Los Angeles council debates new disclosure rules for independent campaign spending; council asks city attorney for broader ordinance

The Los Angeles City Council spent a prolonged session on April 27 debating two ordinances from the City Ethics Commission that would require new, faster disclosure of some independent campaign expenditures and of paid communications sent by organizations to their members.

The proposals, presented by Ethics Commission Executive Director Leanne Pelham and Commission President Miriam Krinsky, were written to restore disclosure the commission says was removed by changes in state law (Proposition 34) and to preserve parts of the city’s matching-funds system that depend on knowing the scale and source of outside spending.

Why it matters: Council staff and reform advocates said voters should know, before the June runoff, who is paying for ads and prerecorded phone calls that influence elections. Opponents said changing rules in the middle of an election is unfair and risks politicizing enforcement.

What the commission proposed and why Leanne Pelham told the council the ordinances would require organizations that pay to communicate with their members in support of or opposition to city candidates to report those payments and the sources of funds to the Ethics Commission. Pelham said that disclosure would “help trigger the lifting of the spending limits for candidates who have agreed to participate in our matching funds program” and would make the Commission a central repository so voters and candidates could see independent spending in one place. She described the changes as targeted responses to gaps created by state law changes.

“These ordinances would require payments that organizations make to communicate with their members … to be required to be reported to the ethics commission,” Pelham said, describing the disclosure and notification goals.

Supporters and opponents Robert (Bob) Stern of the Center for Governmental Studies urged quick action so voters would have information before the runoff. “The simple question before you today is, do we get disclosure before the June election, or do we get disclosure after the June election, or perhaps no disclosure at all?” Stern said.

Council supporters of the proposals, including Councilmembers Nick Pacheco and Janice Miskowski, framed the proposals as restoring intended city rules and improving voter information. Councilmember Pacheco said disclosure of who is funding political messages is the foremost priority.

Councilmember Mike Hernandez objected to moving quickly. “I’ve never been to a football game where the rules changed in the middle of the game,” Hernandez said, arguing that acting while elections were underway would appear to revise rules for a race already in progress.

How councilmembers changed the drafts Over several procedural votes the council amended parts of the drafts and considered, then rejected, several substitute options. The council voted in favor of a set of amendments that increased certain reporting thresholds and delayed short deadlines in the staff draft: several amendment votes on dates and thresholds passed 8–2, and two changes in the shorter ordinance passed 9–1. The short ordinance’s reporting deadline was changed from 72 hours to two weeks in the council’s amendment votes.

The council also approved a motion, 9–1, directing the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance modeled on the commission’s proposals that would apply to all future city elections (rather than only to the current April/runoff cycle).

Final status and next steps After hours of discussion and several roll-call votes, Councilmember Hernandez withheld the short ordinance on the floor, and both draft ordinances were left on the desk for further consideration. The Ethics Commission and City Attorney agreed to return with refined language; councilmembers asked for additional work on timelines, thresholds and the treatment of small membership organizations. The short ordinance as amended was set aside for further action; the council did not adopt either ordinance outright that day.

Quotes “We’re seeking to address them in straightforward, simple ways,” Ethics Commission President Miriam Krinsky said of the proposals.

“We should get disclosure before the June election,” Bob Stern said.

“I’ve never been to a football game where the rules changed in the middle of the game,” Councilmember Mike Hernandez said of acting during an ongoing election.

What to watch next The City Attorney will prepare draft language for a broader ordinance to apply after the June runoff, per the council’s 9–1 motion, and the Ethics Commission said it will continue a comprehensive review of independent-expenditure issues after the election.