The California Assembly passed legislation Thursday designed to prevent a repeat of this year's enforcement action by the state's political watchdog agency that resulted in dozens of lawmakers paying fines for unreported gifts.
Assembly Bill 2007 would require the Fair Political Practices Commission to post on the Internet all gifts reportedly given to lawmakers so they can cross-check their own records and weed out mistakes before disclosing what gifts they received.
The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 68-0, four votes more than the two-thirds majority required to amend the state's voter-approved Political Reform Act. AB 2007 now goes to the Senate.
Assemblyman Anthony Adams, a Hesperia Republican who proposed AB 2007, said the intent is to prevent "gotcha politics" in which lawmakers are fined or penalized for inadvertent mistakes or bookkeeping errors.
The bill stems from this year's FPPC investigation in which the agency cracked down on legislators who failed to disclose gifts that donors had reported giving.
More than 30 legislators agreed to pay the FPPC more than $9,000 in fines this year for failing to disclose gifts that included Sacramento Kings tickets, golfing fees, hotel accommodations, restaurant tabs and concert tickets, among other things.
Numerous legislators complained that some of the gifts involved things like parking fees or the fractional cost of meals at large gatherings, and that donors had failed to inform them of the value of such gifts.
"Even before you have a chance to contest whether you actually participated or received a gift, you're now on record as having received an FPPC violation notice," Adams said. "That's inappropriate. It shouldn't work that way."
Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, said he stepped into a dinner for a colleague for about 10 minutes, did not eat, and was not informed that he had received a gift because food was served. Later, he was accused by the FPPC of failure to disclose, he said.
"This is ridiculous," Torrico said.
The FPPC opposes AB 2007.
Roman Porter, FPPC executive director, said the measure could cost his agency about $90,000 in labor costs annually to post gift disclosures from Capitol interests onto a Web site.
The bill's requirement that gift disclosures be posted by Feb. 1 each year also is problematic, Porter said, because the agency does not receive fourth-quarter statements from donors until Jan. 31.
The current system provides checks and balances because gifts reported as given by interest groups can be compared to gifts reported as received by lawmakers and their staffs, Porter said.
AB 2007 would alter the checks and balances, conceivably allowing legislators not to report any gifts that inadvertently or erroneously were not reported by donors, he said.
"Human nature being what it is, we're concerned there would be less due diligence on the part of people who have to file a statement," Porter said. "They may not fully report the gifts they actually receive."
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