FPPC law and policy committee reviews several commission-backed bills and behested‑payment changes

The Law and Policy Committee of the Fair Political Practices Commission on Feb. 4 received a legislative update from Senior Legislative Counsel Lindsay McConnell about bills the commission is tracking and helping to place with authors in the Legislature.

McConnell told the committee three Political Reform Act (PRA)-related bills have been introduced so far: a commission‑initiated bill to extend local contracting authority, an intent/spot bill, and a bill to change the contribution threshold that triggers recusal reporting. She also said the commission has confirmed authors for five other proposals involving cryptocurrency disclosure, preventing foreign interference in state elections, reporting of behested payments, expanding the prohibition on campaign contributions in state buildings, and disclosure of prospective employment.

The most detailed items staff presented were: - AB 359 (Ramos), a commission‑initiated bill that would remove the sunset on the FPPC’s authority to contract with local governments to administer and enforce campaign finance and government‑ethics laws, allowing that authority to continue by mutual agreement; McConnell said the bill would “delete the sunset provision.” - AB 351 (author listed in staff materials as McKinner), which proposes raising the contribution amount in Government Code section 84308 (gifts and contributions to agency officers that can trigger recusal) from $500 to $1,500 and would require the commission to adjust that amount biannually. - A prospective employment disclosure proposal under consideration in several forms: options discussed ranged from applying only to elected officers, to including appointed officials, to covering all filers. Commissioners pressed staff to consider bright‑line rules and to tailor any new prospective‑employment disclosure to the disclosure category relevant to the official’s duties.

Staff also described draft changes to behested‑payment (commonly called “behest” payments) reporting. Two options were presented for local electeds: allow them to file reports directly with their local filing officers (with those local jurisdictions authorized to maintain an electronic filing system), or require local officers to file behest reports directly with the FPPC unless the local jurisdiction posts all such reports publicly. Staff proposed changing the filing deadline to 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter to give consistent public reporting dates and to reduce the delay caused when agencies forward reports to the FPPC. Staff also proposed raising the threshold used to trigger additional reporting after the initial $5,000 trigger (staff suggested $1,000 as one option) so small subsequent in‑kind or modest donations would not require immediate separate filings.

Commissioners raised practical and policy concerns. Commissioner Baker said limiting an expansion to state officials could avoid complexity for local filers and asked staff to research legal and administrative implications. Chair Silver and other commissioners warned that pushing disclosure to the end of a calendar quarter could delay reporting until after an election or a key legislative vote; they asked for data showing how often subsequent payments are below the suggested $1,000 threshold and urged staff to be cautious about changing timing that affects timely transparency.

The committee also heard a public comment from former Assembly member Hector De La Torre, who urged the FPPC to consider sponsoring legislation to prohibit registered lobbyists, and persons “lobbyist‑adjacent,” from being appointed to state boards and commissions because of an apparent conflict of interest. De La Torre said he had discussed draft language with Capitol staff and offered to help develop it. Commissioners asked staff to research whether such a change would best fit in the Government Code provisions governing appointments rather than in the Political Reform Act and to report back.

McConnell said the commission already has confirmed authors or interested authors for several proposals and that staff are coordinating with the Secretary of State’s office on a related “CARS cleanup” bill. She told the committee she would return with more specifics, including legal research about jurisdictional fit for proposals and data on behested‑payment practice if commissioners wanted a data‑driven decision on thresholds and timing.

The committee did not vote on any of the legislative proposals; the update was presented for discussion and direction to staff. Staff said it will continue outreach to authors and interested stakeholders and will present draft language and options at future meetings of the full commission.