HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-2013 c9 adoption of resolution designating compliance with ethics training ab 1234counci lagenOa R6poat
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C I T Y O F S A N L U I S O B I S P O
FROM :
Michael Codron, Assistant City Manage r
Prepared By :
Maeve Kennedy Grimes, City Clerk
SUBJECT :
ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING LOCAL AGENC Y
OFFICIALS AND ADVISORY BODIES THAT MUST COMPLY WIT H
ETHICS TRAINING REQUIRED UNDER ASSEMBLY BILL 123 4
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution designating Local Agency Officials and certain Advisory Bodies that mus t
comply with Ethics Training under AB 1234 .
DISCUSSIO N
On October 7, 2005, the Governor signed Assembly Bill No . 1234, which became effectiv e
January 1, 2006, which is known as the Ethics Training Bill . AB 1234, Section 53235 (a) and (b )
state that if a local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to a member of a
• legislative body, or provides reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred by a
member of a legislative body in the performance of official duties, then all local agency official s
shall receive at least two hours of training in general ethics principles and ethics law relevant t o
his or her public service within one year of taking office and repeat the training every two year s
(Attachment 1).
The definition of "legislative body", Section 54952, "legislative body" states (Attachment 2):
"(a) The governing body of a local agency or any other local body created by state o r
federal statute .
(b) A commission, committee, board, or other body of a local agency, whether permanen t
or temporary, decision making or advisory, created by charter, ordinance, resolution, o r
formal action of a legislative body . However, advisory committees, composed solely o f
the members of the legislative body that are less than a quorum of the legislative body ar e
not legislative bodies, except that standing committees of a legislative body, irrespectiv e
of their composition, which have a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or a meetin g
schedule fixed by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of a legislative body ar e
legislative bodies for purposes of this chapter ."
In October 2006, then City Attorney Jonathan Lowell provided comprehensive two hour training
to certain officials . Since that time, the City Clerk has continued to retain certificates o f
completion for those who have participated in this training . In addition, the City Clerk maintains
• a log tracking local officials required to take the training, the date the individual satisfied th e
requirement, and the entity that provided the training . The City Clerk sends notification to ne w
filers and renewal notifications to current filers . This log and certificates are maintained for at
Agenda Report — Assembly Bill 123 4
Page 2
least five years after the local officials receive the training and shall be subject to disclosur e
under the California Public Records Act .
The proposed Resolution (Attachment 3) will formalize the requirement and the Advisory Bodie s
that must comply with AB 1234 . The City Attorney and staff reviewed the potential for eac h
Advisory Body to receive reimbursements and determined that the Planning Commission and th e
Architectural Review Commission receives compensation for meetings and the Advisory Bodie s
that are eligible to receive reimbursement for expenses are the Housing Authority and th e
Tourism Business Improvement District Board. Therefore, the above listed Advisory Bodies an d
designated Local Agency Officials, including City Manager and Department Heads, should b e
included in the adopting Resolution .
In addition, all persons required to file Conflict of Interest Statements, Form 700, will b e
encouraged to receive this training, however, no formal tracking will be required or maintained .
ETHICS TRAINING
AB 1234 mandates "Each local agency official shall receive at least two hours of training i n
general ethics principles and ethics laws relevant to his or her public service every two years ."
The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) offers free online training . The training
requires a participant to log onto the FPPC's website, review various screens of materials ,
take periodic tests to assure retention of the information and then print out a certificate .
A local agency or an association of local agencies may offer one or more training courses or set s
of self-study materials with tests, to meet the requirements of this section . The Director of
Human Resources has indicated that the City's Human Resources Department can coordinate a n
on-site training provided by an outside source . This would provide options for those required t o
take the training .
FISCAL IMPAC T
The Human Resources Department has funding available in their budget to facilitate this trainin g
in 2013 . There are no additional fiscal impacts associated with adopting the resolution .
ALTERNATIVE S
Do not approve the resolution . This alternative is not recommended, as there is currently no
legislation delineating any officials or advisory bodies to comply with the requirements of the ethic s
legislation .
•
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Agenda Report — Assembly Bill 123 4
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Page 3
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ATTACHMENTS :
Attachment 1 Government Code Section 53235 (b) Required Trainin g
Attachment 2 Government Code Section 54952 (a) and (b) definition Legislative Body
Attachment 3 Resolutio n
T :\Council Agenda Reports\2013\2013-04-02\Adoption of Reso Designation compliance with AB1234 (Codron-Grimes)\Council Agend a
Report on ABI234 .doc
•
ATTACHMENT 1 •
GOVERNMENT COD ESECTION 53234-53235 .2
53234 .For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings :
(a) "Legislative body" has the same meaning as specified in Section 54952 .
(b) "Local agency" means a city, county, city and county, charter city, charter county, charte r
city and county, or special district .
(c) "Local agency official" means the following :
(1)Any member of a local agency legislative body or any elected local agency official
who receives any type of compensation, salary, or stipend of reimbursement for actua l
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties .
(2)Any employee designated by a local agency governing body to receive the trainin g
specified under this article .
(d) "Ethics laws" include, but are not limited to, the following :
(1)Laws relating to personal financial gain by public servants, including, but no t
limited to, laws prohibiting bribery and conflict-of-interest laws .
(2)Laws relating to claiming perquisites of office, including, but not limited to, gift an d
travel restrictions, prohibitions against the use of public resources for personal or politica l
purposes, prohibitions against gifts of public funds, mass mailing restrictions, an d
prohibitions against acceptance of free or discounted transportation by transportatio n
companies .
(3)Government transparency laws, including, but not limited to, financial interes t
disclosure requirements and open government laws .(4)Laws relating to fair processes ,
including, but not limited to, common law bias prohibitions, due process requirements ,
incompatible offices, competitive bidding requirements for public contracts, and
disqualification from participating in decisions affecting family members .
53235 .(a) If a local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to a membe r
of a legislative body, or provides reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred by a
member of a legislative body in the performance of official duties, then all local agency official s
shall receive training in ethics pursuant to this article .
(b)Each local agency official shall receive at least two hours of training in general ethic s
principles and ethics laws relevant to his or her public service every two years .
(c)If any entity develops curricula to satisfy the requirements of this section, then the Fai r
Political Practices Commission and the Attorney General shall be consulted regarding th e
sufficiency and accuracy of any proposed course content . When reviewing any proposed cours e
content the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Attorney General shall not preclude a n
entity from also including local ethics policies in the curricula.
•
• (d) A local agency or an association of local agencies may offer one or more training courses ,
or sets of self-study materials with tests, to meet the requirements of this section . These course s
may be taken at home, in-person, or online .
(e)All providers of training courses to meet the requirements of this article shall provid e
participants with proof of participation to meet the requirements of Section 53235 .2 .
(f)A local agency shall provide information on training available to meet the requirements o f
this article to its local officials at least once annually .
53235 .1 . (a) Each local agency official in local agency service as of January 1, 2006, except fo r
officials whose term of office ends before January 9, 2007, shall receive the training required b y
subdivision (a) of Section 53235 before January 1, 2007 . Thereafter, each local agency officia l
shall receive the training required by subdivision (a) of Section 53235 at least once every two
years .
(b)Each local agency official who commences service with a local agency on or after Januar y
1, 2006, shall receive the training required by subdivision (a) of Section 53235 no later than on e
year from the first day of service with the local agency. Thereafter, each local agency officia l
shall receive the training required by subdivision (a) of Section 53235 at least once every tw o
years .
(c)A local agency official who serves more than one local agency shall satisfy th e
requirements of this article once every two years without regard to the number of local agencies
with which he or she serves .
•
53235 .2 . (a) A local agency that requires its local agency officials to complete the ethica l
training prescribed by this article shall maintain records indicating both of the following :
(1)The dates that local officials satisfied the requirements of this article .
(2)The entity that provided the training .
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local agency shall maintain these records fo r
at least five years after local officials receive the training . These records are public record s
subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3 .5 (commencing wit h
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1).
ATTACHMENT 2 •GOVERNMENT COD ESECTION 54952 .7 -5495 3
54952 .7 .A legislative body of a local agency may require that a copy of this chapter be given t o
each member of the legislative body and any person elected to serve as a member of th e
legislative body who has not assumed the duties of office . An elected legislative body of a loca l
agency may require that a copy of this chapter be given to each member of each legislative bod y
all or a majority of whose members are appointed by or under the authority of the electe d
legislative body .
54953 .(a) All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, an d
all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency ,
except as otherwise provided in this chapter .
(b)
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the legislative body of a local agenc y
may use teleconferencing for the benefit of the public and the legislative body of a loca l
agency in connection with any meeting or proceeding authorized by law . The
teleconferenced meeting or proceeding shall comply with all requirements of this chapte r
and all otherwise applicable provisions of law relating to a specific type of meeting o r
proceeding .
(2)Teleconferencing, as authorized by this section, may be used for all purposes i n
connection with any meeting within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body .
All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall .
(3)If the legislative body of a local agency elects to use teleconferencing, it shall pos t
agendas at all teleconference locations and conduct teleconference meetings in a manne r
that protects the statutory and constitutional rights of the parties or the public appearing
before the legislative body of a local agency . Each teleconference location shall b e
identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and each teleconferenc e
location shall be accessible to the public . During the teleconference, at least a quorum o f
the members of the legislative body shall participate from locations within the boundarie s
of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction, except as provided i n
subdivision (d). The agenda shall provide an opportunity for members of the public t o
address the legislative body directly pursuant to Section 54954 .3 at each teleconferenc e
location.
(4)For the purposes of this section, "teleconference" means a meeting of a legislativ e
body, the members of which are in different locations, connected by electronic means ,
through either audio or video, or both . Nothing in this section shall prohibit a loca l
agency from providing the public with additional teleconference locations .
(c) No legislative body shall take action by secret ballot, whether preliminary or final .
(d)
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions relating to a quorum in paragraph (3)of subdivisio n
(b), when a health authority conducts a teleconference meeting, members who are outsid e
the jurisdiction of the authority may be counted toward the establishment of a quoru m
when participating in the teleconference if at least 50 percent of the number of member s
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that would establish a quorum are present within the boundaries of the territory ove r
which the authority exercises jurisdiction, and the health authority provides a
teleconference number, and associated access codes, if any, that allows any person to cal l
in to participate in the meeting and that number and access codes are identified in th e
notice and agenda of the meeting .
(2)Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as discouraging health authorit y
members from regularly meeting at a common physical site within the jurisdiction of th e
authority or from using teleconference locations within or near the jurisdiction of the
authority . A teleconference meeting for which a quorum is established pursuant to thi s
subdivision shall be subject to all other requirements of this section .
(3)For purposes of this subdivision, a health authority means any entity create d
pursuant to Sections 14018 .7, 14087 .31, 14087 .35, 14087 .36, 14087 .38, and 14087 .960 5
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, any joint powers authority created pursuant to
Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 for the purpose o f
contracting pursuant to Section 14087 .3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and an y
advisory committee to a county sponsored health plan licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 .2
(commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code if th e
advisory committee has 12 or more members .
(4)This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018 .
•
ATTACHMENT 3 •
RESOLUTION NO . (2013 Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ,
DESIGNATING LOCAL AGENCY OFFICIALS FOR THE PURPOSES OF CALIFORNI A
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 53234, LISTING THE OFFICIALS AND ADVISOR Y
BODIES THAT MUST COMPLY WITH ETHICS TRAINING REQUIRED UNDE R
ASSEMBLY BILL 123 4
WHEREAS, In California, state laws create a complex set of requirement laws that guid e
elected officials and agency staff in their service to their communities ; an d
WHEREAS, Promoting understanding of and compliance with the laws governing publi c
service ethics is necessary ; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1234 was passed by the State Assembly and State Senate in Augus t
of 2005, signed by the Governor in October 2005 and codified, in part, at Government Code
Section 53234, et seq .; and
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 53234 (c)(1) identifies certain positions that mus t
comply with the required ethics training and defines a Local Agency Official as any member of a
local agency "legislative body" or any elected official who receives any type of compensation ,
salary, or stipend or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in th e
performance of official duties ; an d
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 54952 (a) defines "legislative body" as the governin g
body of a local agency or any other local body created by state or federal statute and subsectio n
(b) further defines "legislative body" as a commission, committee, board, or other body of a loca l
agency, whether permanent or temporary,, decision making or advisory, created by charter,
ordinance, resolution or formal action of a legislative body .
WHEREAS, Government Code Section 53234 (c)(2) requires any employee designated by a
local agency legislative body to receive the training .
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San Luis Obisp o
does hereby designate the Local Agency Officials and Advisory Bodies listed in Exhibit A a s
officials required to participate in ethics training pursuant to Government Code Section 53234 .
•
•
Resolution No . xxxx (2013 Series )
•
Upon motion of seconded by
and on the following vote :
AYES :
NOES :
ABSENT :
The foregoing resolution was adopted this day of April, 2013 .
Mayor Jan Marx
ATTEST :
Maeve Kennedy Grime s
City Clerk
•
APPROVED AS TO FORM :
J . Christine Dietric k
J . Christine Dietric k
City Attorne y
•
Resolution No . xxxx (2013 Series)
EXHIBIT A
LOCAL AGENCY OFFICIAL S
DESIGNATED FOR AB 1234 TRAININ G
ELECTED OFFICIALS :
Mayo r
Council Member s
APPOINTED OFFICIALS and DEPARTMENT HEADS :
City Manage r
Assistant City Manage r
City Attorney
City Cler k
Community Development Directo r
Fire Chie f
Chief of Polic e
Director of Finance & Information Technolog y
Human Resources Directo r
Parks & Recreation Directo r
Public Works Directo r
Utilities Directo r
ADVISORY BODIES :
Architectural Review Commissio n
Housing Authorit y
Planning Commissio n
Tourism Business Improvement District Board
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