Political Reform Act of 1974: gift limitations.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of the lobbying industry and imposes various restrictions on public officials for the purpose of avoiding conflicts of interests. The act prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from making gifts to any person aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month and prohibits an elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other designated individual from accepting gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than $250. Existing law requires the Fair Political Practices Commission to adjust the gift limitation amount on January 1 of each odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. This bill would prohibit a lobbyist or lobbying firm from making a gift of any amount. The bill would prohibit an elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other designated individual from accepting gifts from a single source in a calendar year with a total value of more than $200 and would authorize the Fair Political Practices Commission to increase the gift limitation amount each odd-numbered year based upon changes in the Consumer Price Index. The bill would further prohibit a candidate for elective state office, elected state officer, or legislative official from receiving a gift of tickets to specified venues and events or a gift comprised of specified recreational activities. The act prohibits a public official at any level of state or local government from making, participating in making, or in any way attempting to use the official's position to influence a governmental decision in which the official knows or has reason to know that he or she has a financial interest. The act provides that the public official has a financial interest in a decision if it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect on the official, the official's immediate family, or other prescribed persons, including a donor of a gift or gifts aggregating $250 or more in value within the 12 months preceding the decision. The act requires the Commission to adjust the gift value amount that creates a financial interest in the donor to equal the above-described limitation amount on the value of gifts from a single source in a calendar year. This bill would reduce to $200 the aggregate value of gifts that create a financial interest for a public official in the gift's donor. The bill would also require the Commission to adjust this amount to equal the amount of any adjustment made by the Commission to the above-described gift limitation on the value of gifts from a single source in a calendar year. Violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating additional crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.