BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER | | Senator Fran Pavley, Chair | | 2013-2014 Regular Session | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- BILL NO: AB 474 HEARING DATE: June 10, 2014 AUTHOR: Stone URGENCY: No VERSION: January 6, 2014 CONSULTANT: Bill Craven DUAL REFERRAL: Judiciary FISCAL: Yes SUBJECT: California Coastal Commission: ex parte communications: disclosure forms. BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission (CCC) and charges it with the implementation of the substantive provisions of California Coastal Act as well as numerous procedural provisions of that act. One of those provisions prohibits ex parte communications between a member of the CCC and persons with an interest in a matter pending before the CCC unless the member of the CCC provides a public report of the communication as specified in the act. The Coastal Act defines "ex parte communication" as any oral or written communication between a member of the Commission and an interested person about a matter within the Commission's jurisdiction, which does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other official proceeding or that is not on the record at such a proceeding. It also defines "interested person" as any applicant, an agent or employee of the applicant, or a person receiving consideration for representing the applicant; a participant in a proceeding on any matter before the Commission; or, any person with a financial interest in a matter before the Commission. The act requires the CCC to adopt standard disclosure forms for ex parte communications that include: a) The date, time, and location of the communication; 1 b) The identity of the person or persons initiating and receiving the communication; and, c) A complete description of the content of the communication, including the text of any written materials. PROPOSED LAW This bill adds to the existing ex parte communications disclosure provisions requirements that the disclosure also include: 1. The identity of the person on whose behalf the communication was made. 2. The identity of all persons present during the communication. 3. A complete, comprehensive description of the content of the ex parte communication, including a complete set of all text and graphic material that was part of the communication. ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT According to CalPirg, existing law is limited to the individuals who initiated the communication and the individuals who received the communication, and does not extend to disclosure of information about all communication participants. The Surfrider Foundation makes the same point and urges support as a way of providing greater public transparency. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION None received. COMMENTS The state's general ex parte communications requirements within the Administrative Procedure Act require the disclosure of the substance of the communication and the identity of each person from whom the official received the communication. However, existing law exempts the CCC from the APA and establishes separate requirements, described above, within the Public Resources Code. Under these provisions, members of the Commission are only required to disclose the identities of the person initiating a communication and receiving a communication, not the identity of those in attendance who did not initiate the communication. According to the author, this oversight in existing law prevents the public from accessing all of the information that would 2 provide an accurate explanation of the ex parte communication. SUPPORT CALPIRG Surfrider North County Watch OPPOSITION None Received 3