Brown Claims Memo Sought Favors : Politics: Assembly speaker, aided by Steve Peace, exposes solicitation by special-interest group of campaign contributions allegedly aimed at killing a bill.

Stung by bad press from another “memo” incident, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) moved quickly Thursday to expose evidence of a special-interest group apparently trying to buy his influence with a campaign contribution.

Brown took the unusual step of informing the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission about a memo issued this week by the president of a Washington-based investment association, urging his California members to pay $500 each for a Brown fund-raiser as part of an effort to kill a bill.

The memo came to public attention when Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Rancho San Diego) made an announcement about it during Thursday’s floor session and started showing it around to curious colleagues.

Peace told reporters that Brown wanted the memo released to be “pro-active” and avoid the kind of criticism he received just two weeks ago, when a leaked memo implied he coached the tobacco industry on how to write sham anti-smoking legislation. Brown has denied the implication, but some newspapers called for investigations and his resignation.

Peace said he and Brown were supplied with a copy of the memo from Sen. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who is trying to impose state regulation on partnership “roll-ups”--consolidation of several limited partnerships into a new investment vehicle.

Some experts say such transactions result in limited partners losing large portions of their investments. Thompson wants to pass legislation allowing the Department of Corporation to review most roll-ups on a trial basis for the first six months of 1992.

The move is opposed by the Investment Program Assn., whose members include brokers and attorneys that put together direct investment partnerships. In a Sept. 11 memo to his California members, IPA President Christopher L. Davis said the group “has been working very hard all summer on the California legislative proposals affecting partnership reorganizations.

“We retained a highly respected lobbying firm . . . and we are hopeful that together we can convince the state legislators that passing a bill in the final days of the legislative session would be premature.

“A necessary part of our work is providing financial support to key legislators’ reelection campaign committees. Speaker Willie L. Brown is obviously one for whom we would like to be supportive. There will be a major fund-raiser for him this Sunday in Beverly Hills, and I am asking you to make a contribution of $500 for this event,” he wrote, urging his members to send their checks by express mail to lobbyist Christina Rose of Los Angeles.

Davis did not return repeated telephone calls Thursday about the memo. But he issued a second memo saying he has “now learned the California Assembly is still considering” the roll-up bill and that any donations to Brown would be “inappropriate.”

Rose said her client was “certainly not trying to link contributions to influencing the speaker’s position,” and she blamed the furor on “unfortunate timing. Fund-raisers are going on when the Legislature is in session. . . .”

Brown, who supports the Thompson measure, has ordered his staff to spurn donations from IPA members. He sent a blistering letter to Davis saying the memo “illustrates your complete lack of understanding or worse yet, a total disregard for state and federal law.”

An FPPC spokeswoman said the agency will open a file on the IPA memo, but there will be no investigation since it doesn’t violate any law.