Bill Text: CA AB2002 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: California Coastal
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-11-30 - Died on Senate inactive file. [AB2002 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2002-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2002 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Mark Stone, Atkins, and Levine
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo and Gordon)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Jackson)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Chiu, Gonzalez, Jones-Sawyer,
McCarty, O'Donnell, Rendon, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, and
Wood)
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Block, Leno, Monning, Pavley, and
Wolk)
FEBRUARY 16, 2016
An act to amend Sections 82002, 82039, and 86300 of the Government
Code, and to amend Sections 30324 and 30325 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2002, as amended, Mark Stone. Political Reform Act of 1974:
California Coastal Commission: communications.
Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission in the
Natural Resources Agency and designates the commission as the state
coastal zone planning and management agency for all purposes.
Existing law prohibits a commission member or an interested person,
as defined, from conducting an ex parte communication unless the
commission member fully discloses and makes public that communication
within 7 days after the communication or, if the communication
occurs within 7 days of the next commission hearing, to the
commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing.
This bill would require a commission member to fully disclose in
writing 24 hours before a commission hearing any ex parte
communication conducted within 7 days of the commission hearing
relating to a matter that will be discussed at the hearing, and would
prohibit a commission member or an interested person from conducting
such an ex parte communication within 24 hours before the commission
hearing.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the regulation of
the lobbying industry, including defining the term "lobbyist" and
regulating the conduct of lobbyists. Among its provisions, the act
prohibits lobbyists from engaging in certain activities, including
accepting or agreeing to accept any payment in any way contingent
upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative or
administrative action. Under the act, a lobbyist is, among others,
an individual whose principal duties as an employee are to
communicate with, among others, any agency official for the purpose
of influencing legislative or administrative action. For these
purposes, "administrative action" is defined as the proposal,
drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat
by a state agency of any rule, regulation, or other action in any
ratemaking or quasi-legislative proceeding and "agency official" is
defined as any member, officer, employee, or consultant of any state
agency who participates in any administrative action in other than a
ministerial capacity.
This bill would revise the definition of "administrative action"
to include, with regard to proceedings before the California Coastal
Commission, specified actions relating to the review, approval, and
appeal of certain permit actions and coastal plans and programs. The
bill would, however, exclude from these provisions relating to
lobbyists an employee of a local government agency seeking, within
the scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial
decisions of the commission. The bill would also, for purposes of
a quasi-judicial matter those matters
before the California Coastal Commission, limit the definition of
"agency official" to a member of the commission.
Existing law makes a knowing and willful violation of the
Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to
criminal penalties.
This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding
those crimes.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides
that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes
with 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.
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.
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 1. Section 82002 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
82002. (a) "Administrative action" means any of the following:
(1) The proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment,
enactment, or defeat by any state agency of any rule, regulation, or
other action in any ratemaking proceeding or any quasi-legislative
proceeding, which shall include any proceeding governed by Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
2.
(2) With regard only to placement agents, the decision by any
state agency to enter into a contract to invest state public
retirement system assets on behalf of a state public retirement
system.
(3) For purposes of proceedings before the California Coastal
Commission, the proposal, drafting, development, consideration,
amendment, enactment, or defeat of any rule, regulation, permit
action, federal consistency review, appeal, local coastal program,
port master plan, public works plan, long-range development plan, or
categorical or other exclusion from coastal development permit
requirements.
(b) "Ratemaking proceeding" means, for the purposes of a
proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding in
which it is reasonably foreseeable that a rate will be established,
including, but not limited to, general rate cases, performance-based
ratemaking, and other ratesetting mechanisms.
(c) "Quasi-legislative proceeding" means, for purposes of a
proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission, any proceeding
that involves consideration of the establishment of a policy that
will apply generally to a group or class of persons, including, but
not limited to, rulemakings and investigations that may establish
rules affecting an entire industry.
SEC. 2. Section 82039 of the Government Code is amended to read:
82039. (a) "Lobbyist" means either of the following:
(1) Any individual who receives two thousand dollars ($2,000) or
more in economic consideration in a calendar month, other than
reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, or whose principal
duties as an employee are, to communicate directly or through his or
her agents with any elective state official, agency official, or
legislative official for the purpose of influencing legislative or
administrative action.
(2) A placement agent, as defined in Section 82047.3.
(b) An individual is not a lobbyist by reason of activities
described in Section 86300.
(c) For the purposes of subdivision (a), a proceeding before the
Public Utilities Commission constitutes "administrative action" if it
meets any of the definitions set forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of
Section 82002. However, a communication made for the purpose of
influencing this type of Public Utilities Commission proceeding is
not within subdivision (a) if the communication is made at a public
hearing, public workshop, or other public forum that is part of the
proceeding, or if the communication is included in the official
record of the proceeding.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 82004, for purposes of a
quasi-judicial matter before the California Coastal
Commission, as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 82002, "agency official," as used in subdivision (a) of this
section, shall only mean a member of the California Coastal
Commission. Commission and does not include staff of
the commission.
SEC. 3. Section 86300 of the Government Code is amended to read:
86300. The provisions of this chapter are not applicable to any
of the following:
(a) An elected public official acting in his or her official
capacity or an employee of the state acting within the scope of his
or her employment. However, an employee of the state, other than a
legislative official, who attempts to influence legislative action
and who would be required to register as a lobbyist, except for the
provisions of this subdivision, shall not make gifts of more than ten
dollars ($10) in a calendar month to an elected state officer or
legislative official.
(b) A newspaper or other periodical of general circulation, book
publisher, radio or television station, any individual who owns,
publishes, or is employed by any such newspaper or periodical, or
radio or television station, which in the ordinary course of business
publishes news items, editorials, or other comments, or
advertisements that directly or indirectly urge legislative or
administrative action, if that newspaper, periodical, book publisher,
radio or television station, or individual, engages in no further or
other activities in connection with urging legislative or
administrative action other than to appear before a committee of the
Legislature or before a state agency in support of or in opposition
to such action.
(c) A person when representing a bona fide church or religious
society solely for the purpose of protecting the public right to
practice the doctrines of such church.
(d) An employee of a local government agency seeking, within the
scope of his or her employment, to influence quasi-judicial decisions
of the California Coastal Commission.
SEC. 4. Section 30324 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
30324. (a) (1) No commission member, nor any interested person,
shall conduct an ex parte communication unless the commission member
fully discloses and makes public the ex parte communication by
providing a full report of the communication as follows:
(A) If the communication occurs more than seven days before the
next commission hearing, to the executive director within seven days
after the communication.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), if the communication
occurs within seven days of the next commission hearing, to the
commission on the record of the proceeding at that hearing.
(C) If the communication occurs within seven days of the next
commission hearing and relates to a matter that the commission will
discuss at the hearing, to the commission in writing at least 24
hours before that hearing.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), no commission member, nor any
interested person, shall conduct an ex parte communication within 24
hours before a commission hearing regarding a matter that the
commission will discuss at the hearing.
(b) (1) The commission shall adopt standard disclosure forms for
reporting ex parte communications which shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following information:
(A) The date, time, and location of the communication.
(B) (i) The identity of the person or persons initiating and the
person or persons receiving the communication.
(ii) The identity of the person on whose behalf the communication
was made.
(iii) The identity of all persons present during the
communication.
(C) A complete, comprehensive description of the content of the ex
parte communication, including a complete set of all text and
graphic material that was part of the communication.
(2) The executive director shall place in the public record any
report of an ex parte communication.
(c) Communications shall cease to be ex parte communications when
fully disclosed and placed in the commission's official record.
SEC. 5. Section 30325 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
30325. (a) Nothing in this article prohibits any person or any
interested person from testifying at a commission hearing, workshop,
or other official proceeding, or from submitting written comments for
the record on a matter before the commission. Written comments shall
be submitted by mail or delivered to a commission office, or may be
delivered to the commission at the time and place of a scheduled
hearing.
(b) Any person who communicates with the members of the commission
regarding an administrative action of the commission, as defined in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 82002 of the Government
Code, and who qualifies as a lobbyist, as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 82039 of the Government Code, shall comply with the
requirements of Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 86100) of Title 9
of the Government Code.
SEC. 6. The Legislature finds and declares that the provisions of
this act further the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974
within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the
Government Code.
SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
