The California Supreme Court issued the following decision earlier this week: Travis et al. v. Brand et al., Case No. S268480: Government Code section 91003(a) gives trial courts discretion to award attorney’s fees to “a...more
California’s Second District Court of Appeal recently affirmed that a shorter 90-day statute of limitations, and not a longer three- or four- year statute of limitations, applies to Political Reform Act (PRA) claims that...more
More than a decade ago, the United States Supreme Court held that government restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and labor unions violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution....more
A suit seeking to set aside land-use approvals based on an alleged bribery scheme in violation of the Political Reform Act was subject to the 90-day statute of limitations for actions challenging land-use decisions. AIDS...more
Yesterday's post discussed a recently introduced bill that would amend California's Political Reform Act of 1974, among other things, to prohibit contributions by a "foreign-influenced business entity", as defined, in...more
Gov. Newsom signs SB 1439, Expanding the Levine Act’s Restrictions - Local elected officials – including city council members, special district board members and school district board members – will now have to “conflict...more
Part 1: New Laws Impacting California Public Agencies for 2021 - With the unique challenges that 2020 brought, California lawmakers passed bills that addressed both the State’s ongoing problems, as well as laws responsive...more
Regulation Revision Clarifies Duty Applies Despite “Partial Absences” - The Fair Political Practices Commission adopted amendments to its Regulation 18707 clarifying the duty and procedure for officials to follow to...more
Amendments Adopted for Public Official Decisions Related to Nonprofit Gifts and Personal Financial Effects - As part of its ongoing efforts to update conflict of interest regulations, the Fair Political Practices...more
FPPC Advises When Public Agencies Can Survey Voters and Disseminate Results - Public agencies that wish to conduct public opinion surveys before the next election received additional guidance from a recent Fair Political...more
FPPC Adopts Amended Regulations (Part 2) - As part of its on-going Regulation Project to update and revise certain Fair Political Practices Commission Regulations, the FPPC recently adopted and issued an amended regulation...more
The Fair Political Practices Commission adopted and issued an amended regulation defining the “materiality” standard for a “business entity” financial interest that can give rise to a conflict under California’s Political...more
The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the government, which includes the right to participate in elections. These protections apply to individuals and businesses involved in paid and unpaid advocacy. ...more
Calif. Appellate Court Strikes Down SB 1107 - A California law that amended the Political Reform Act to permit spending public money on political campaigns was struck down by an appellate court. In Howard Jarvis Taxpayer...more
It’s a good time to brush up on the various laws affecting election season giving. In general, campaign contributions are regulated by federal, state or local laws, depending on the jurisdiction of the recipient. ...more
As the year came to a close, the California Attorney General published a lengthy, sweeping opinion on the following questions...more
The California attorney general recently issued an opinion addressing both the attorney ethics and legal conflicts implications posed when an attorney who serves as an elected public official — in the case at hand, a city...more
From bumping up the statewide primary election date to protecting the personal information of public employees and making campaign contributions more transparent, state lawmakers passed a wave of laws regarding campaigns,...more
The California Legislature was busy in 2017, which means plenty of laws passed in Sacramento that will impact public agencies. In this three-part series, Best Best & Krieger LLP gives a comprehensive summary of the new laws...more
Two changes were made to the California Political Reform Act when Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 45 last month. The first is a technical amendment that codifies the FPPC regulations directly into the Act. More importantly,...more
The California DISCLOSE Act (Assembly Bill 249), was signed into law on October 7, 2017. It overhauls portions of California’s Political Reform Act (“PRA”) that require disclosure of certain campaign finance activity and...more
A recent appellate decision illustrates the far-reaching and powerful impact of the Political Reform Act’s conflicts provisions, and how that law can be employed as a sword in litigation to negate or undo decisions of...more
Like years past, there were plenty of laws passed in Sacramento in 2016 that will impact public agencies. Here is a summary of those that have specific importance to your work. We hope that you will contact us for further...more
Ya no aguanto. (I can’t take it anymore.) Can we POSSIBLY get away from campaigning and politics for a little while? Sorry folks, pero, no. Puntada. (but, no. Period.) With the 2016 Presidential election campaign in...more