BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 31
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 8, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 31 (Correa) - As Amended:  June 27, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:7-0 
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     Yes                  State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to:

          1)Extend-to include all public officials appointed to serve as 
            members of local governing boards or commissions with 
            decision-making authority-the post-government employment 
            prohibition, which currently restricts, for a period of one 
            year, a local elected official, chief administrative officer 
            of a county, city manager, or general manager or chief 
            administrator of a special district, who leaves that office or 
            employment, from representing for compensation any other 
            person or entity by appearing before, or communicating with, 
            the local government agency of which the official was a 
            member, for the purpose of influencing administrative or 
            legislative action.

          2)Provide that the expanded prohibition above does not apply to 
            an individual who is a member of a local board or commission 
            that is solely advisory.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Ongoing General Fund costs of about $174,000 to the Fair 
          Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for the equivalent of two 
          positions to educate local officials about the new requirements 
          and provide advice (informal and formal), and for additional 
          investigations in response to potential violations of the bill's 
          provisions.

           COMMENTS  









                                                                  SB 31
                                                                  Page  2

           1)Background  . Post-government employment restrictions, also 
            known as revolving door prohibitions, are intended to address 
            situations whereby former state and local elected officers and 
            other officials return to represent clients who have business 
            before, or are seeking to influence policy decisions made by, 
            their former agencies.  Additionally, revolving door policies 
            seek to prevent former officials from taking advantage of 
            insider information to unfairly benefit the clients they 
            represent.

           2)Purpose  . According to the author, "SB 31 closes a loophole in 
            existing law that allows many local government officials to 
            lobby their former agencies immediately after leaving office. 
            Under existing revolving door laws, only local elected 
            officials are banned from lobbying their former agencies for a 
            year after leaving office.  However, appointed members of 
            local governing boards and those who serve by virtue of 
            holding a separate office are not covered. 

            "This loophole was recently exploited in Orange County where a 
            former public member of the Orange County Transportation 
            Authority �OCTA] was immediately hired by a private financial 
            firm to represent them in discussions with OCTA. This bill 
            expands the existing revolving door law to include not only 
            local elected official, but any other public official serving 
            as a member of a governing board or commission with 
            decision-making authority."  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081