BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 474
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 23, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   AB 474 ( Stone) - As Amended:  January 6, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Natural  
          ResourcesVote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill revises the Coastal Commission's ex parte  
          communication disclosure requirements.  
          Specifically, this bill requires disclosure forms to include the  
          identity of the person on whose behalf a communication was made  
          as well as the identity of all persons present during the  
          communication.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible state costs.  Ex parte disclosure forms are prepared  
          individually by Coastal Commissioners. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose and Background.   The Coastal Act established the  
            Commission to protect the coast's natural and scenic resources  
            and to regulate development along the coastal zone.   The  
            Commission is comprised of 12 voting members and three  
            non-voting members. Six of the voting members are "public  
            members," and six are local elected officials who come from  
            specific coastal areas. All voting members are appointed  
            either by the Governor, Senate Rules Committee, or the Speaker  
            of the Assembly.  The nonvoting members are the Secretaries of  
            the Natural Resources and Transportation Agencies and the  
            Chair of the State Lands Commission.    
           
            Ex parte communication generally refers to any communication  
            in a decision-making process between a public official and an  
            interested party made in private.  These communications are  
            off the record and without the notice and opportunity for all  








                                                                  AB 474
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            parties to participate.  Disclosure requirements provide the  
            public with information regarding conversations relating to  
            decision-making that occur outside the public hearing or  
            meeting process.

            Under existing law, members of the Commission are only  
            required to disclose the identities of the person initiating  
            an ex parte communication and the person receiving the  
            communication.  The law does not require the disclosure of any  
            others who may also participate in the communication.

            According to the author, this bill increases transparency by  
            addressing an oversight in the law that prevents the public  
            from accessing the identities of all interested parties  
            involved in the ex parte communication.
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081