The City Council approved a November ballot measure relating to contributions and gifts from lobbyists.

The proposed measure would bar lobbyists from making campaign contributions.

The mayor, council members, and senior administrators would also be barred from accepting gifts from lobbyists or city contractors.

The mayor and council members would also be required to sit out of any vote involving a person or entity contributing to their campaign or other cause in the last 12 months and the three months following the vote.

The proposed initiative would also give the mayor the power to hire and fire the city manager and department heads starting January 1, 2023.

The measure also includes a provision to align San Jose’s mayoral races with the presidential election cycle in an effort to increase voter turnout.

The City Council will hold a special meeting on July 28 where they will review the proposed ballot language before sending it off to the county Registrar of Voters.

The city of San Jose is transitioning to an electronic system for filing weekly lobbyist reports.

To file weekly reports, a lobbyist must register to create an account on the Weekly Lobbyist Reporting Form portal at the city clerk’s website.

The prior weekly reporting form will be available on the clerk’s website until March 12.

Fines for failure to file a weekly report or filing a weekly report late will not be assessed until July 1, 2018.

The San Jose City Council voted unanimously to amend the city’s gift ordinance.

The new law struck the city’s exceptions for allowable gifts and incorporated the exceptions for allowable gifts under the state’s Political Reform Act while maintaining a $50 gift limit.

Under the new ordinance, tickets to certain events are no longer considered an exception to the gift rule. Instead, San Jose will follow a framework similar to the Political Reform Act.

San Jose will consider tickets to civic, cultural, or community functions as permissible gifts, so long as they do not exceed the $50 limit.

The ordinance is effective on December 8, 2017.

On June 27, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to reject an ordinance changing San Jose’s gift ordinance to increase the gift limit from $50 to $470.

The council approved the measure in its first vote last week, but reversed course after urging from Mayor Sam Liccardo and the public to reject the ordinance.

The $50 gift limit will remain in place; however, the council will consider raising the gift limit to $250 in August.

The council also voted to approve an ordinance to amend lobbying reporting requirements. Effective July 27, 2017, lobbyists will be required to file a report with the city clerk each week they engage in lobbying activity in the city.

Although the ordinance becomes effective 30 days after adoption, fines for failure to file weekly lobbyist reports will be suspended as a grace period until July 1, 2018.

On June 20, the San Jose City Council approved changes to require lobbyists to file online reports every Monday if they met with city officials the week prior.

The council also approved changes to San Jose’s gift ordinance to increase the gift limit from $50 to $470.

The proposed ordinances are scheduled for a final reading on June 27. If approved, the ordinances will become effective 30 days following the adoption date.

The San Jose City Council is set to consider new lobbyist regulations at its meeting on June 20.

As proposed, the changes will require lobbyists to file online reports every Monday if they met with city officials the week prior. The increased reporting frequency is aimed at improving transparency because currently most city decisions are decided before quarterly lobbyist reports are available to the public. The council is also scheduled to consider changing San Jose’s gift ordinance on June 20.

Under the current ordinance, city officials may not accept gifts valued more than $50. The proposed amendment will increase the limit to $470 and require reporting for gifts valued more than $50.

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 San Jose City Council approved an ordinance modifying the city’s campaign finance law.

Ordinance No. 29642 allows separate contribution limits for both the special municipal election and the special runoff election. The ordinance also changed the campaign contribution period to end at 11:59 p.m. on the day before the election.

The new law took effect December 14, 2015.

Mayor Sam Liccardo is proposing new lobbyist disclosure rules for the city of San Jose. The rules would require lobbyists to report lobbyist activity weekly in electronic form. Currently, the city of San Jose requires quarterly disclosures be filed on paper.

The new rules also would require lobbyists to specify how they are contacting city officials – in person, by phone, or by email.

The city council will consider the mayor’s proposals at its next meeting, scheduled for December 15, 2015.

City Clerk Toni Taber was given a reprieve by City Council following a review of the clerk’s job performance during a closed-door meeting on September 1. She had been facing dismissal.

The review was triggered by faulty advice provided by the clerk’s office to City Council and mayoral candidates during the 2014 local elections. The clerk’s office had instructed the candidates to follow state law when reporting late contributions. However, local law has stricter reporting standards.

This lack of information resulted in thousands of dollars in campaign contributions being improperly reported over the past two years and one councilman being fined $10,000 for improper filing.

While Taber was granted a second chance, her office still faces an audit and may have several of its key functions transferred to other city departments.

The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, October 18 to change the city’s campaign finance laws. Changes approved include the elimination of the city’s blackout periods which prohibit campaign contributions within 17 days of a regular election and within seven days of a special election.

Per the new law, the voluntary candidate campaign expenditure limits will increase from $1.00 per resident per election to $1.25. The rate for mayoral elections will remain the same at $0.75 per resident per election.

Further changes implemented by the new law eliminate an increase in the voluntary expenditure cap triggered by the fundraising efforts of other candidates and independent committees who do not choose to accept the limit.

Santa Clara Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg has issued a proposed decision striking down a San Jose law that bars campaign contributions to candidates during the 17 days leading up to an election.

The proposed decision will be finalized in August.