BILL NUMBER: AB 785	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 4, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mendoza

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

   An act to add Section  87100.2   87103.1
 to the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act
 of 1974  .



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 785, as amended, Mendoza. Political Reform Act of 1974: public
officers:  contracts:  financial interest.
   (1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a public official
at any level of state or local government from making, participating
in making, or in any way attempting to use his or her official
position to influence a governmental decision in which he or she
knows or has reason to know he or she has a financial interest. A
violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 is subject to
administrative, civil, and criminal penalties.
   This bill would provide, for purposes of this prohibition, that a
public official who is an elected or appointed member of  any
  a  state or local  body, board, or
commission   government agency  has a financial
interest in a decision  of that agency  if an immediate
family member of the public official has a financial interest in the
decision  , and would include a person lobbying on behalf of
a party that has an order of business before the body, board, or
commission to be an agent of that party  .  In addition,
this bill would ascribe a financial interest to an immediate family
member (a) who is acting as an agent for, or otherwise representing,
any other person by making a formal or informal appearance before, or
by making an oral or written communication to, the state or local
government agency, or an officer or employee thereof, for the purpose
of influencing the decision or (b) who   is a director,
officer, or partner of a business entity on which it is reasonably
foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect.
 This bill would define "immediate family member" to 
include   mean a  public official's spouse or
domestic partner,  children, parents, siblings, and 
 child, parent, sibling, or  the spouse or domestic partner
of a child, parent, or sibling.
   This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by exposing
these public officials to potential criminal penalties for failing to
recuse themselves from participation where required by this bill.
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   (3) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure,
provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's
purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified
procedural requirements.
   This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section  87100.2   87103.1 
is added to the Government Code, to read:
    87100.2.   87103.1.   (a) A public
official who is an elected or appointed member of  any state
or local body, board, or commission   a state or local
government agenc   y  has a financial interest in a
decision within the meaning of Section 87100 if an immediate family
member of the public official has a financial interest in the
decision  ,   as provided in subdivision (b)  .

   (b) For purposes of determining a financial interest pursuant to
this section, a person lobbying on behalf of a party that has an
order of business before the body, board, or commission shall be
construed to be an agent of that party, and, as the lobbyist, have a
financial interest in that order of business.  
   (b) For purposes of this section, each of the following has a
financial interest in a decision of a state or local government
agency:  
   (1) A person acting as an agent for, or otherwise representing,
any other person by making a formal or informal appearance before, or
by making an oral or written communication to, the state or local
government agency, or an officer or employee thereof, for the purpose
of influencing the decision.  
   (2) A person who is a director, officer, or partner of a business
entity on which it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will
have a material financial effect. 
   (c) For purposes of this section, "immediate family member"
 includes   means  a spouse or domestic
partner,  children, parents, siblings, and  
child, parent, sibling, or  the spouse or domestic partner of a
child, parent, or sibling.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
  SEC. 3.  The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning
of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.