BILL NUMBER: SB 439 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 23, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Negrete McLeod
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to add Section 22365 to the Education Code, and to amend
Section 89503 of, and to add Section 20154 to, the Government Code,
relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 439, as amended, Negrete McLeod. Political Reform Act of 1974:
PERS: STRS: gift limits.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a member of a state
board or commission , or a designated employee of a state
or local government agency , from accepting gifts from any
single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than
$250 , as adjusted biennially by the Fair Political Practices
Commission, if the gift receipt of
income or gifts from that source is subject to disclosure on a
statement of economic interests. Existing law requires the
commission to adjust the gift limitation in this section on January 1
of each odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price
Index, rounded to the nearest $10. Existing law makes a
knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a
misdemeanor.
This bill would prohibit any member of the board of,
and any designated employee of , the Public
Employees' Retirement System (PERS) or State Teachers' Retirement
System (STRS) from accepting gifts from any single source
in any calendar year with a total value of more than $50
from any single person who has secured a contract with, or
submitted a contract proposal to, PERS or STRS within the
previous 5 years. A gift would not be deemed to have been accepted if
the gift or its equivalent dollar value is returned to the donor of
the gift within 30 days after receipt of the gift . Because a
knowing or willful violation of this provision would be a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would disqualify any vendor or contractor that makes
gifts in violation of the above-described gift limit twice
2 separate times, more than 60 days apart, in a
consecutive 5-year period from bidding on, and being awarded, any
contract for a period of 2 years from the date of the conviction of
the recipient of the 2nd gift.
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.
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 22365 is added to the Education Code, to read:
22365. (a) Any vendor or contractor that
makes gifts in violation of the gift limit in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 89503 of the Government Code two
separate times in a consecutive five-year period shall be
disqualified from bidding on, and being awarded, any contract for a
period of two years from the date of the conviction of the recipient
of the second gift pursuant to Section 91000 of the Government Code.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), violations of paragraph (2)
of subdivision (c) of Section 89503 shall be deemed separate if they
occur more than 60 days apart.
SEC. 2. Section 20154 is added to the Government Code, to read:
20154. (a) Any vendor or contractor that
makes gifts in violation of the gift limit in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c) of Section 89503 two separate times in a
consecutive five-year period shall be disqualified from bidding on,
and being awarded, any contract for a period of two years from the
date of the conviction of the recipient of the second gift pursuant
to Section 91000.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), violations of paragraph (2)
of subdivision (c) of Section 89503 shall be deemed separate if they
occur more than 60 days apart.
SEC. 3. Section 89503 of the Government Code is amended to read:
89503. (a) No elected state officer, elected officer of a local
government agency, or other individual specified in Section 87200
shall accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a
total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) (1) No candidate for elective state office, for judicial
office, or for elective office in a local government agency shall
accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total
value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250). A person shall
be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision when the
person has filed a statement of organization as a committee for
election to a state or local office, a declaration of intent, or a
declaration of candidacy, whichever occurs first. A person shall not
be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision after he or
she is sworn into the elective office, or, if the person lost the
election, after the person has terminated his or her campaign
statement filing obligations for that office pursuant to Section
84214 or after certification of the election results, whichever is
earlier.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any person who is a candidate
as described in paragraph (1) for judicial office on or before
December 31, 1996.
(c) (1) No member of a state board or commission or designated
employee of a state or local government agency shall accept gifts
from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of
more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if the member or employee
would be required to report the receipt of income or gifts from that
source on his or her statement of economic interests.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subdivision (f), no member
of the board of, and no designated employee of
, the Public Employees' Retirement System or State
Teachers' Retirement System shall accept gifts from any
single source in any calendar year with a total value of
more than fifty dollars ($50) from any single person who has
secured a contract with, or submitted a contract proposal
to, the Public Employees' Retirement System or State Teachers'
Retirement System within the previous five years. A member of the
board of, or a designated employee of, the Public Employees'
Retirement System or State Teachers' Retirement System shall not be
deemed to have accepted a gift within the meaning of this paragraph
if the gift, or the equivalent dollar value of the gift, is returned
to the donor of the gift within 30 days after its receipt .
(d) This section shall not apply to a person in his or her
capacity as judge. This section shall not apply to a person in his or
her capacity as a part-time member of the governing board of any
public institution of higher education unless that position is an
elective office.
(e) This section shall not prohibit or limit the following:
(1) Payments, advances, or reimbursements for travel and related
lodging and subsistence permitted by Section 89506.
(2) Wedding gifts and gifts exchanged between individuals on
birthdays, holidays, and other similar occasions, provided that the
gifts exchanged are not substantially disproportionate in value.
(f) Beginning on January 1, 1993, the commission shall adjust the
gift limitation in this section on January 1 of each odd-numbered
year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the
nearest ten dollars ($10).
(g) The limitations in this section are in addition to the
limitations on gifts in Section 86203.
SEC. 4. 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. 5. 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.