BILL NUMBER: AB 1200 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 19, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 82002 of, and to add Section 86205.5 to,
the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1200, as amended, Gordon. Political Reform Act of 1974:
lobbying: procurement contracts.
Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 regulate
the activities of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers,
as defined, in connection with attempts to influence legislative and
administrative action by legislative and other state officials,
including requirements that lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist
employers register and file periodic reports with the Secretary of
State. The act also prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from
engaging in certain activities, including, among others, accepting
any payment that is contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome
of any proposed legislative or administrative action. For purposes
of these provisions, "administrative action" is defined to include
the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment,
enactment, or defeat by any state agency of any rule, regulation, or
other action in any ratemaking proceeding or any quasi-legislative
proceeding.
This bill would additionally define the term "administrative
action" to include governmental procurement, which would be defined
to include various actions regarding a state procurement contract for
which the total estimated cost exceeds $250,000, thereby making the
above-described lobbying requirements applicable to actions that
attempt to influence governmental procurement. The bill would also
exclude certain actions from the definition of "government
procurement," including , among others, submitting a
bid, bid or fee proposal, testifying at
a public hearing relating to a procurement contract, or any activity
undertaken by a bona fide salesperson, as
salesperson or a placement agent, as those terms are
defined.
This bill would also authorize a lobbyist , other than a
placement agent, to be compensated on a commission basis for
lobbying activities related to influencing administrative action
relating to governmental procurement, as specified.
Because a willful violation of the act's provisions is punishable
as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
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 82002 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
82002. (a) "Administrative action" means any of the following:
(1) The proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment,
enactment, or defeat by any state agency of any rule, regulation, or
other action in any ratemaking proceeding or any quasi-legislative
proceeding, which shall include any proceeding governed by Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2.
(2) With regard only to placement agents, the decision by any
state agency to enter into a contract to invest state public
retirement system assets on behalf of a state public retirement
system.
(3) Governmental procurement.
(b) "Ratemaking proceeding" means, for purposes of a proceeding
before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding in which it is
reasonably foreseeable that a rate will be established, including,
but not limited to, general rate cases, performance-based ratemaking,
and other ratesetting mechanisms.
(c) "Quasi-legislative proceeding" means, for purposes of a
proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding
that involves consideration of the establishment of a policy that
will apply generally to a group or class of persons, including, but
not limited to, rulemakings and investigations that may establish
rules affecting an entire industry.
(d) (1) "Governmental procurement" means any of the following with
respect to a state procurement contract for which the total
estimated cost exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000):
(A) Preparing the terms, specifications, bid documents, request
for proposals, or evaluation criteria for the procurement contract.
(B) Soliciting for the procurement contract.
(C) Evaluating the procurement contract.
(D) Scoring criteria for the procurement contract.
(D)
(E) Awarding, approving, denying, or disapproving the
procurement contract.
(E)
(F) Approving or denying an assignment, amendment,
other than an amendment authorized and payable under the terms of the
procurement contract as the procurement contract was finally awarded
or approved, renewal, or extension of the procurement contract, or
any other material change in the procurement contract resulting in
financial benefit to the offeror.
(2) "Governmental procurement" does not include any of the
following with respect to a state procurement contract for which the
total estimated cost exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($250,000):
(A) Submitting a bid or fee proposal on the state
procurement contract. contract that
does not involve any activity described in paragraph (1)
, including attending a bidders' conference or
responding to requests for information; or responding to a
competitive selection process based on qualifications.
(B) Testifying at a public hearing regarding the state procurement
contract.
(C) Any activity, including those described in paragraph
(1), activity undertaken by a bona fide
salesperson of an article of procurement. For purposes of this
subparagraph, a "bona fide salesperson" is an individual who
satisfies each all of the following:
(i) The primary purpose of the individual's employment is
to cause or promote the sale of , or to influence
or induce another to make a purchase of, an article of
procurement.
(ii) The primary purpose of the individual's employment is not to
influence the actions of a public officer or state agency in
regards to selecting vendors to supply articles of procurement under
a state procurement contract. agency, as
described in paragraph (1).
(iii) The individual does not engage in any other activity that
would qualify him or her as a lobbyist.
(D) Any activity undertaken by a placement agent, as that term is
defined in Section 82047.3.
(E) Any activity relating to a contract awarded by the state
through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) or a contract
awarded through government multi-jurisdiction purchasing schedules.
SEC. 2. Section 86205.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
86205.5. Notwithstanding Section 86205, a lobbyist
lobbyist, other than a placement agent, may be
compensated on a commission basis only with respect to lobbying
activities related to influencing administrative action for
governmental procurement, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
82002.
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.