BILL NUMBER: SB 1190 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section Sections 30315,
30321, 30322, and 30324 of, and to add Section 30327.2 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to the California Coastal Commission.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1190, as amended, Jackson. California Coastal Commission: ex
parte communications: staff communications.
The California Coastal Act of 1976, for
establishes the California Coastal Commission, and prescribes the
membership and functions and duties of the commission. The act
requires the commission to meet at least 11 times annually at a place
convenient to the public.
This bill would require the commission, commencing on or before
July 1, 2017, to also provide public access to all commission meeting
via telephone and video conferencing. The bill would require the
commission to include in the executive summary section of a staff
report references to any materials submitted for the public record
that are determined not to relate to a matter within the commission's
jurisdiction.
For purposes of the act, defines an
"ex parte communication" is defined as any oral or written
communication between a member of the California Coastal
Commission commission and an interested person,
as defined, about a matter within the commission's jurisdiction, as
defined, that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other
official proceeding or on the official record of the proceeding on
the matter, but excludes from that definition certain communications,
including communications between a staff member acting in his or her
official capacity and any commission member or interested person, as
prescribed. The act prohibits a commission member and an interested
person from conducting an ex parte communication unless the member
fully discloses and makes public the ex parte communication, as
specified, and prohibits a commission member or alternate from
making, participating in making, or in any other way attempting to
use his or her official position to influence a commission decision
about which the member or alternate has knowingly had an ex parte
communication that has not been reported.
This bill would prohibit a commission member or an interested
person from intentionally conducting any ex parte communication or
any oral or written communication regarding a pending enforcement
investigation that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or
other official proceeding, or on the official record of the
proceeding on the matter. The bill would require a commission member
to report these communications in writing, would require the report
to be placed in the public record, and would prohibit a commission
member from voting on or otherwise participating in any commission
proceeding to which one of these communications applies, even if the
communication is reported. The bill would exclude from the above
provisions a project site visit by commission members and staff that
meets certain requirements and communications conducted by a
commission member while acting in his or her capacity as a local
government official, as specified.
This bill would also prohibit a commission member or
alternate from attempting require the commission to
adopt, at a duly noticed public hearing, a policy that prohibits a
commission member from using or attempting to use his or her
official position to place undue influence, as defined, on commission
staff for the purpose of altering the contents or
conclusions of a commission staff report, analysis, or recommendation
prior to a public hearing on that matter to which the report,
analysis, or recommendation applies. staff. The
bill would forever disqualify a commission member or alternate who
willfully violates that provision from holding any position at the
commission.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 30315 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
30315. (a) The commission shall meet at least 11 times annually
at a place convenient to the public. Each meeting shall occur not
more than 45 days after the previous meeting. All meetings of the
commission shall be open to the public.
(b) A majority of the total appointed membership of the commission
shall constitute a quorum. An action taken by the commission under
this division requires a majority vote of the members present at the
meeting of the commission, with a quorum being present, unless
otherwise specifically provided for in this division.
(c) Commencing on or before July 1, 2017, the commission also
shall provide public access to all commission meetings via telephone
and video conferencing.
SEC. 2. Section 30321 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
30321. (a) For purposes of this article, "a
matter within the commission's jurisdiction" means any permit action,
federal consistency review, appeal, local coastal program, port
master plan, public works plan, long-range development plan,
categorical or other exclusions from coastal development permit
requirements, or any other quasi-judicial matter requiring commission
action, for which an application has been submitted to the
commission.
(b) Commission staff shall include in the executive summary
section of a staff report references to any materials submitted for
the public record that are determined not to relate to a matter
within the commission's jurisdiction, including information about how
to locate copies of those materials.
SEC. 3 . Section 30322 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
30322. (a) For purposes of this article, except as provided in
subdivision (b), an "ex parte communication" is 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 on the official record of the proceeding on the
matter.
(b) The following communications are not ex parte communications:
(1) Any communication between a staff member acting in his or her
official capacity and any commission member or interested person.
(2) Any communication limited entirely to procedural issues,
including, but not limited to, the hearing schedule, location,
format, or filing date.
(3) Any communication which takes place on the record during an
official proceeding of a state, regional, or local agency that
involves a member of the commission who also serves as an official of
that agency.
(4) Any communication between a member of the commission, with
regard to any action of another state agency or of a regional or
local agency of which the member is an official, and any other
official or employee of that agency, including any person who is
acting as an attorney for the agency.
(5) Any communication between a nonvoting commission member and a
staff member of a state agency where both the commission member and
the staff member are acting in an official capacity.
(6) Any communication to a nonvoting commission member relating to
an action pending before the commission, where the nonvoting
commission member does not participate in that action, either through
written or verbal communication, on or off the record, with other
members of the commission.
(7) Any communication conducted by a commission member while
acting in his or her capacity as a local government official and
prior to the time the matter to which the communication applies was
pending before the commission.
(8) Any project site visit conducted pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 30324.
SECTION 1. SEC. 4. Section 30324 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
30324. (a) No commission member, nor any interested person, shall
intentionally conduct either of the following:
(1) An ex parte communication.
(2) An oral or written communication regarding a pending
enforcement investigation that does not occur in a public hearing,
workshop, or other official proceeding, or on the official record of
the proceeding on the matter.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), commission members and
commission staff may conduct a project site visit if the proposed
site visit is approved by a majority vote of the commission and with
the permission of the property owner. A description of the site visit
shall be a part of the public record of the matter to which the
project site pertains and any communications conducted during the
site visit shall be limited to those between commission members and
staff.
(b)
(c) (1) If a commission member, or any interested
person, conducts a communication that is in violation of subdivision
(a), the commission member shall fully disclose and make public the
communication by providing a full report of the communication to the
executive director within seven days after the communication or, if
the communication occurs within seven days of the next commission
hearing, to the commission in writing to be included on the record of
the proceeding at that hearing.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 30327, if a commission member conducts
a communication that is in violation of subdivision (a), he or she
shall not vote on or otherwise participate in any commission
proceeding to which the communication applies.
(c)
( d) (1) The commission shall adopt standard
disclosure forms for reporting communications that are in violation
of subdivision (a), which shall include, but not be limited to, all
of the following information:
(A) The date, time, and location of the communication.
(B) (i) The identity of the person or persons initiating and the
person or persons receiving the communication.
(ii) The identity of the person on whose behalf the communication
was made.
(iii) The identity of all persons present during the
communication.
(C) A complete, comprehensive description of the content of the
communication, including a complete set of all text and graphic
material that was part of the communication.
(2) The executive director shall place in the public record any
report made pursuant to this section.
SEC. 2. SEC. 5 Section 30327.2 is
added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
30327.2. (a) No commission member or alternate shall
attempt The commission shall adopt, at a duly noticed
public hearing, a policy that prohibits a commission member or
alternate from using or attempting to use his or her official
position to place undue influence, as defined by Section 1575 of the
Civil Code, on commission staff for the purpose of altering
the contents or conclusions of a commission staff report, analysis,
or recommendation prior to a public hearing on that matter to which
the staff report, analysis,or recommendation applies.
staff.
(b) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a commissioner
or alternate from communicating with, or providing information to,
commission staff members about matters before the commission.
(c) A commission member or alternate who willfully violates
subdivision (a) is forever disqualified from holding any position at
the commission.
(d) This section is intended to protect the public interest by
ensuring that commission members and alternates do not unduly
influence the contents of a staff report, analysis, or
recommendation.