BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1426
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Date of Hearing: July 3, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
SB 1426 (Blakeslee) - As Amended: June 21, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 34-1
SUBJECT : Lobbyist employers: gifts.
SUMMARY : Prohibits lobbyist employers from giving certain
types of gifts to elected state officers and their immediate
family members, regardless of the value of those gifts.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer from
giving an elected state officer, or a member of the officer's
immediate family, any of the following gifts from the time
that the officer is elected until he or she vacates office:
a) A theme park or amusement park ticket;
b) A professional sporting event ticket;
c) A racetrack ticket;
d) A spa treatment, or other beauty or cosmetic service;
e) A golf, skiing, hunting, or fishing trip, or other
recreational outing or vacation; or,
f) A gift card.
2)Prohibits a lobbyist employer from giving an elected state
officer, and prohibits a lobbyist, a lobbying firm, or a
lobbyist employer from giving a member of the officer's
immediate family, either of the following gifts from the time
that the officer is elected until he or she vacates office:
a) A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with
a face value exceeding $25; or,
b) A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a
face value exceeding $25.
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3)Prohibits an elected state officer from receiving any of the
gifts described above from the time that the officer is
elected until he or she vacates office.
4)Provides that the gift prohibitions in this bill do not apply
to a fundraising event for a bona fide charitable
organization.
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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 : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, total first year costs of $204,970 (General Fund) as
follows:
" Annual costs of $197,170 for 2.4 Personnel Years (PYs)
(General Fund)
" Additional one-time costs of about $4,000 in operating
expenses (General Fund)
" Ongoing costs of $3,800 for communications (General
Fund)
The FPPC indicates the need for 1 PY Legal Counsel for
enforcement, 1 PY Special Investigator, 0.3 PY Political Reform
Consultant, and 0.1 PY for Counsel in Legal Division totaling
annual costs of $197,170 for personnel. In addition, the FPPC
anticipates one-time costs of $4,000 for operating expenses, and
ongoing costs of $3,800 for communications and training.
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
Despite rigid laws defining what gift can or cannot be
given to an elected official as well as well-defined
gift limits, lobbyists, lobbyists firms, and lobbyist
employers continue to lavish extraordinary gifts of
influence on elected officials with the intent to
finance access to legislators that is not available to
other members of the public.
California's elected officials are the targets of
entertainment gifts unrelated to service by individual
businesses and organizations with interests before the
Legislature. In 2008, members of the State
Legislature reported receiving $12,708.23 worth of
theme park tickets. In 2009, $4,297.08 was spent on
sporting event tickets. Rounds of golf, tickets to
the race track and concert passes all are handed to
State Senators and Assembly Members with the intent to
gain access and favor. These egregious gifts do not
help elected officials legislate more effectively and
ultimately damage public opinion of Sacramento
leadership?.
SB 1426 keeps elected officials accountable and
interested parties transparent as to the types of
gifts that are being given and received. SB 1426
stops lobbyists, lobbyist firms, and lobbyist
employers from taking advantage of gift-giving
loopholes used to unduly influence members and bans
elected officials from receiving entertainment gifts
unrelated to policy, by specifying exactly what gifts
are not appropriate to be exchanged.
2)Any Elected State Officer May Choose to Decline Gifts : No
public official-including an elected state official-is
compelled to accept gifts. To the extent that an elected
state official is concerned that the acceptance of gifts may
result in a negative public perception, that official 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 or
value.
3)Existing Limits and Disclosure : Under existing law, lobbyists
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and lobbying firms are prohibited from making a gift
aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month to an elected
state official. Additionally, elected state officials 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,
every elected state official 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 elected state officials regardless of the source, the
ability of a lobbyist employer to give gifts to elected state
officials 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
elected state officials, any gifts made by a lobbyist employer
are subject to public scrutiny under existing law.
4)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 new restrictions on gifts from lobbyists,
lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers to elected state
officials. By creating new restrictions on gifts from
lobbyist employers, this bill will significantly expand the
number of entities that are subject to gift rules other than
the general $420 gift limit. While approximately 2,100 people
have registered as lobbyists during the 2011-12 Legislative
Session, and there are about 440 lobbying firms in the state,
there are more than 3,300 lobbyist employers in the state. As
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a result, it is anticipated that this bill would more than
double the number of entities that are subject to a gift rules
other than the general $420 gift limit when those gifts are
made to elected state officials.
5)Different Gifts, Different Limits : This bill would establish
restrictions on gifts given to elected state officials based
not on the value of the gift, but rather on the type of gift
given. As a result, it would be legal for a lobbyist employer
to give an elected state official a bottle of wine valued at
$400, but it would be illegal for the same lobbyist employer
to give the same official an $8 ticket to a Sacramento River
Cats baseball game. Similarly, it would be legal for a
lobbyist employer to give an elected state official $420 in
cash, but a gift of a $5 Starbucks gift card would be illegal.
The committee may wish to consider whether it is rational to
restrict gifts in this manner, based not on the monetary value
of the gift given, but rather on the type of gift given.
6)Previous Legislation : AB 1412 (Torrico) of 2009, and AB 2368
(Blakeslee) of 2010, would have prohibited a lobbyist employer
from making gifts to a Member of the Legislature aggregating
more than $10 in a calendar month. AB 1412 was approved by
this committee, but died on the inactive file on the Assembly
Floor. AB 2368 was approved by this committee, but was held
on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
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 Assembly Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
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.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Common Cause
CALPIRG
Opposition
Fair Political Practices Commission
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094