Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2002


Introduced by Assembly Members Mark Stone, Atkins, and Levine

(Principalbegin delete coauthor:end deletebegin insert coauthors:end insert Assemblybegin delete Memberend deletebegin insert Members Alejo andend insert Gordon)

(Principal coauthor: Senator Jackson)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Chiu, Gonzalez, Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, O'Donnell, Rendon, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, and Wood)

(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Block,begin insert Leno, Monning,end insert Pavley, and Wolk)

February 16, 2016


An act to amend Sections 82002, 82039, and 86300 of the Government Code, and to amendbegin delete Sectionend deletebegin insert Sections 30324 andend insert 30325 of the Public Resources Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2002, as amended, Mark Stone. Political Reform Act of 1974: California Coastalbegin delete Commission.end deletebegin insert Commission: communications.end insert

Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission in the Natural Resources Agency and designates the commission as the state coastal zone planning and management agency for all purposes.begin insert Existing law prohibits a commission member or an interested person, as defined, from conducting an ex parte communication unless the commission member fully discloses and makes public that communication within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing. end insert

begin insert

This bill would require a commission member to fully disclose in writing 24 hours before a commission hearing any ex parte communication conducted within 7 days of the commission hearing relating to a matter that will be discussed at the hearing, and would prohibit a commission member or an interested person from conducting such an ex parte communication within 24 hours before the commission hearing.

end insert

The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the regulation of the lobbying industry, including defining the term “lobbyist” and regulating the conduct of lobbyists. Among its provisions, the act prohibits lobbyists from engaging in certain activities, including accepting or agreeing to accept any payment in any way contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative or administrative action. Under the act, a lobbyist is, among others, an individual whose principal duties as an employee are to communicate with, among others, any agency official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action. For these purposes, “administrative action” is defined as the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by a state agency of any rule, regulation, or other action in any ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding and “agency official” is defined as any member, officer, employee, or consultant of any state agency who participates in any administrative action in other than a ministerial capacity.

This bill would revise the definition of “administrative action” to include, with regard to proceedings before the California Coastal Commission, specifiedbegin delete actions, plans, and orders, and any other quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative matter requiring commission action.end deletebegin insert actions relating to the review, approval, and appeal of certain permit actions and coastal plans and programs.end insert The bill would, however, exclude from these provisions relating to lobbyistsbegin delete an individual who communicates with a member of the California Coastal Commission for compensation to advocate for an outcome in relation to no more than one administrative action during a calendar year andend delete an employee of a local government agency seeking, within the scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial decisions of the commission. The bill would also, for purposes of a quasi-judicial matter before the California Coastal Commission, limit the definition of “agency official” to a member of the commission.

Existing law makes a knowing and willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties.

This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding those crimes.

The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes with a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.

This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

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.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 82002 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

82002.  

(a) “Administrative action” means any of the following:

4(1) The proposal, drafting, development, consideration,
5amendment, enactment, or defeat by any state agency of any rule,
6regulation, or other action in any ratemaking proceeding or any
7quasi-legislative proceeding, which shall include any proceeding
8governed by Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
9Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2.

10(2) With regard only to placement agents, the decision by any
11state agency to enter into a contract to invest state public retirement
12system assets on behalf of a state public retirement system.

13(3) For purposes of proceedings before the California Coastal
14Commission, the proposal, drafting, development, consideration,
15amendment, enactment, or defeat of any rule, regulation, permit
16action, federal consistency review, appeal, local coastal program,
17port master plan, public works plan, long-range development plan,
18begin insert orend insert categorical or other exclusion from coastal development permit
19
begin delete requirements, cease and desist order, restoration order, or any other
P4    1quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative matter requiring commission
2action.end delete
begin insert requirements. end insert

3(b) “Ratemaking proceeding” means, for the purposes of a
4proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding
5in which it is reasonably foreseeable that a rate will be established,
6including, but not limited to, general rate cases, performance-based
7ratemaking, and other ratesetting mechanisms.

8(c) “Quasi-legislative proceeding” means, for purposes of a
9proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding
10that involves consideration of the establishment of a policy that
11will apply generally to a group or class of persons, including, but
12not limited to, rulemakings and investigations that may establish
13rules affecting an entire industry.

14

SEC. 2.  

Section 82039 of the Government Code is amended
15to read:

16

82039.  

(a) “Lobbyist” means either of the following:

17(1) Any individual who receives two thousand dollars ($2,000)
18or more in economic consideration in a calendar month, other than
19reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, or whose principal
20duties as an employee are, to communicate directly or through his
21or her agents with any elective state official, agency official, or
22legislative official for the purpose of influencing legislative or
23administrative action.

24(2) A placement agent, as defined in Section 82047.3.

25(b) An individual is not a lobbyist by reason of activities
26 described in Section 86300.

27(c) For the purposes of subdivision (a), a proceeding before the
28Public Utilities Commission constitutes “administrative action” if
29it meets any of the definitions set forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of
30Section 82002. However, a communication made for the purpose
31of influencing this type of Public Utilities Commission proceeding
32is not within subdivision (a) if the communication is made at a
33public hearing, public workshop, or other public forum that is part
34of the proceeding, or if the communication is included in the
35official record of the proceeding.

36(d) Notwithstanding Section 82004, for purposes of a
37quasi-judicial matter before the California Coastal Commission,
38as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 82002,
39“agency official,” as used in subdivision (a) of this section, shall
40 only mean a member of the California Coastal Commission.

begin delete

P5    1(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), “lobbyist” shall not include
2an individual who communicates with a member of the California
3Coastal Commission for compensation to advocate for an outcome
4in relation to no more than one administrative action during a
5calendar year.

end delete
6

SEC. 3.  

Section 86300 of the Government Code is amended
7to read:

8

86300.  

The provisions of this chapter are not applicable to any
9of the following:

10(a) An elected public official acting in his or her official capacity
11or an employee of the state acting within the scope of his or her
12employment. However, an employee of the state, other than a
13legislative official, who attempts to influence legislative action
14and who would be required to register as a lobbyist, except for the
15provisions of this subdivision, shall not make gifts of more than
16ten dollars ($10) in a calendar month to an elected state officer or
17legislative official.

18(b) A newspaper or other periodical of general circulation, book
19publisher, radio or television station, any individual who owns,
20publishes, or is employed by any such newspaper or periodical,
21or radio or television station, which in the ordinary course of
22business publishes news items, editorials, or other comments, or
23advertisements that directly or indirectly urge legislative or
24administrative action, if that newspaper, periodical, book publisher,
25radio or television station, or individual, engages in no further or
26other activities in connection with urging legislative or
27administrative action other than to appear before a committee of
28the Legislature or before a state agency in support of or in
29opposition to such action.

30(c) A person when representing a bona fide church or religious
31society solely for the purpose of protecting the public right to
32practice the doctrines of such church.

33(d) An employee of a local government agency seeking, within
34the scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial
35decisions of the California Coastal Commission.

36begin insert

begin insertSEC. end insertbegin insert4.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 30324 of the end insertbegin insertPublic Resources Codeend insertbegin insert is
37amended to read:end insert

38

30324.  

(a) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insertend insert No commission member, nor any interested
39person, shall conduct an ex parte communication unless the
40commission member fully discloses and makes public the ex parte
P6    1communication by providing a full report of the communication
2
begin delete toend deletebegin insert as follows:end insert

3begin insert(A)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertIf the communication occurs more than seven days before
4the next commission hearing, toend insert
the executive director within seven
5days after thebegin delete communication or, ifend deletebegin insert communication.end insert

6begin insert(B)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertExcept as provided in subparagraph (C), if end insertthe
7communication occurs within seven days of the next commission
8hearing, to the commission on the record of the proceeding at that
9hearing.

begin insert

10
(C) If the communication occurs within seven days of the next
11commission hearing and relates to a matter that the commission
12will discuss at the hearing, to the commission in writing at least
1324 hours before that hearing.

end insert

14
begin insert(2)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertNotwithstanding paragraph (1), no commission member,
15nor any interested person, shall conduct an ex parte communication
16within end insert
begin insert24 hours before a commission hearing regarding a matter
17that the commission will discuss at the hearing.end insert

18(b) (1) The commission shall adopt standard disclosure forms
19for reporting ex parte communications which shall include, but
20not be limited to, all of the following information:

21(A) The date, time, and location of the communication.

22(B) (i) The identity of the person or persons initiating and the
23person or persons receiving the communication.

24(ii) The identity of the person on whose behalf the
25communication was made.

26(iii) The identity of all persons present during the
27communication.

28(C) A complete, comprehensive description of the content of
29the ex parte communication, including a complete set of all text
30and graphic material that was part of the communication.

31(2) The executive director shall place in the public record any
32report of an ex parte communication.

33(c) Communications shall cease to be ex parte communications
34when fully disclosed and placed in the commission’s official
35record.

36

begin deleteSEC. 4.end delete
37
begin insertSEC. 5.end insert  

Section 30325 of the Public Resources Code is
38amended to read:

39

30325.  

(a) Nothing in this article prohibits any person or any
40interested person from testifying at a commission hearing,
P7    1workshop, or other official proceeding, or from submitting written
2comments for the record on a matter before the commission.
3Written comments shall be submitted by mail or delivered to a
4commission office, or may be delivered to the commission at the
5time and place of a scheduled hearing.

6(b) Any person who communicates with the members of the
7commission regarding an administrative action of the commission,
8as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 82002 of
9the Government Code, and who qualifies as a lobbyist, as defined
10inbegin delete subdivisionsend deletebegin insert subdivisionend insert (a)begin delete and (d)end delete of Section 82039 of the
11Government Code, shall comply with the requirements of Chapter
126 (commencing with Section 86100) of Title 9 of the Government
13Code.

14

begin deleteSEC. 5.end delete
15
begin insertSEC. 6.end insert  

The Legislature finds and declares that the provisions
16of this act further the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974
17within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the
18Government Code.

19

begin deleteSEC. 6.end delete
20
begin insertSEC. 7.end insert  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
22the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
23district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
24infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
25for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
26the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
27the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
28Constitution.



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