California regional water quality control boards: ex parte communications.

Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the 9 California regional water quality control boards are among the principal state agencies that carry out responsibilities relating to water quality. The act prescribes requirements relative to meetings of the regional boards and prohibits a member of a regional board from participating in a proceeding before a regional board or State Water Resources Control Board, or specified actions of the regional board, under certain circumstances. The Administrative Procedure Act provides for the conduct of administrative adjudication proceedings of state agencies. The act generally prohibits, during a pending proceeding, communication regarding any issue in the proceeding to the presiding officer from an employee or representative of an agency that is a party or from an interested person outside the agency, without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate, except as specified. This bill would exempt from the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act pertaining to prohibited communications, specified ex parte communications relating to proceedings of the regional boards. The bill would establish requirements for the disclosure of an ex parte communication, as defined, relating to a matter before a regional board.