BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2368
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 2368 (Blakeslee) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Political Reform Act of 1974: gift limitations.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a lobbyist employer from making gifts to a
Member of the Legislature aggregating more than $10 in a
calendar month.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), and
makes it responsible for the impartial, effective
administration and implementation of the Political Reform Act
(PRA).
2)Makes it a felony for a public official or public employee to
accept or agree to accept anything of value in exchange for an
official act.
3)Prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from making gifts
aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month to a state
candidate, elected state officer, or legislative official, or
to an agency official of any agency required to be listed on
the registration statement of the lobbying firm or the
lobbyist employer of the lobbyist.
4)Prohibits elected state government officials and candidates
for elective state office from accepting gifts from any single
source in a calendar year with a total value of more than
$420, with certain limited exceptions. Requires the FPPC to
adjust this gift limit on January 1 of each odd-numbered year
to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the
nearest $10.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program; contains
a crimes and infractions disclaimer.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
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While lobbyists are prevented by law from making gifts to
Members of the Legislature worth more than a combined total
of $10 a month, interests with business before the
Legislature are able to exploit the lobbyist employer
loophole, which allows these interests to provide more
extravagant gifts to Legislators and staff. In so doing,
the unhealthy impression is created that lobbyist
employers, who are permitted to give gifts valued up to
$420/year, can finance access to legislators and key staff
that is not available to other members of the public.
This bill would prohibit a lobbyist employer from making
gifts to a Member of the Legislature aggregating more than
$10 in a calendar month.
2)Any Member of the Legislature May Choose to Decline Gifts : It
should be noted that no public official - including a member
of the Legislature - is compelled to accept a gift. To the
extent that a member of the Legislature is concerned that the
acceptance of gifts may result in a negative public
perception, that member is free to decline any or all gifts.
In fact, a number of members of the Legislature have chosen
not to accept gifts of any kind.
3)Existing Limits and Disclosure : Under existing law, lobbyists
and lobbying firms are prohibited from making a gift
aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month to a member of
the Legislature. Additionally, members of the Legislature are
prohibited from accepting gifts from any single source,
including lobbyist employers, aggregating more than $420 in a
calendar year, with certain limited exceptions. Finally,
members of the Legislature generally must file a Statement of
Economic Interests (SEI) each year. An SEI is a public
document disclosing investments, real property interests,
travel, income and gifts. Generally, a person must disclose
gifts aggregating $50 or more from a single source in a
calendar year.
Given that there are already restrictions on the value of gifts
to members of the Legislature regardless of the source, the
ability of a lobbyist employer to give gifts to Legislators
already is limited. Additionally, because any gifts
aggregating $50 or more from a single source in a calendar
year must be reported on a public document, and because
lobbyist employers must report any gifts that they make to
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members of the Legislature, any gifts made by a lobbyist
employer are subject to public scrutiny under existing law.
4)Lobby Days and Receptions : Under the provisions of this bill,
if an organization that employed a lobbyist were to host a
reception in connection with the organization's annual lobby
day, and if there was entertainment at that reception, it is
conceivable that a member of the Legislature could violate the
law simply by attending the reception, even if he or she did
not have anything to eat or drink at the reception. This is
because existing law requires the cost of entertainment at
such a reception to be pro rated among all attendees at the
event.
It is possible, then, that if this bill becomes law, members of
the Legislature could be reluctant to attend receptions and
events where they can interact with constituents for fear that
attendance at such an event will constitute a gift valued at
more than $10 in violation of state law.
5)Number of Lobbyists and Lobbying Firms vs. Number of Lobbyist
Employers : Existing law establishes two different types of
gift limits, depending on the source of the gift. Most gifts
made to public officials are limited to $420 from a single
source in a single year - a number that is updated every other
year to reflect any change in inflation. On the other hand,
the value of a gift to a state candidate, elected state
officer, legislative official, and certain agency officials
from a lobbyist or lobbying firm cannot exceed $10 in a
calendar month. That $10 threshold is not updated for
inflation, and has not been changed since it was first enacted
in 1974.
This bill would impose the same $10 limit on gifts from lobbyist
employers to members of the Legislature that currently applies
to gifts from lobbyists and lobbying firms. This will
significantly expand the number of entities to which a gift
limit that is stricter than the general $420 gift limit
applies. While approximately 1,150 people have registered as
lobbyists during the 2009-10 Legislative Session, and there
are about 375 lobbying firms in the state, there are more than
2,800 lobbyist employers in the state. As a result, it is
anticipated that this bill would nearly triple the number of
entities that are subject to a gift limit that is stricter
than the general $420 gift limit when those gifts are made to
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members of the Legislature.
6)Previous Legislation : This bill is identical to the May 6,
2009, version of AB 1412 (Torrico). AB 1412 was approved by
this committee and by the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
but died on the inactive file on the Assembly Floor.
AB 2795 (Blakeslee) of 2008 would have prohibited a lobbyist
employer from making gifts to state candidates, elected state
officers, legislative officials, and certain agency officials
aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month with certain
exceptions for food or refreshments of a nominal value offered
other than as part of a meal and tickets to certain events
sponsored by the lobbyist employer. AB 2795 was approved by
this committee but was held on the suspense file of the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
7)Political Reform Act of 1974 : California voters passed an
initiative, Proposition 9, in 1974 that created the FPPC and
codified significant restrictions and prohibitions on
candidates, officeholders and lobbyists. That initiative is
commonly known as the PRA. Amendments to the PRA that are not
submitted to the voters, such as those contained in this bill,
must further the purposes of the initiative and require a
two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094