Council adopts temporary member-communication disclosure measures for upcoming special elections

The Los Angeles City Council on July 17 voted to adopt a substitute motion and four ordinances aimed at preserving disclosure and reporting rules for so-called "membership communications" in upcoming special council elections while staff pursues a possible permanent fix with state authorities.

Leanne Pelham, executive director of the City Ethics Commission, told the council the measures would treat member communications that expressly advocate for or against a candidate the same as independent expenditures for reporting purposes, require additional pre-election filings to improve transparency, and require disclosure of anonymous telephone advertising text. The language mirrored an emergency ordinance used during the spring election cycle and was proposed to be kept in place temporarily for the upcoming 2nd and 4th District special elections.

Councilmember Pacheco, who sponsored the substitute motion, said the goal was to avoid immediate litigation with state authorities while preserving disclosure during the local special elections. "Rather than adopting the [permanent] ordinance and potentially jeopardizing and getting into litigation with the state, our staff wants to go back and work with the state on a permanent fix," he said. The substitute motion was presented by City Attorney staff in consultation with the Ethics Commission and asked the council to adopt the temporary continuation of the earlier emergency provisions so they apply to the upcoming local races.

Council members debated broader campaign-finance concerns during the discussion, including how to respond when outside groups or state parties inject large sums late in a race. Ethics staff said the City will review the year's experience, solicit candidate and treasurer feedback and pursue longer-term reforms where feasible, but acknowledged limits imposed by recent state law and court rulings.

The substitute motion passed on recorded vote; the clerk announced "12 ayes" for the substitute. The four ordinances implementing the membership-communications provisions were then considered and the clerk recorded "12 ayes"; the ordinances were approved and will be sent forthwith for implementation. Members asked staff to continue work with state authorities (including the FPPC) to seek a long-term solution.

Councilmember Garcetti and others urged the Ethics Commission to examine lifting of spending limits and the role of independent expenditures as part of a broader review of public-funding options. Several council members also asked for a broad stakeholder engagement process and a daylong conference in October to gather candidate, treasurer and public feedback before proposing permanent changes.