September 1999
California’s Political Reform Act of 1974 requires every government agency (local and state) to adopt a Conflict of Interest Code. In 1990, California voters enacted Proposition 112 which added the Ethics in Government Act and the Postgovernment Employment Restrictions Act to the Political Reform Act. The Ethics in Government Act applies to elected and high-ranking appointed state and local officials, judges and candidates for state or local office. The Act prohibits these designated officials from accepting payments of honoraria for attending any public or private conference, convention, meeting, social event, meal or like gathering. The Postgovernment Employment Restrictions Act of 1990 restricts the activities of former state officials and designated employees for one year after leaving government employment.
There are approximately 7,000 units of local government in California including special districts, cities, and counties, a significant number of whom have adopted ethics ordinances. In 1996-97, the California Research Bureau (CRB) surveyed the state’s 58 counties and 472 cities to find out what types of ordinances they have adopted, how stringent they are, and what difference, if any, an ethics ordinance seems to make. Forty-one counties and 88 cities responded to the survey. Here’s what the CRB found.
Some local governments have adopted more stringent requirements than those established by the Political Reform Act, although the majority have not. The City of Los Angeles, for example, has enacted extensive local standards and created commissions to offer advice and enforce requirements. Other cities simply reference the applicable provisions in the Political Reform Act but do nothing else. Bakersfield, for example, has not extended their ordinances beyond the requirements of the Act. San Diego is the largest county to rely solely on state law. In general, the larger cities have enacted ethics ordinances that extend beyond the state minimum.
What topics are covered in local government ethics ordinances? The answer is “many” and there is wide variation across cities and counties. Here are the topics:
*an ethics handbook
*ethics classes
*ethics board
*dedicated budget
*gifts & travel
*limits on secondary employment
*whistleblower protection
*appearance
*conflict of interest
*lobbyist registration
*nepotism
*post-employment
*financial disclosure
*statement of ethical principles
Cities are more likely than counties to include one or more of these topics in their ethics ordinances, with both cities and counties likely to have measures that limit or restrict gifts, travel, and secondary employment and define conflicts of interest.
The state’s Ethics in Government Act caps gifts to state and local officials at $290 per donor per year, with the exception of certain types of travel. Los Angeles limits gifts from a restricted source to $100 a year for high level officials. In addition, the cumulative value of gifts from a lobbyist to a single recipient may not exceed $25. All gifts of $50 or more must be disclosed. The Los Angeles ordinance also allows employees to petition their agencies to allow them to accept honoraria and accept compensation for secondary employment. The city’s financial disclosure requirements are similar to but more stringent than those required by the state. High level officials must report, for example, any investment or interest in real property, the income of a spouse and dependent children, and partnership agreements.
Source: Local Government Ethics Ordinances in California, California Research Bureau, California State Library, March 1998. For more information, contact Charlene W. Simmons (csimmons@library.ca.gov)