California lawmakers fined for not reporting lobbyists’ gifts

Reporting from Sacramento — 

At least 26 state legislators are being fined for failing to disclose that they accepted gifts from lobbying groups.

The fines are the first penalties revealed as part of a month-old investigation by the state’s political watchdog agency into suspicions that 38 state lawmakers -- including Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) -- and 15 staff members failed to make the required disclosures.

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FOR THE RECORD:
Ethics probe: The headline on an article in Thursday’s Section A on at least 26 California lawmakers being investigated by the state’s political watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission, said they were fined for taking gifts. The lawmakers were fined for failing to disclose that they had accepted the gifts from lobbying groups. —

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The gifts included sports and concert tickets, meals, spa treatments and hotel rooms. The givers included a casino operator, a horse-racing track, a union, a bank and various interest groups. The investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission takes in much of the leadership of the Legislature, according to state records.

The fines range from $200 to $1,000. Those who have agreed to pay include Bass, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta), Senate Minority Leader-elect Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco).

“They absolutely should know better,” said Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies. He said it was not surprising that so many leaders are involved. “Those in power get more goodies,” Stern said.

The Fair Political Practices Commission launched the investigation after noticing that gifts made in 2008 and reported by lobbying groups in their required disclosure reports were not reflected in the reports that state officials must file.

The commission and its executive director still must sign off on the penalties and could increase them; the maximum is $5,000. The fines agreed to so far by 26 lawmakers total $6,900, including $1,000 that Florez will pay and $600 to be paid by Bass. Many of the violations involve a dinner for 27 lawmakers paid for by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, which operates a casino in Temecula and was granted a major expansion of its slot machine operations by the Legislature in 2007.

Assembly members Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) and Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) agreed to pay the fines “under protest,” aides said Wednesday, because they thought the dinner was being paid for by three legislative caucuses.

“It was surprising when I found out who paid for it,” said Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), who has retained an attorney and has not decided whether to agree to the fine. “It’s incumbent on anyone who hosts one of these events to let people know.”

Stern said it was the responsibility of lawmakers to find out who is paying for their gifts.

Bass had not reported meals totaling about $200 that were paid for by Chevron Corp., AT&T and the Pechanga tribal group. “These were administrative bookkeeping errors,” said Stephen Kaufman, an attorney for Bass. “Nonetheless, the speaker takes full responsibility.”

Others paying fines include Assemblywoman Audra Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), who had failed to report the Pechanga tribe’s gift of tickets to a Billy Joel concert worth $82.50, according to the commission. Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster) disclosed that he received tickets to George Strait and Keith Urban concerts from the tribe, and Assembly Minority Leader Martin Garrick (R- Solana Beach) received $426 in gifts, including tickets from the Oak Tree Racing Assn. at Santa Anita Park.

Runner and Garrick on Wednesday did not return calls regarding whether they would pay their fines.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com