Amended in Assembly August 29, 2016

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 BillNo. 1190


Introduced by Senator Jackson

(Coauthors: Assembly Members O'Donnell and 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 providebegin insert forend insert publicbegin delete access toend deletebegin insert participation atend insert all commissionbegin delete meetingend deletebegin insert meetingsend insert via telephone andbegin delete video conferencing.end deletebegin insert the Internet, as prescribed.end insert The bill would require the commission to include in the executive summary section of a staff reportbegin insert a list ofend insert 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 on a matter within the commission’s jurisdiction, as defined, 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:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 30315 of the Public Resources Code is
2amended to read:

3

30315.  

(a) The commission shall meet at least 11 times
4annually at a place convenient to the public. Each meeting shall
5occur not more than 45 days after the previous meeting. All
6meetings of the commission shall be open to the public.

7(b) A majority of the total appointed membership of the
8commission shall constitute a quorum. An action taken by the
9commission under this division requires a majority vote of the
10members present at the meeting of the commission, with a quorum
11being present, unless otherwise specifically provided for in this
12division.

13(c) Commencing on or before July 1, 2017, the commission also
14shall providebegin insert forend insert publicbegin delete access toend deletebegin insert participation atend insert all commission
15meetings via telephone andbegin delete video conferencing.end deletebegin insert the Internet.
16Participation end insert
begin insertshall include realend insertbegin insert-time testimony during public
17comment.end insert

18

SEC. 2.  

Section 30321 of the Public Resources Code is
19amended to read:

20

30321.  

(a) For purposes of this article, “a matter within the
21commission’s jurisdiction” means any permit action, federal
22consistency review, appeal, local coastal program, port master
23plan, public works plan, long-range development plan, categorical
24or other exclusions from coastal development permit requirements,
25or any other quasi-judicial matter requiring commission action,
26for which an application has been submitted to the commission.

27(b) Commission staff shall include in the executive summary
28section of a staff reportbegin insert a list ofend insert references to any materials
29submitted for the public record that are determined not to relate
30 to a matter within the commission’s jurisdiction, including
31information about how to locate copies of thosebegin delete materials.end deletebegin insert materials
32in an addendum. The addendum shall include instructions
33regarding the use of the information contained in these
P4    1communications as a basis or influencing factor upon their
2decisionend insert
begin insert.end insert

3

SEC. 3.  

Section 30322 of the Public Resources Code is
4amended to read:

5

30322.  

(a) For purposes of this article, except as provided in
6subdivision (b), an “ex parte communication” is any oral or written
7communication between a member of the commission and an
8interested person, about a matter within the commission’s
9jurisdiction, which does not occur in a public hearing, workshop,
10or other official proceeding, or on the official record of the
11proceeding on the matter.

12(b) The following communications are not ex parte
13communications:

14(1) Any communication between a staff member acting in his
15or her official capacity and any commission member or interested
16person.

17(2) Any communication limited entirely to procedural issues,
18including, but not limited to, the hearing schedule, location, format,
19or filing date.

20(3) Any communication which takes place on the record during
21an official proceeding of a state, regional, or local agency that
22involves a member of the commission who also serves as an official
23of that agency.

24(4) Any communication between a member of the commission,
25with regard to any action of another state agency or of a regional
26or local agency of which the member is an official, and any other
27official or employee of that agency, including any person who is
28acting as an attorney for the agency.

29(5) Any communication between a nonvoting commission
30member and a staff member of a state agency where both the
31commission member and the staff member are acting in an official
32 capacity.

33(6) Any communication to a nonvoting commission member
34relating to an action pending before the commission, where the
35nonvoting commission member does not participate in that action,
36either through written or verbal communication, on or off the
37record, with other members of the commission.

38(7) Any communication conducted by a commission member
39while acting in his or her capacity as a local government official
40and prior to the time the matter to which the communication applies
P5    1was pending before the commission.begin insert This paragraph shall not be
2construed to mean that any other commissioner has conducted an
3ex parte communication on a matter if the communication occurred
4before the matter was pending before the commission.end insert

5(8) Any project site visit conducted pursuant to subdivision (b)
6of Section 30324.

7

SEC. 4.  

Section 30324 of the Public Resources Code is
8amended to read:

9

30324.  

(a) No commission member, nor any interested person,
10shall intentionally conduct either of the following:

11(1) An ex parte communication on a matter within the
12commission’s jurisdiction, as defined by Section 30321.

13(2) An oral or written communication regarding a pending
14enforcement investigation that does not occur in a public hearing,
15workshop, or other official proceeding, or on the official record
16of the proceeding on the matter.

17(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), commission members and
18commission staff may conduct a project site visit if the proposed
19site visit is approved by a majority vote of the commission and
20with the permission of the property owner. A description of the
21site visit shall be a part of the public record of the matter to which
22the project site pertains and any communications conducted during
23the site visit shall be limited to those between commission members
24and staff.

25(c) (1) If a commission member, or any interested person,
26conducts a communication that is in violation of subdivision (a),
27the commission member shall fully disclose and make public the
28communication by providing a full report of the communication
29to the executive director within seven days after the communication
30or, if the communication occurs within seven days of the next
31commission hearing, to the commission in writing to be included
32on the record of the proceeding at that hearing.

33(2) Notwithstanding Section 30327, if a commission member
34conducts a communication that is in violation of subdivision (a),
35he or she shall not vote on or otherwise participate in any
36commission proceeding to which the communication applies.

37(d) (1) The commission shall adopt standard disclosure forms
38for reporting communications that are in violation of subdivision
39(a), which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following
40information:

P6    1(A) The date, time, and location of the communication.

2(B) (i) The identity of the person or persons initiating and the
3person or persons receiving the communication.

4(ii) The identity of the person on whose behalf the
5communication was made.

6(iii) The identity of all persons present during the
7 communication.

8(C) A complete, comprehensive description of the content of
9the communication, including a complete set of all text and graphic
10material that was part of the communication.

11(2) The executive director shall place in the public record any
12report made pursuant to this section.

13

SEC. 5  

Section 30327.2 is added to the Public Resources Code,
14to read:

15

30327.2.  

(a) The commission shall adopt, at a duly noticed
16public hearing, abegin insert boardend insert policy that prohibits a commission member
17or alternate from using or attempting to use his or her official
18position to place undue influence, as defined by Section 1575 of
19the Civil Code, on commissionbegin delete staff.end deletebegin insert staff, including, but not limited
20to, the contents of staff reports.end insert

21(b) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a
22commissioner or alternate from communicating with, or providing
23 information to, commission staff members about matters before
24the commission.

25(c) A commission member or alternate who willfully violates
26subdivision (a) is forever disqualified from holding any position
27at the commission.

28(d) This section is intended to protect the public interest by
29ensuring that commission members and alternates do not unduly
30influence the contents of a staff report, analysis, or
31recommendation.



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