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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/01/1994, 5B - MUNICIPAL LOBBYING ORDINANCE � II SIU city o f San -.,SIS o81Sp0 MEETIN DA ITEM NUMBER: COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT FROM: The Campaign Regulations Committee GlennaDeane Dovey, Chair PREPARED BY: Diane R. Gladwell, City Clerk , SUBJECT: Municipal Lobbying Ordinance RECOMMENDATION: Consider a Municipal Lobbying Ordinance DISCUSSION: Within the committee's understanding of our assignment, and as a result of discussion of disclosure requirements, disclosure of lobbyist's campaign contributions was discussed. The Committee is aware that the Council also had expressed a concern in this area, as demonstrated by the Program Objective Options in the Goals for the 1993-95 City budget to, "Assure full compliance with disclosure requirements for contractors, consultants, and lobbyists". A number of municipal governments have enacted lobbying ordinances, and in the spirit of achieving this goal, we are forwarding copies of these ordinances for your review and consideration. ATTACHMENTS: (Available in the Council Office) Summary of Municipal Ordinances Ordinances from: County of Los Angeles City of Los Angeles (with supporting documents) City of San Diego City of San Francisco I cJV� I MEETING AGENDA ITE ITEM # To: City Council From: Carla Sanders, Member of Elections Committee, speaking as an individual. Subject: Lobbying Ordinance, background information Attached is the summary of Los Angeles City's revised Lobbying Ordinace. If just became available. "These revisions were drafted by the Office of the City Attorney in accordance with instruction of the City Council' s Rules and Elections_....g Committee after numerous public hearings by the Committee and the City Ethics Commission. " Also attached is a copy of the "findings" for the Los . Angeles Municipal Lobbying Ordinance. These findings, or reasons, would obviously also apply in any size city, including San Luis Obispo. When asked if there was a need for lobbying ordinances in smaller cities, an attorney for Common Cause responded,'," "Influence is influence. . .in a large city or a smaller one. Smaller cities throughout the United States are beginning the process of adopting their own lobbying ordinances. " A lists of questions you may have, and responses is also. attached. Los Angeles City has spent a very large ammount of money to obtain legal opinions, City Attorney drafted revisions,and input from several years of public hearings by the City Council' s Rules and Elections Committee, and the City's Ethics Commission. It. would seem prudent and advantageous for San Luis Obispo to take advantage of Los Angeles's considerable expenditures on this issue and build on their work. Adopting a Lobbying Ordinace would affirm that the citizen' s of San Luis Obispo also have "a right to know who is being paid to lobby city officials and what issues lobbyists are seeking to influence. Full disclosure of lobbying activities allows the public to know what pressures are being placed on their governmental representatives and how they respond to them. . . . .Complete disclosure of the full range of activities by lobbyists and those employing lobbyists to influence City governmental decisions is essential to the maintenance of citizen confidence in the integrity of their local ' government. " (L.A. City Ethics Commission) . Sincerely, 7V6*9 ❑.ODD Qlq r�Po FIN DIRO PIFIE ONIlfQ RW PIR UPOUCBQNF Carla Sanders 0 RHP plp Q RW FI.LH Q UM PIR ¢� +� ❑ PERS DIR,. 4.+ !� FEB 1 1994 CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA Questions You May Have: Why have a lobbying ordinance? Lobbying Ordinances "recognize that the public has a right to know who is being paid to lobby city officials and what issues lobbyists are seeking to influence. Full disclosure of lobbying ac.' tivities allows the public to know what pressures are being placed on their governmental representatives and how they repond to them" . . . . . ..Complete disclosure of the full range of activities by lobbyists to influence City governmental decisions is essential to the maintenance of citizen confidence in the integrity of their local government. " (L.A. City Ethics Commission) . . . .A list of "Findings" for a Lobbying Ordinance is attached. . What is a lobbyist? A lobbyist is usually defined as individual or firm which RECEIVES COMPENSATION to influence or attempt to influence governmental decisions. A city may set a "threshold" of money paid before registration as a lobbyist is required. This solves the problem of "casting too wide a net" . A city Council appointed "Lobbying Ordinance Committee" could gather information and make a recommendation of a "threshold" appropriate to _ S.L.O. . What do Lobbvina Ordinances Do? Lobbying Ordinances require public d1sc osure of the activities of those who are paid to influence or attempt to influence governmental decisions.Lobbying Ordinaces usually require that lobbyists also disclose their city campaign contributions. Should San Luis Obispo have a Lobbying Ordinance? If the City Council believes that the public has a right to know who is being paid to influence or attempt to influence governmental decisions,. .. then the City Council should vote tonight to begin the process of adopting a Lobbying Ordinance. The first step would probably be . : to have the City Council recommend names to form a Lobbying Ordinance Committee of City. residents . That committee would research, gather information and make recommendations to the Council. •I ORDINANCE NO. 0 An ordinance repealing and re-enacting Article 8 of Chapter IV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, relating to municipal lobbying. THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF IAS ANGELES DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: section 1. Article 8 of Chapter IV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code is hereby repealed. Sec. 2. A new Article 8 is hereby added to Chapter IV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to read: ARTICLE 8 MUNICIPAL LbBBYING SEC. 48.01. Title and Findings. A. Title. This Article shall be known and may be cited as the Los Angeles Municipal Lobbying Ordinance. B. Findings. The following findings are adopted in conjunction with the enactment of this Article: 1. City government functions to serve the needs of all citizens. e citizens of the City of Los Angeles have a rich zL o�tapi€Tde��of interests which_ attempt to �nfl+,once decisions of City yovernmpnt, as well as the means employed by those interests. 3 . All persons engaged in compensated lobbying activities aimed at influencing decisions by City government must, when so engaged, be subject to the same regulations, restrictions and requirements, regardless of their background, training or other professional qualifications or license. 4 . om lete public disclosure of the full range of active v an financing of lobbyists and those who em to their services is essential to the maintenance of ci igen confidence in the int gr i y of-1 oca l gnuezz ment 5. It is in the public interest to ensure that lobbyists do not misrepresent facts, their positions, or attempt to deceive officials through false communications, do not place City officials under personal obligation to themselves or their clients, and do not represent that they can control the actions of City officials. 6. It is in the public interest to adopt these amendments to the City's regulations of lobbyists to ensure adequate and effective• disclosure of information about efforts to lobby City government. Ordinance "A" - 1 - TY OF Los ANGELE CALIFORNIA CITY ETHICS COMMISSION BENJAMIN aYCEL E[ECJTWE OFFICER DENNIS E. CUWnS ? PRESIDENT Crry ETHICS COMMISSIOI DR CYNTHIA ANN TELLES 201 NO. LOS ANGELES ST. VICE-PRESIDENT LA. MALL • SJITE 2 TREESA WAY DRURV LOS ANGEL'S. CA 90012 (2131 237-0310 EDWIN GUTHMAN (213) 465-1093 FAX WILLIAM KARL MILLS ....... December 1993 To: All Interested Parties ' From: Ben Bycel, Executive Director City Ethics Commission fA RE: PROPOSED LOBBYING ORDINANCE REVISIONS Enclosed for your information are proposed revisions to the City's lobbyist registration ordinance (Los Angeles Municipal Code section 48.01 et seq.). These revisions Were drafted h� rhe Office of the City Attorney in accordance with the instructions of the Cit; Crn ' ' Rules and Elections Committee after numerous public hearings by the Committee and the City Ethics Commission. This informational pac et consistsof the following two components: ■ an Ethics Commission overview of the Committee's proposed ordinance; and ■ the text of the Committee's proposed ordinance (Ordinance "A"). You should be aware that the City Ethics Commission has urged the Committee to adopt an alternative ordinance (identified as Ordinance "B"). Ordinance "B" amends the Committee's approach in two key areas: ■ the compensation threshold for defining a lobbyist and lobbying firm would be reduced from $2,000 per calendar month to no higher than $1,000 per calendar month; and ■ the requirement for quarterly reporting by "quasi-judicial clients" would be eliminated. The Office of the City Attorney has transmitted both crafts to the Committee and we expect the Committee to resume action on these proposals at its January 19, 1994 meeting. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please contact me or LeeAnn Pelham, Deputy-Director for Operations, at (213) 237-0310. Enclosures AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY—.AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER er:ae me- ---c2!•+!• ' December 1993 OVERVIEW OF MUNICIPAL LOBBYING ORDINANCE PROPOSED BY RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE Note: This overview was prepared by the City Ethics Commission as only a summary of the draft ordinance proposed by the City Council's Rules and Elections Committee. Please refer to the text of the draft ordinance for complete language.] How "lobbying" is defined. A person is lobbying when he or she communicates directly with a City official on behalf of any other person in an attempt to influence a matter that is pending or proposed before any City agency. Attempting to influence a decision means promoting, supporting, opposing or seeking to modify or delay a City decision or action by any means. Lobbying regulations apply to individuals and entities. The proposed ordinance regulates compensated lobbying by individuals,business entities, associations, organizations orgroups of persons acting in concert. The ordinance defines the following as regulated persons (see draft ordinance for full text): Lobbying firm Any entity, including an individual contract lobbyist, which receives or becomes entitled to receive $2,000 or more during a calendar month to lobby, provided any partner, owner, shareholder, officer or employee of the entity qualifies as a lobbyist. Lobbyist Any individual who receives or becomes entitled to receive $2,000 or more in compensation during any calendar month to lobby on behalf of any other person. Lobbyist employer Any entity, other than a lobbying firm, that employs a lobbyist in-house to lobby on its own behalf. Quasi-judicial client Any person who is represented by an attorney in a "quasi- judicial proceeding" where the attorney receives or becomes entitled to receive $2,000 in a month for the purpose of attempting to influence such a proceeding. Major filer Any person who spends $5,000 during a calendar quarter for public relations, advertising or similar activities in an attempt to urge others to communicate directly with City officials in order to influence City decisions. i OVERVIEW OF RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE DRAFT (continued) Lobbying involves a variety of City decisions and actions. The ordinance regulates lobbying of officials or employees on any matter pending or proposed before any City agency if any of the following are charged by law with making a final decision on that matter: the Mayor, City Council, its committees, or any agency board, commission, committee, general manager, or officer or employee charged with holding a hearing and making a decision. The following matters, however, are exempted: ■ requests for advice or for an interpretation of laws, regulations, City approvals or policies; ■ ministerial actions; and ■ certain collective bargaining activities by recognized employee organizations. Registration is required only after a specific threshold is met. Lobbyists and lobbying fines must register with the City Ethics Commission within 10 days after receiving or becoming entitled to receive $2,000 during a calendar month in lobbying compensation. Registration costs $50 for each lobbyist and $20 for each client represented. Registrations last for a year, and are renewed each January 15. Lobbyist employers, major filers, and quasi-judicial clients are not required to register, but they must file regular reports of their lobbying activities (see below). The following persons or entities, however, are exempted: ■ public officials and public employees acting in their official capacities; ■ newspapers and other media, including owners, publishers or employees, when in the ordinary course of business they publish or broadcast news, editorials, comments, or advertising that directly or indirectly attempts to influence action on municipal legislation; ■ a person acting without any compensation or consideration; and ■ any person whose only activity is submitting a bid on a competitively bid contract or submitting a written response to a request for proposals (RFP). 2 OVERVIEW OF RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE DRAFT (continued) Quarterly activity reporting is required. At the end of each calendar quarter, the following regulated persons must disclose information about their lobbying activity on public reports filed with the Ethics Commission: ■ lobbying firms ■ lobbyists ■ lobbyist employers ■ major filers ■ quasi-judicial clients Lobbying firms file detailed reports that include the following: ■ a list of all clients the firm or its lobbyists represented during the quarter; ■ a description of each item of municipal legislation on which the firm or its lobbyists lobbied on behalf of its clients; ■ the total amount of payments received from each client during the period in connection with its lobbying activities; ■ the total amount of lobbying expenses; ■ any gift or other payment of $25 or more from the firm made to or benefitting any City official, including free tickets to political or charitable fundraising events; ■ total amount of such payments or gifts from the firm; ■ campaign contributions of $100 or more from the firm made or delivered to a City officer or City candidate, or for which the firm acted as intermediary; ■ any compensated campaign services the firm provided to a City candidate or to a City ballot measure committee; ■ any compensated services the firm provided under contract to the City. 3 OVERVIEW OF RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE DRAFT (continued) Attached to the quarterly report of the lobbying firm are additional disclosuresh each of the firm's lobbyists, which include the following: . ■ any gift or other payment of$25 or more from the lobbyist made to or benefitting any City official, including free tickets to political or charitable fundraising events; ■ total amount of such payments or gifts from the lobbyist; ■ campaign contributions from the lobbyist of $100 or more made or delivered to a City officer or City candidate, or for which the lobbyist acted as intermediary; ■ any compensated campaign services provided by the lobbyist to a City candidate or to a City ballot measure committee; and ■ any compensated services provided by the lobbyist under contract to the City. Lobbyist Employers file detailed reports that include the following: ■ name of each "in-house" lobbyist; ■ total lobbying payments to these lobbyists; ■ total lobby-related payments to employees, other than lobbyists, who engaged in lobbying during the quarter; ■ total payments for lobbying activities (excluding overhead etc.); . ■ description of each item of municipal legislation on which the employer's lobbyist(s) lobbied; ■ any gift or other payment of $25 or more from the entity made to or benefitting any City official, including free tickets to political or charitable fundraising events; ■ total amount of such payments or gifts from the entity; and ■ campaign contributions of $100 or more from the entity made or delivered to a City officer or City candidate, or for which the employer acted as intermediary. 4 OVERVIEW OF RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE DRAFT (continued) Attached to the quarterly report of the lobbyist employers are additional disclosures by each of the "in-house" lobbyists, which include the following: ■ any gift or other payment of$25 or more from the lobbyist made to or benefitting any City official, including free tickets to political or charitable fundraising events; ■ total amount of such payments or gifts from the lobbyist; ■ campaign contributions from the lobbyist of$100 or more made or delivered to a City officer or City candidate, or for which the lobbyist acted as intermediary; ■ any compensated campaign services provided by the lobbyist to a City candidate or to a City ballot measure committee; and ■ any compensated services provided by the lobbyist under contract to the City. Major filers must file reports that include the following: ■ description of each item of municipal legislation which the major filer attempted to influence; ■ total payments for direct communications with a City official for the purpose of attempting to influence that municipal legislation; and ■ total payments for soliciting or urging others to directly communicate with a City official for the purpose of attempting to influence that municipal legislation. Ouasi,iudicial clients must file reports that include the following: ■ name, address, phone of each attorney retained to represent the client in the quasi-judicial proceeding(s) where the attorney received or became entitled to receive $2,000 or more during the quarter if the attorney (1) appeared for the client at the proceeding or (2) otherwise communicated directly with the decisionmaker in connection with the proceeding; ■ the total amount of fees and other payments to the attorney for this representation; 5 OVERVIEW OF RULES AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE DRAFT (continued) ■ the total amount of reimbursements for expenses paid to the attorney in connection with this representation; and ■ the identification of each such quasi-judicial proceeding. The Ethics Commission is authorized to audit statements and reports, and penalties and enforcement measures are clarified. Late filing penalties accrue at $25 per day up to $500 for any statement or report that is not filed by the appropriate deadline. Criminal penalties may be pursued within one year after the date on which the violation occurred for any person who knowingly or willfully violates any provision of the ordinance. Failure to properly report receipts or expenditures or other violations may result in civil penalties of up to $2,000. A civil action may be filed up to four years after the date on which the violation occurred for any person who intentionally or negligently violates a provision of the ordinance. Revocation of lobbying privileges for one year may occur in instances where a lobbyist has been convicted of criminal violation or where a court has determined that a violation was intentional. acrvicwaob Iap1193 6 ► 6. NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER ASSESSMENT (BLOCK/472 - 10 min.) Consideration of the findings of an assessment recently completed by the National Main Street Center of the BIA and its programs. ♦ RECOMMENDATION: Receive a verbal presentation by the Downtown Business Improvement Association (BIA) concerning the findings of an assessment recently completed by the National Main Street Center of the BIA and its programs. THE NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER ASSESSMENT REPORT WAS PREVIOUSLY DISTRIBUTED TO COUNCIL.