BILL NUMBER: SB 1426	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 9, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Blakeslee
    (   Principal coauthor:   Senator 
 Correa   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Section  82013 of   86203 of,
and to add Section 89504 to,  the Government Code, relating to
the Political Reform Act of 1974.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1426, as amended, Blakeslee.  Political Reform Act of
1974: committees.   Lobbyist employers: gifts. 

   The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates the receipt of gifts by
public officials and also regulates the activities of members of the
lobbying industry, including lobbyist employers. Under existing law,
public officials are prohibited 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.
Existing law also prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from giving
gifts to a public official aggregating more than $10 in a calendar
month or from acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any
gift or arranging for the making of any gift by any other person.
 
   This bill would prohibit a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist
employer from giving to an elected state officer or a member of that
officer's immediate family, and would prohibit an elected state
officer from accepting from a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist
employer, certain gifts, including tickets to specified venues and
events, spa treatments, recreational trips, and gift cards. However,
under the bill, these prohibitions would not apply to a fundraising
event for a bona fide charitable organization.  
   Existing law makes a violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974
subject to administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. This bill
would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional
crimes.  
    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.
 
   The Political Reform Act of 1974 defines the term "committee" for
purposes of that act.  
   This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

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


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 86203 of the  
Government Code   is amended to read: 
   86203.   (a)    It  shall be 
 is  unlawful for a lobbyist ,  or lobbying
firm  ,  to make gifts to one person aggregating
more than ten dollars ($10) in a calendar month, or to act as an
agent or intermediary in the making of any gift, or to arrange for
the making of any gift by any other person. 
   (b) (1) It is unlawful for a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist
employer to give to an elected state officer or to a member of that
officer's immediate family, from the date the officer is elected to
the date he or she vacates office, any of the following gifts: 

   (A) A theme park or amusement park ticket.  
   (B) A professional sporting event ticket.  
   (C) A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a
face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).  
   (D) A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face
value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).  
   (E) A racetrack ticket.  
   (F) A spa treatment, or other beauty or cosmetic service. 

   (G) A golf, skiing, hunting, or fishing trip, or other
recreational outing or vacation.  
   (H) A gift card.  
   (2) The prohibitions in this subdivision do not apply to a
fundraising event for a bona fide charitable organization. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 89504 is added to the  
Government Code   , to read:  
   89504.  (a) An elected state officer, from the date the officer is
elected to the date he or she vacates office, shall not accept as a
gift from a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer any of the
following:
   (1) A theme park or amusement park ticket.
   (2) A professional sporting event ticket.
   (3) A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a
face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
   (4) A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face
value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
   (5) A racetrack ticket.
   (6) A spa treatment, or other beauty or cosmetic service.
   (7) A golf, skiing, hunting, or fishing trip, or other
recreational outing or vacation.
   (8) A gift card.
   (b) The prohibitions in this section do not apply to a fundraising
event for a bona fide charitable organization. 
   SEC. 3.    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. 4.    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.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 82013 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
   82013.  "Committee" means a person or combination of persons who
directly or indirectly does any of the following:
   (a) Receives contributions totaling one thousand dollars ($1,000)
or more in a calendar year.
   (b) Makes independent expenditures totaling one thousand dollars
($1,000) or more in a calendar year.
   (c) Makes contributions totaling ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or
more in a calendar year to, or at the behest of, candidates or
committees.
   A person or combination of persons that becomes a committee shall
retain its status as a committee until such time as that status is
terminated pursuant to Section 84214.