L.A. Ethics Reforms Could Cut Gifts to Officials : Government: Elected officials might face the end of free tickets, political action committees and outside income. But the council appears reluctant to give them up.

LOS ANGELES — Ethics reforms proposed by the mayor’s special commission recently would force Los Angeles politicians to give up unofficial fringe benefits that money often cannot buy, such as choice season tickets to Lakers basketball games.

A number of elected officials would also lose free season passes to Dodger baseball games, Disneyland, the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Playboy Jazz festival, not to mention “fruit-of-the-month” baskets from lobbyist Art Snyder, a former city councilman. These and scores of other gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars are routinely bestowed upon the city’s 18 elected officials. But such pampering and wooing would be prohibited under a code of ethics proposed by Bradley’s special commission Monday.

The proposed sweeping new rules would also eliminate the controversial and lucrative political action committees that some city officials--including Mayor Tom Bradley--use to increase their political clout by spreading money to other politicians, campaigns, community groups and supporters.

However, the proposed rules must be approved by the very elected officials who receive political largess that would be prohibited under such a code of ethics. Several council members have said privately and publicly that they see no reason for such a stringent code.

The proposed ethics code, which needs either City Council or voter approval, is designed to eliminate all the “gray areas” created through decades of patchwork attempts at self-regulation by politicians, commission Chairman Geoffrey Cowan said.

The proposed law would ban:

* All gifts--from a $150 handkerchief accepted last year by Councilman Gilbert Lindsay to a $192 microwave oven given to Councilman Richard Alatorre.

* All non-governmental travel--whether a $404 retreat Councilwoman Joy Picus attended with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce or $489 worth of transportation and meals Bradley received from General Motors Corp.

* All speaking fees, from the $1,000 Gloria Molina received for an address to the Center for California Studies to the $75 Joel Wachs received for participating on a National Endowment for the Arts panel.

* All outside employment, such as Bradley’s $18,000-a-year job as an adviser to Far East National Bank and his $24,000-a-year post as a director of Valley Federal Savings & Loan Assn.

* All political action or “friends of” committees. Councilmen Hal Bernson and Lindsay use these committees to raise and spend tens of thousands of dollars to take supporters to dinner and buy raffle tickets and brownies at community fund-raisers in their district. They also parcel out funds to other politicians and partisan causes, increasing their own visibility and power in the political community.

The City Council appears reluctant to let go of such benefits.

The City Council committee that is attempting to rewrite the city Ethics Code is stopping short of banning gifts or honorariums, but is supporting limits on them. The committee appears to be balking at a ban on outside employment but wants it regulated. The council committee is not considering any legislation that would limit political action committees.

“They will pass (approve) only what they think they have to,” said Michael Josephson, founder of the Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute for the Advancement of Ethics in Marina del Rey.

“Every governmental body does as little as they have to with governmental reform,” he said.

Some attempts have been made.

Several years ago, Anaheim, for instance, outlawed its council members from accepting VIP passes to the city’s best known landmark: Disneyland.

Such passes are still routinely offered to Los Angeles council members.

“We don’t even know why we do it,” Disney Productions spokesman Tom Deegan said. “We’ve just always done it. I guess it’s a courtesy.”

“What do we want in return?” he pondered. “Nothing that I can think of.”

Snyder, a prominent City Hall lobbyist, said he expects nothing for the fruit-of-the month basket that he gives to council members.

“It doesn’t corrupt anyone,” Snyder said. “I don’t think it would corrupt a sixth-grader, let alone a sophisticated elected official.”

Josephson and other advocates of strict ethics laws say that gifts, however humble, are corrupting nonetheless.

“It’s not bribery,” Josephson said. “But they do expect to get goodwill” for their gifts.

Still, gifts are a prominent fixture at City Hall.

Bradley accepted $8,904 in gifts in 1988, the last year for which reports are available. City officials may accept gifts but must report the gift, the value and the source.

Wachs accepted the most of any city official, with a total of $13,443. City Controller Rick Tuttle reported accepting $525 in gifts and City Atty. James K. Hahn accepted just $310 in gifts. Council members Marvin Braude and Nate Holden reported no gifts, trips or outside income.