council approved the inclusion of the additional fees in the annual Master Fee Schedule yearly update.

Currently, the Ethics Commission is seeking to alter the new fee structure.

The commission is seeking to waive fees for 501(c)(3) organizations with less than $750,000 in annual revenue; a reduction of fees with less than $200,000 in annual revenue; and a reduced fee for third and fourth quarter registrants.

The new proposal has been sent to the City Council for their approval.

The Oakland Public Ethics Commission has launched the OAKAPPS Lobbyist Registration and Reporting System.

This system allows users to register as an Oakland lobbyist, maintain a client list, enter lobbyist activity, draft disclosure reports, and submit them online.

It is available at https://apps.oaklandca.gov/OakApps/OakApps.aspx.

In order to use the system, a user name and password is needed.

For questions about using this new system, please contact the Oakland Public Ethics Commission at ethicscommission@oaklandca.gov or 510-238-3593.

The Public Ethics Commission will consider annual adjustments to the contribution limits at their regular meeting next week.

Commission staff will present an updated list of the campaign contribution limits and expenditure ceiling amounts, as adjusted according to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as required by the Oakland Campaign Finance Reform Act.

The limitations on contributions from persons to candidates who adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling will increase to $900 per election.

If approved, the adjusted limits will be in effect for the 2020 elections.

The Oakland Public Ethics Commission and OpenOakland, a civic technology group, have jointly released a new version of their web tool, Open Disclosure, to track political contributions in Oakland elections.

The corresponding app, to be released on September 25, will show the source and spending of campaign funds for both Oakland city candidates and ballot measure committees.

In addition to displaying sources of contributions, the new release will also include data on spending by independent expenditures.

City Council passed the Oakland Government Ethics Act towards the end of an eight-hour meeting during the early hours of December 10.

In November, voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to strengthen the city’s Public Ethics Commission (PEC). Measure CC, a charter amendment, gives the PEC authority to enforce the city’s lobbying laws and to levy fines in excess of $1,000 for violations.

The Oakland Government Ethics Act compliments the charter amendment by providing a new set of ethics rules including a revolving-door provision and a new lower annual gift limit of $250. Gifts from persons who do business or seek to do business with the city are further limited to $50 annually.

The legislation is effective immediately.

City Council is preparing to hold a final vote on the Oakland Government Ethics Act after voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to strengthen the city’s Public Ethics Commission (PEC). Measure CC, a charter amendment, gives the PEC authority to enforce the city’s lobbying laws and to levy fines in excess of $1,000 for violations.

The Oakland Government Ethics Act compliments the charter amendment by providing a new set of ethics rules including a revolving-door provision and a new lower annual gift limit of $250. Gifts from persons who do business or seek to do business with the city would further be limited to $50 annually.

The council is scheduled to hold a final vote on the legislation on December 9, 2014.

Voters have approved an amendment to the Oakland City Charter to strengthen the authority, resources, and independence of the Public Ethics Commission. The commission now will have the authority to enforce the Oakland Lobbyist Registration Act and provisions of the state’s Political Reform Act.

Measure CC sets aside $500,000 in additional funding for the commission in order to hire more staff members and investigate violations. The seven-member commission now has the authority to impose penalties and fines when four members agree by vote.

A new web tool is available to follow the money in November’s mayoral election race. The Open Disclosure project is the product of a partnership between the Public Ethics Commission and OpenOakland, a civic innovation organization.

The project displays campaign finance data for the 15 mayoral candidates in a user friendly way, allowing the public to quickly see who is contributing, where they are contributing from, and in what amounts.  Developers hope to expand the contribution information to all elected races in Oakland.

The information is available here.

City Council has approved a proposal by Councilmember Dan Kalb to amend the Oakland City Charter to strengthen the authority, resources, and independence of the Public Ethics Commission.

The amendment would expand the authority of the commission by transferring filing officer duties from the city clerk for lobbying and campaign finance reporting. The seven-member commission would also be given the authority to enforce state ethics laws by imposing fines when four members agree by vote.

The amendment will now be placed on the November 2014 ballot.