City Ethics Panel Proposes Tighter Rules for Lobbyists

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission proposed Wednesday that the city forbid registered lobbyists to hold political fund-raisers or collect political contributions, in the belief that these activities create opportunities for special access to elected officials.

The proposal, which must be approved by the City Council, would allow lobbyists to continue contributing to political campaigns themselves, but would prevent them from hosting fund-raisers or “bundling” contributions--collecting checks and presenting them to politicians.

“It gives them an undue advantage,” said commission President Edwin Guthman. “We want to have a level playing field so that any citizen isn’t put at a disadvantage . . . just because someone else was able to pay a lot of money.”

Some lobbyists said that the commission went too far with its proposals and that its actions were premature because the state’s campaign contribution law, Proposition 208--on which the proposals rely--is being challenged in court. A federal judge last week temporarily blocked enforcement of the 1996 law, which sets limits on campaign contributions.

“Before the city adopts a law that could be unconstitutional, why not wait until the Court of Appeal decides the issue?” said Jim Sutton, a San Francisco attorney representing a coalition of local lobbyists.

The commission has been reviewing the city’s law governing the multimillion-dollar lobbying industry for several months. Commissioners tightened and clarified some language regulating lobbyists’ conduct, but shied away from refining one potentially controversial section of the law: the definition of a lobbyist. The panel agreed to leave that intact.

Still, the commission’s executive director, Rebecca Avila, said the proposals and the law remain strict and--more important in her view--enforceable.

“It keeps our lobbying ordinance the most meaningful and comprehensive in the state,” Avila said. “The goal is to allow the public as much information as possible” about lobbying at City Hall.

Now, the city’s strict ethics law regulates the conduct of lobbyists, elected officials and top city employees and requires that they publicly disclose certain financial information.

City Councilman Mike Feuer, who spoke before the panel, urged the commission to take a stronger stand and prevent lobbyists from contributing to political campaigns and officeholder accounts. He agreed that lobbyists should be barred from holding political fund-raisers as well.

When he took office, Feuer said he received a call from a well-known city lobbyist who had supported Feuer’s opponent. The lobbyist offered to hold a fund-raiser to beef up the new lawmaker’s officeholder account.

“They wanted to gain some access, some influence,” Feuer said. “Obviously I rejected” the offer.

“This is real life, in practical terms,” Feuer said.

But it’s also real life for lobbyists to host fund-raisers--while reporting the financial activity to the Ethics Commission.

“At some point the Ethics Commission must realize that elected officials will have to be held accountable for their actions,” said Howard Sunkin, a vice president at Cerrell Associates. “You can’t legislate morals.”

The ban on fund-raisers extends too far, particularly when contributions are made public, he said. “There’s the ultimate accountability: We report them,” Sunkin said.

The proposals probably will meet with more controversy when they are sent to the City Council. One lobbyist, who declined to be identified, said he believes “this will never see the light of day.”

In other action Wednesday, the panel agreed to fine an unsuccessful candidate for the charter reform commission $500 for failing to report a campaign expenditure. The candidate, Lorri Jean, sent a mailer to voters urging them to vote for her as well as for the reelection of Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg. But commission officials said Jean violated the ethics code by failing to notify them that half the mailer was in fact for Goldberg’s reelection.