County Campaign Law Unenforceable, D.A. Says

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley has concluded that a law that limits political donations to top county officials has “fundamental flaws” and is “nearly impossible” to enforce.

In a letter to the county Board of Supervisors released Tuesday, Cooley recommended a series of changes to strengthen the voter-approved law so he can prosecute offenders.

The district attorney’s recommendations sparked a sharp response Tuesday from Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who expressed frustration that enforcement of the initiative, which he wrote, has proved so difficult.

The Times reported in September that nine years after voters approved the initiative, violations were going undiscovered and unpunished.

“It’s ridiculous,” Yaroslavsky said. “Every other jurisdiction that has a campaign finance law has an enforcement capability. If the district attorney can’t do it, tell us who can,” he said to County Counsel Ray Fortner.

Yaroslavsky was upset that neither Cooley nor a representative was at the Hall of Administration to discuss the issue. He told Fortner to get together with Cooley and come back in two weeks, if possible, with a specific proposal for how to enforce the law.

In 1996, county voters imposed limits on campaign contributions to the five supervisors, district attorney, sheriff and assessor. Donations from registered lobbyists were banned.

An investigation by The Times found that no candidate or donor had been fined or prosecuted for violating the law.

The review also found that since the 2003-04 campaign cycle, more than two dozen contributions had violated the $1,000-per-election limit or had come from lobbyists. Cooley as well as Supervisors Mike Antonovich, Don Knabe and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke were among those who accepted the contributions.

The district attorney’s and registrar-recorder’s offices were designated in the measure to oversee the law, but The Times found that the two agencies disagreed about which one should pursue violations.

In his letter, Cooley suggested that the law, known as Proposition B, could be tightened to require that candidates for county office make available their campaign records, including bank records, for review by auditors.

The D.A.’s office has said its ability to enforce the law is hampered because it lacks the authority to subpoena records for misdemeanors, which include campaign finance violations.

“Currently, there are few investigative tools by which to review campaign finance violations under Proposition B,” he wrote. “Mandating disclosure of campaign finance records will allow access to records necessary to establish whether violations occurred.”

Cooley said candidate solicitations and envelopes should contain information on the contribution limit and restrictions on lobbyist donations.

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Times staff writer Jennifer Oldham contributed to this report.