26 lawmakers admit not disclosing gifts

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At least 26 state legislators have admitted they failed to report accepting gifts from lobbying groups and will pay fines for violating financial reporting laws.

The fines are the first penalties revealed as part of an 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 disclose gifts. The gifts included sports and concert tickets, meals, spa treatments and hotel rooms; those who gave included a casino, horse-racing track, union, bank and various other interest groups.

The investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission, one of the most extensive in recent years, involves much of the leadership of the Legislature, according to state records.

The fines range from $200 to $1,000 each; those who have agreed to pay include Bass, Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, 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 than those not in power. The wealthy get wealthier,’ Stern said.

-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento