BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1728
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1728 (Garcia) - As Amended: April 8, 2014
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-0
Local Government 8-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Political Reform Act (PRA) to make all
officials elected to local water boards subject to existing
conflict of interest provisions limiting campaign contributions
to such officials from entities with business before the agency
involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use that
does not involve a competitively bid contract.
FISCAL EFFECT
Ongoing General Fund costs of about $100,000 to the Fair
Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for attorney time to
respond to additional requests for advice from water board
members seeking advice regarding the bill's restriction on
campaign contributions and matters that come before the boards.
COMMENTS
1) Levine Act of 1982 . Named after its author,
Assemblymember Mel Levine, this Act restricts campaign
contributions made to officers of most state and local
agencies by parties to a proceeding pending before those
agencies. Enacted in 1982, the Act was a response to
reports that members of a state agency sought to raise
money from individuals and entities that had permit
requests pending before the agency.
The Act is unique among the provisions of the PRA in that it
is the only area in which a campaign contribution can be the
AB 1728
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basis for a disqualifying conflict of interest. The Act is
narrowly drafted to apply only to decisions made by agencies
with membership that is not directly elected by voters, and
only to proceedings involving licenses, permits, or other
entitlements for use.
The Act generally does not apply to the judicial branch, local
governmental bodies whose members are elected directly by the
voters, members of the Legislature and the Board of
Equalization, or constitutional officers. However, when an
officer who is otherwise exempted serves as a voting member of
an agency that is subject to the Act, then the contribution
restrictions of the Act do apply to that officer. For example,
someone elected to a county board of supervisors is not
subject to the Act simply for sitting on the board of
supervisors, but, if that official also sits on a regional
transit agency, which is subject to the Act, then the officer
would be required to comply with the contribution restrictions
that apply to all other members of the regional transit
agency. Because the Act does not apply to local governmental
bodies whose members are elected directly by the voters, the
Act applies to some special districts, but not others.
2) Water Districts . There are more than 700 different water
districts of various types in California. In most cases,
the governing boards of these water districts are elected,
and as a result are not subject to the provisions of the
Levine Act. Some water districts, however, are governed by
appointed boards of directors, or by boards of directors
that are a combination of elected and appointed members,
and are thus subject to the Act under existing law. This
bill makes all districts that are formed pursuant to the
Water Code subject to the Act, regardless of whether the
district is governed by an elected board or an appointed
board.
3) Purpose . In background material provided by the author
in support of the need for this bill, the author argues
that the expansion of the Act to include proceedings before
water boards that are governed by elected members is
appropriate in light of the state's drought and the
development of a water bond proposal that may include
funding for a number of water projects throughout the
state.
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4) Opposition . The California Special Districts Association
argues, "Existing statute already establishes restrictions
for all local elected officials related to conflicts of
interest as well as gift and contribution reporting
requirements. In addition, current statute addresses
protocol for when a local water agency has both elected and
appointed officials serving on their board. However, AB
1728 would single-out all directly elected local water
agency board members and apply overlapping restrictions.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081