Livingston City Council holds AB 1234 ethics workshop, covers conflicts, gifts and open-meeting rules

Assistant City Attorney Shannon Chaffin led a required AB 1234 ethics training for the Livingston City Council on April 8, emphasizing conflicts of interest, gift limits and open‑meeting and public‑records rules.

Chaffin told the council the session was designed to be a broad overview, not a deep technical course, and said, “I will get you out in exactly 2 hours.” She reviewed the Political Reform Act, the Brown Act, the Public Records Act, Federal/State enforcement by the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and what she referred to as the Levine (pay‑to‑play) rules. She urged officials to seek written FPPC advice for high‑risk questions and summarized practical steps to avoid legal exposure.

The training opened with Chaffin contrasting “the law” and “ethics,” noting that the law provides a minimum standard: “The law is the minimum standard as to what we must do. It is the floor.” She repeatedly stressed disclosure and recusal when an official’s financial interest is “reasonably foreseeable”…