BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2002|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2002
Author: Mark Stone (D), Atkins (D), and Levine (D), et al.
Amended: 4/12/16 in Assembly
Vote: 27
SENATE ELECTIONS & C.A. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 6/21/16
AYES: Allen, Hancock, Hertzberg, Liu
NOES: Anderson
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 6-2, 6/28/16
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning
NOES: Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-23, 6/2/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Political Reform Act of 1974: California Coastal
Commission: communications
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill provides that communicating with the Coastal
Commission (Commission) in order to influence specified actions
can result in a person being considered a "lobbyist" under the
Political Reform Act (PRA) and prohibits an ex parte
communication with a member of the Commission regarding a matter
during the 24 hours before that matter will be discussed at a
Commission hearing.
AB 2002
Page 2
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and
makes it responsible for the impartial, effective
administration and implementation of the PRA.
2) Defines a "lobbyist," for the purposes of the PRA, as an
individual who receives $2,000 or more in a calendar month,
or whose principal duties as an employee are, to communicate
with an agency official, elected state official, or
legislative official for the purpose of influencing
legislative or administrative action. This definition does
not apply to any elected public official acting in her
official capacity, or any state employee acting within the
scope of his or her employment.
3) Defines "administrative action," for the purposes of the
PRA, as either of the following:
a) 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 a quasi-legislative proceeding, as
specified; or,
b) With regard only to placement agents, as defined, 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.
4) Defines "agency official," for the purposes of the PRA, as
any member, officer, employee, or consultant of any state
agency who as part of her official responsibilities
participates in any administrative action in other than a
purely clerical, secretarial, or ministerial capacity.
AB 2002
Page 3
5) Requires a lobbyist to register as a lobbyist and to comply
with various ethics and reporting rules.
6) Requires lobbying firms and lobbyist employers to register
with the Secretary of State and to file periodic disclosure
reports that contain information about the firms' and
employers' lobbying interests and agencies lobbied.
7) Permits any person to testify at a Commission hearing,
workshop, or other official proceeding, or submit written
comments for the record on a matter before the Commission.
8) Requires any person who applies to the Commission for
approval of a development permit to provide the Commission
with the names and addresses of all persons who, for
compensation, will be communicating with the Commission or
its staff on the applicant's behalf or on behalf of the
applicant's business partners. Requires that disclosure to be
provided to the Commission prior to any such communication.
9) Requires Commissioners to disclose and make public any ex
parte communication by providing a full report of the
communication to the executive director within seven days of
the communication or, if the communication occurs within
seven days of the next Commission hearing, to the Commission
on the record of the proceeding at that hearing.
10)Defines an "ex parte communication," for the purposes of
communications related to actions of the Commission, 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.
11)Defines an "interested person" as (a) any applicant,
AB 2002
Page 4
applicant's agent or representative, or participant in a
Commission proceeding, (b) any person with a financial
interest in a matter before the Commission, or her agent or
employee, or (c) a representative acting on behalf of any
civic, environmental, neighborhood, business, labor, trade,
or similar organization who intends to influence the decision
of a Commissioner.
12)Defines a "matter within the commission's jurisdiction" as
any permit action, federal consistency review, appeal, local
coastal program, port master plan, public works plan, or any
other quasi-judicial matter requiring Commission action, for
which an application has been submitted to the Commission.
13)Prohibits a Commissioner who has knowingly had an ex parte
communication that has not been reported as required from
voting on the matter or influencing the Commission in any
way. Provides that knowing violations of the disclosure or
recusal requirements can result in fines of up to $7,500, and
a court order for the Commission to revoke its action and
rehear the matter.
This bill:
1) Provides that communications with Commissioners regarding
specified business before the Commission can result in a
person being considered a lobbyist under the PRA, pursuant to
the following:
a) Expands the definition of "administrative action" to
also mean the proposal, drafting, development,
consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat of any
rule, regulation, permit action, federal consistency
review, appeal, local coastal program, port master plan,
public works plan, long-range development plan, or
categorical or other exclusion from coastal development
permit requirements.
AB 2002
Page 5
b) Provides, for the purposes of a quasi-judicial matter
before the Commission, that the term "agency official"
only means Commissioners, thereby generally excluding
communications with staff or consultants of the Commission
regarding matter before the Commission from the types of
communications that may result in a person being
classified as a lobbyist under this bill.
c) Exempts from the definition of "lobbyist," for the
purposes of this bill, an employee of a local government
agency seeking, within the scope of his or her employment,
to influence quasi-judicial decisions of the Commission.
1) Requires Commissioners to disclose any ex parte
communication in writing as follows:
a) If the communication occurs more than seven days
before the next commission hearing, to the executive
director within seven days after the communication.
b) If the communication occurs within seven days of the
next commission hearing, to the commission on the record
of the proceeding at that hearing.
c) If the communication occurs within seven days of the
next commission hearing and relates to a matter that the
commission will discuss at the hearing, to the commission
in writing at least 24 hours before that hearing.
d) No commission member, nor any interested person, shall
conduct an ex parte communication within 24 hours before a
commission hearing regarding a matter that the commission
will discuss at the hearing.
AB 2002
Page 6
Background
Coastal Commission. The Commission was established by voter
initiative in 1972 (Proposition 20) and later made permanent by
the Legislature through adoption of the California Coastal Act
of 1976 (Coastal Act). In partnership with coastal cities and
counties, the Commission plans and regulates the use of land and
water in the coastal zone. Development activities, which are
broadly defined by the Coastal Act to include construction of
buildings, divisions of land, and activities that change the
intensity of use of land or public access to coastal waters,
generally require a Coastal Development Permit from either the
Commission or the local government with a certified Local
Coastal Program.
The Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency,
and is composed of 12 voting members, appointed equally (four
each) by the Governor, the Senate Rules Committee, and the
Speaker of the Assembly. Six of the voting commissioners are
locally elected officials and six are appointed from the public
at large. Three ex officio (non-voting) members represent the
Natural Resources Agency, the Transportation Agency, and the
State Lands Commission.
According to the Commission's mission statement, the Commission
is committed to protecting and enhancing California's coast and
ocean for present and future generations through careful
planning and regulation of environmentally-sustainable
development, rigorous use of science, strong public
participation, education, and effective intergovernmental
coordination.
Ex parte communications. Ex parte communications refer to any
communication made in private (i.e., off the record and without
notice and opportunity for all parties to participate) between
an interested party in a decision-making process and any state
official in a decision-making position. Ex parte communication
disclosure requirements for state policy makers are intended to
provide the public with information regarding a decision and to
prevent bias in decision makers.
Prior to 1992, there was no mention of ex parte communications
in the Coastal Act. In 1992, basic ex parte communications
reporting was added to the Coastal Act. In 2014, AB 474 (Stone,
AB 2002
Page 7
Chapter 125, Statutes of 2014) improved ex parte communications
reporting requirements. The additions to the reporting
requirements included the identity of the person on whose behalf
the communication was made, the identity of all persons present
during the communication, and 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. This bill requires written
reports for all ex parte communications. This bill also
prohibits ex parte communications within 24 hours of a
Commission hearing.
Comments
According to the author, currently members of the Commission are
lobbied without the same level of transparency that is met when
other state officials are lobbied. AB 2002 will amend the
California Coastal Act and the PRA to require that those
lobbying the Commission must register with the FPPC as a
lobbyist; they must disclose activities they are pursuing on
behalf of a client.
The decisions made by the Commission can have broad and lasting
impacts on coastal conservation and coastal access. The
Commission works with cities and counties in the coastal zone to
approve land use policy that reflects the values put forth by
the voters in 1972. Due to the gravity of these decisions,
transparency of the process is critical.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1190 (Jackson), which is pending in the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee, prohibits all ex parte communications at
the Commission.
AB 2658 (Maienschein), which was never voted on in the Assembly
Natural Resources Committee, would have required Commission
staff to disclose certain communications as specified and
imposed time limits for posting specified recordings and
materials on the Commission Web site.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
AB 2002
Page 8
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
The FPPC indicates that it would incur first-year costs of
$215,000, and ongoing annual costs of $201,000 to implement
the provisions of this bill (General Fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
California State Controller Betty Yee
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Audubon California
AzulBlack Surfers Collective
Blue Frontier
California Coastal Commission
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California League of Conservation Voters
California Native Plant Society
California Public Interest Research Group
California Watershed Network
City of West Hollywood
Climate Parents
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Courage Campaign
Environment California
Environmental Defense Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks
Hispanic Access Foundation
Humboldt Baykeeper
IDARE Sustainable Leadership
Inland Empire Waterkeeper
Klamath Riverkeeper
Los Angeles Waterkeeper
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
Monterey Coastkeeper & Otter Projects
National Parks Conservation Association
Orange County Coastkeeper
Petaluma River Council
AB 2002
Page 9
Preserve Rural Sonoma County
Russian Riverkeeper
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Francisco Baykeeper
San Luis Obispo Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Sierra Club California
Smith River Alliance
Sonoma County Conservation Action
Surfrider Foundation
The City Project
The Nature Conservancy
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Ventura Coastkeeper
WildCoast
Wishotyo Chumash Foundation
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Cattlemen's Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Construction and Industrial Materials Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Independent Petroleum Association
Department of the Navy
Fair Political Practices Commission
Loftin Firm, P.C.
National Federation of Independent Business
Western States Petroleum Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-23, 6/2/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin,
Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
AB 2002
Page 10
Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood,
Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Dahle,
Gray, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Mathis,
Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth,
Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Beth Gaines, Gallagher
Prepared by:Darren Chesin / E. & C.A. / (916) 651-4106
8/15/16 20:17:25
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