Amended in Assembly August 19, 2016

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

Senate Bill No. 1190

Introduced by Senator Jackson

( begin delete Coauthor: end delete begin insert Coauthors: end insert Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert begin insert O'Donnell and end insert Williams)

February 18, 2016

An act to amend 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, 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, an “ex parte communication” is defined as any oral or written communication between a member of the 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 begin insert on a matter within the commission’s jurisdiction, as defined, end insert 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 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. 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.

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 begin delete communication. end delete begin insert communication on a matter
within the commission’s jurisdiction, as defined by Section 30321. end insert

(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.

(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.

(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. 5  

Section 30327.2 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

30327.2.  

(a) 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.

(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.