Bill Text: CA SB1181 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1181

Bill Title: Campaign contributions: agency officers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-26 - Set for hearing May 6. [SB1181 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1181-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate April 24, 2024

Amended IN Senate April 10, 2024

Amended IN Senate March 20, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1181

Introduced by Senator Glazer

February 14, 2024

An act to amend Section 84308 of the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1181, as amended, Glazer. Campaign contributions: agency officers.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits certain contributions of more than $250 to an officer of an agency by any party, participant, or party or participant’s agent in a proceeding while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending before the agency and for 12 months following the date a final decision is rendered in the proceeding, as specified. The act requires disclosure on the record of the proceeding, as specified, of certain contributions of more than $250 within the preceding 12 months to an officer from a party or participant, or party’s agent.

This bill would require the agenda for a proceeding that is a public meeting to include a notice describing the above provisions.

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 of the Legislature 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 Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 84308 of the Government Code is amended to read:

84308.

(a) The definitions set forth in this subdivision shall govern the interpretation of this section.

(1) “Party” means any person who files an application for, or is the subject of, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use.

(2) “Participant” means any 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, as described in Article 1 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7. A person actively supports or opposes a particular decision in a proceeding if that person lobbies in person the officers or employees of the agency, testifies in person before the agency, or otherwise acts to influence officers of the agency.

(3) “Agency” means an agency as defined in Section 82003 except that it does not include the courts or any agency in the judicial branch of government, the Legislature, the Board of Equalization, or constitutional officers. However, this section applies to any person who is a member of an exempted agency but is acting as a voting member of another agency.

(4) “Officer” means any elected or appointed officer of an agency, any alternate to an elected or appointed officer of an agency, and any candidate for elective office in an agency.

(5) “License, permit, or other entitlement for use” means all business, professional, trade, and land use licenses and permits and all other entitlements for use, including all entitlements for land use, all contracts (other than competitively bid, labor, or personal employment contracts), and all franchises.

(6) “Contribution” includes contributions to candidates and committees in federal, state, or local elections.

(b) While a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending, and for 12 months following the date a final decision is rendered in the proceeding, an officer of an agency shall not accept, solicit, or direct a contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) from any party or a party’s agent, or from any participant or a participant’s agent if the officer knows or has reason to know that the participant has a financial interest, as that term is used in Article 1 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7. This prohibition shall apply regardless of whether the officer accepts, solicits, or directs the contribution on the officer’s own behalf, or on behalf of any other officer, or on behalf of any candidate for office or on behalf of any committee.

(c) Prior to rendering any decision in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use pending before an agency, each officer of the agency who received a contribution within the preceding 12 months in an amount of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) from a party or from any participant shall disclose that fact on the record of the proceeding. An officer of an agency shall not make, participate in making, or in any way attempt to use the officer’s official position to influence the decision in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use pending before the agency if the officer has willfully or knowingly received a contribution in an amount of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) within the preceding 12 months from a party or a party’s agent, or from any participant or a participant’s agent if the officer knows or has reason to know that the participant has a financial interest in the decision, as that term is described with respect to public officials in Article 1 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7.

(d) (1) If an officer receives a contribution which would otherwise require disqualification under this section, and returns the contribution within 30 days from the time the officer knows, or should have known, about the contribution and the proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use, the officer shall be permitted to participate in the proceeding.

(2) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), if an officer accepts, solicits, or directs a contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) during the 12 months after the date a final decision is rendered in the proceeding in violation of subdivision (b), the officer may cure the violation by returning the contribution, or the portion of the contribution in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), within 14 days of accepting, soliciting, or directing the contribution, whichever comes latest.

(B) An officer may cure a violation as specified in subparagraph (A) only if the officer did not knowingly and willfully accept, solicit, or direct the prohibited contribution.

(C) An officer’s controlled committee, or the officer if no controlled committee exists, shall maintain records of curing any violation pursuant to this paragraph.

(e) (1) A party to a proceeding before an agency involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use shall disclose on the record of the proceeding any contribution in an amount of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) made within the preceding 12 months by the party or the party’s agent.

(2) A party, or agent to a party, to a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use pending before any agency or a participant, or agent to a participant, in the proceeding shall not make a contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to any officer of that agency during the proceeding and for 12 months following the date a final decision is rendered by the agency in the proceeding.

(3) When a closed corporation is a party to, or a participant in, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use pending before an agency, the majority shareholder is subject to the disclosure and prohibition requirements specified in this section.

(f) An agenda for a proceeding that is a public meeting shall include a notice regarding the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (e). The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

Pursuant to Section 84308 of the Government Code, a party to a proceeding before an agency involving a license, permit, or other entitlement of use is required to disclose on the record of the proceeding any contribution in an amount of more than $250 made within the preceding 12 months by the party or their agent to an officer of the agency. The disclosure is required to include the name of the party and any other person making the contribution, the name of the recipient, the amount of the contribution, and the date the contribution was made. A party, or their agent, and a participant, or their agent, is prohibited from making a contribution of more than $250 to any office of that agency during the proceeding and for 12 months after the date a final decision is rendered by the agency in the proceeding.
Parties to a proceeding are required to disclose if they made contributions over $250 within the prior 12 months to a decisionmaker. If a decisionmaker accepted more than $250 during the 12 months preceding the decision, the decisionmaker is required to recuse themself from the decision. Parties and participants with a financial interest are prohibited from making more than $250 in contributions to a decisionmaker for the 12 months after the final decision is rendered on the proceeding. The above contribution disclosures and restrictions do not apply when the proceeding is competitively bid, or involves a personnel or labor contract. For more information, see Government Code Section 84308.

(g) This section shall not be construed to imply that any contribution subject to being reported under this title shall not be so reported.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.