BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1190


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1190 (Jackson)


          As Amended  August 29, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  23-12


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Natural         |6-3  |Williams, Cristina     |Jones, Hadley,       |
          |Resources       |     |Garcia, Gomez,         |Harper               |
          |                |     |McCarty, Mark Stone,   |                     |
          |                |     |Wood                   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |11-7 |Gonzalez, Bloom,       |Bigelow, Calderon,   |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,        |Chang, Gallagher,    |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo        |Jones, Obernolte,    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden, Quirk, |Wagner               |
          |                |     |Santiago, Wood, Chau   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Prohibits, with some exceptions, commissioners at the  








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          Coastal Commission (Commission) from conducting ex parte  
          communications on matters within the Commission's jurisdiction.  
          Specifically, this bill: 


          1)Requires, on or before July 1, 2017, the Commission provide  
            for public access to all commission meetings via telephone and  
            the Internet.


          2)Requires Commission staff to include in the executive summary  
            section of a staff report a list of references to any  
            materials submitted for the public record that are determined  
            not relate to a matter within the Commission's jurisdiction,  
            including information about how to locate copies of those  
            materials in an addendum.


          3)Excludes from the definition of ex parte communication 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.


          4)Authorizes commissioner and Commission staff to 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.


          5)Requires disclosure of ex parte communications that are a  
            violation of the law and prohibits a commissioner from voting  
            or participating in a Commission matter if he or she has had  
            an ex parte communication. 


          6)Requires the Commission to adopt a board policy that prohibits  
            a commissioner or alternative from using or attempting to use  








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            his or her official position to place undue influence on  
            Commission staff.


          7)Disqualifies a commissioner from holding a position at the  
            Commission if they willfully violate the policy established by  
            the Commission.


          EXISTING LAW, pursuant to the Coastal Act:


          1)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.


          2)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.


          3)Defines an "ex parte communication," for the purposes of  
            communications related to actions of the Commission, as any  
            oral or written communication between a commissioner 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.   


          4)Prohibits an ex parte communication unless the commissioner  
            fully discloses the communication.










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          5)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.


          6)Requires the Commission to adopt standard disclosure forms for  
            reporting ex parte communications, which shall include:


             a)   The date, time, and location;
             b)   Identity of the person who made the communication and  
               the people who were present during the communication;


             c)   A complete, comprehensive description of the content of  
               the communication, including all material that was part of  
               the communication.


          7)Defines an "interested person" as a) any applicant,  
            applicant's agent or representative, or participant in a  
            Commission proceeding, b) any person with a financial interest  
            in a matter before the Commission his 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.
          8)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.










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          FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown


          COMMENTS:  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.  There  
          were claims of frequent unreported ex parte communications at  
          the Commission.  Then Assemblymember Terry Friedman authored AB  
          3459, Chapter 1114, Statutes of 1992 and AB 909, Chapter 798,  
          Statutes of 1993 to prohibit ex parte communications.  These  
          laws were interpreted as prohibiting ex parte communication  
          unless they are fully disclosed.


          In 2014, AB 474 (Stone), 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.  However, concerns  
          remain about ex parte communications at the Commission.  Many of  
          the ex parte communications submitted to this Committee are not  
          comprehensive, and news accounts state some commissioners have  
          not filed ex parte disclosure forms for their ex parte  
          communications.  There have been accounts of commissioners  
          filing brief disclosure forms and then sending staff detailed  
          e-mails about their ex parte communications creating a  
          discrepancy in the public record.  Commissioners also commonly  
          disclose on the microphone at Commission meetings.  The oral  
          disclosures are usually an extremely short account of the  
          communication.  Finally, it is difficult for the public to have  








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          access to the ex parte communication disclosure forms. 


          The Commission voted 6-5 this year to support banning ex parte  
          communications, and in their support letter they state,  
          "Commissioners have expressed concerns that the practice lacks  
          transparency, undermines due process, and erodes public trust in  
          the commission.  Some have stated that they would prefer not to  
          conduct ex partes, but feel pressured to do so because the  
          practice is so widespread.  The general conclusion is that the  
          current process leads to an 'uneven' level of information  
          available to the public." 




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092  FN:  
          0004980