AB 1728, as amended, Garcia. Political Reform Act of 1974.
(1) The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits an officer of an agency from accepting, soliciting, or directing a contribution of more than $250 from any party, or his or her agent, or from any participant, or his or her agent, while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending before the agency and for 3 months following the date a final decision is rendered in the proceeding, if the officer knows or has reason to know that the participant has a financial interest, as defined. The act also requires an officer to disclose on the record a contribution of more than $250 from a party or participant received within the 12 months preceding a decision in a proceeding and would prohibit the official from making, participating in making, or otherwise using his or her official position to influence a decision in a proceeding in which the official knows or has reason to know that the party or participant has a financial interest in the decision.
The act defines an “agency,” for these purposes, to mean any state or local government agency, except certain entities, including local governmental agencies whose members are directly elected by the voters.begin delete The act defines a “participant,” for these purposes, as a person who is not a party but who actively supports or opposes a particular decision in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use and who has a financial interest in the decision.end delete The act defines a “license, permit, or other entitlement for use,” for these purposes, to include, among other things, all contracts except competitively bid, labor, or personal employment contracts.
This bill would revise the definition of “agency” to include a
local government agency formed pursuant to provisions of the Water Code. The bill would revise the definition of “license, permit, or other entitlement for use” with respect to proceedings before a local government agency formed pursuant to the Water Code to apply to all contracts that are not competitively bid.begin delete The bill would deem the financial interests of a person who compensates a participant to actively support or oppose a particular decision in a proceeding on his or her behalf to also be a financial interest of the participant.end delete
(2) Violations of the act are punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(3) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2⁄3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 84308 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:
(a) The definitions set forth in this subdivision shall
4govern the interpretation of this section.
5(1) “Party” means any person who files an application for, or
6is the subject of, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other
7entitlement for use.
P3 1(2) “Participant” means any person who is not a party but who
2actively supports or opposes a particular decision in a proceeding
3involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use and who
4has a financial interest in the decision, as described in Article 1
5(commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7. A person actively
6supports or
opposes a particular decision in a proceeding if he or
7she lobbies in person the officers or employees of the agency,
8testifies in person before the agency, or otherwise acts to influence
9officers of the agency.
10(3) “Agency” means an agency as defined in Section 82003
11except that it does not include the courts or any agency in the
12judicial branch of government, local governmental agencies whose
13members are directly elected by the voters except local government
14agencies formed pursuant to provisions of the Water Code, the
15Legislature, the Board of Equalization, or constitutional officers.
16However, this section applies to any person who is a member of
17an exempted agency but is acting as a voting member of another
18agency.
19(4) “Officer” means any elected or appointed officer of an
20agency,
any alternate to an elected or appointed officer of an
21agency, and any candidate for elective office in an agency.
22(5) “License, permit, or other entitlement for use” means all
23business, professional, tradebegin insert,end insert and land use licenses and permits
24and all other entitlements for use, including all entitlements for
25land use, all contracts (other than competitively bid, labor, or
26personal employment contracts), and all franchises. For purposes
27of proceedings before an agency formed pursuant to provisions of
28the Water Code, “license, permit, or other entitlement for use”
29applies to all contracts except contracts that are competitively bid.
30(6) “Contribution” includes contributions to candidates and
31committees
in federal, state, or local elections.
32(b) No officer of an agency shall accept, solicit, or direct a
33contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) from
34any party, or his or her agent, or from any participant, or his or her
35agent, while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other
36entitlement for use is pending before the agency and for three
37months following the date a final decision is rendered in the
38proceeding if the officer knows or has reason to know that the
39participant has a financial interest, as that term is used in Article
401 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7. This prohibition
P4 1shall apply regardless of whether the officer accepts, solicits, or
2directs the contribution for himself or herself, or on behalf of any
3other officer, or on behalf of any candidate for office or on behalf
4of any
committee.
5(c) Prior to rendering any decision in a proceeding involving a
6license, permitbegin insert,end insert or other entitlement for use pending before an
7agency, each officer of the agency who received a contribution
8within the preceding 12 months in an amount of more than two
9hundred fifty dollars ($250) from a party or from any participant
10shall disclose that fact on the record of the proceeding. No officer
11of an agency shall make, participate in making, or in any way
12attempt to use his or her official position to influence the decision
13in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement
14for use pending before the agency if the officer has willfully or
15knowingly received a contribution in an amount of more than two
16hundred fifty dollars ($250) within
the preceding 12 months from
17a party or his or her agent, or from any participant, or his or her
18agent if the officer knows or has reason to know that the participant
19has a financial interest in the decision, as that term is described
20with respect to public officials in Article 1 (commencing with
21Section 87100) of Chapter 7.
22If an officer receives a contribution which would otherwise
23require disqualification under this section, returns the contribution
24within 30 days from the time he or she knows, or should have
25known, about the contribution and the proceeding involving a
26license, permit, or other entitlement for use, he or she shall be
27permitted to participate in the proceeding.
28(d) A party to a proceeding before an agency involving a license,
29permit, or other entitlement for use shall disclose on
the record of
30the proceeding any contribution in an amount of more than two
31hundred fifty dollars ($250) made within the preceding 12 months
32by the party, or his or her agent, to any officer of the agency. No
33party, or his or her agent, to a proceeding involving a license,
34permit, or other entitlement for use pending before any agency
35and no participant, or his or her agent, in the proceeding shall make
36a contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to
37any officer of that agency during the proceeding and for three
38months following the date a final decision is rendered by the
39agency in the proceeding. When a closed corporation is a party to,
40or a participant in, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or
P5 1other entitlement for use pending before an agency, the majority
2shareholder is subject to the disclosure and prohibition
3requirements specified in subdivisions (b), (c), and
this subdivision.
4 (e) For purposes of this section, a financial interest as described,
5with respect to public officials, in Article 1(commencing with
6Section 87100) of Chapter 7 of a person on whose behalf a
7participant receives compensation to actively support or oppose a
8particular decision in a proceeding is deemed to be a financial
9interest of the participant.
10 10(f)
end delete
11begin insert(e)end insert Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that any
12contribution subject to being reported under this title shall not be
13so reported.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
15Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
16the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
17district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
18infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
19for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
20the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
21the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
22Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers
24the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the
25meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government
26Code.
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