Council OKs Ethics Reforms Aimed at City Hall Lobbyists

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday adopted ethics reforms aimed at reducing the influence of special interests at City Hall, including a reduction--from $1,000 to $500--of the maximum contribution to council members’ officeholder accounts.

The council’s action also eliminated “entertainment” as an allowable expense of officeholder accounts, and expanded the disclosure requirements for City Hall lobbyists.

“By reducing the amount of money individuals can contribute to the council it will reduce the influence of money on the decision-making process at City Hall,” Councilman Mike Feuer said.

Councilman Joel Wachs said he can also accept the new restrictions on political officeholder accounts, which are allowed to help elected officials serve and communicate with constituents.

But Ethics Commission officials proposed the change to reduce the influence of big donors and bring the limits into conformance with the $500 limit for council election campaigns.

“The less reliance on [big] donors like that the better, so it’s fine with me,” Councilman Joel Wachs said.

In 1997, the 15 council members spent $600,000 from their officeholder accounts.

The ban on entertainment expenses clarifies rules that some allege have been abused when council members used political contributions to pay for expensive meals, foreign travel and concert tickets.

Councilman Hal Bernson complained a few years ago that the rules were unclear when he was fined for using his officeholder account to take constituents to concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

The council also for the first time required lobbyists to disclose which agencies they had been hired to lobby.

“This will provide valuable public disclosure regarding the focus of lobbying activities,” said Rebecca Avila, executive director of the Ethics Commission.

Earlier in the day, the commission wrestled with the idea of going even further and banning political contributions from businesses bidding for city contracts.

The panel took up the matter after receiving a report from its staff that indicated the top 25 city contractors and their employees contributed a combined $235,000 to city candidates during the past five years, with one group, builder Tutor-Saliba and its workers, accounting for $52,250.

“If we can limit the possible impact of contractor contributions on the selection of contractors, we’d be doing, I think, a service,” Feuer told the commission.

The commission decided to study the issue further before considering possible new regulations.