By: @Marcus Detwiler
At the end of the previous State Legislative Session, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1439 (Glazer, 2022), a bill related to the Political Reform Act of 1974. Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, the bill applied the pre-existing campaign contribution prohibition for state and certain other agencies to all local elected boards, including those of special districts, and expanded the timeframe prohibiting specific contributions following an official’s action from three months to 12 months.
After its passage, SB 1439 was subject to scrutiny by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) as a result of unforeseen complications that were created by the bill’s terms. Problematically, one interpretation of the bill’s provisions would have foreclosed public agency officials from availing themselves of the remediation procedures contained within the legislation, resulting in a slew of agency actions that those officials would be forced to abstain from in the then-upcoming year through no fault of their own. This possibility was headed-off by the FPPC following late-2022 Commission hearings that focused on addressing that specific issue.
Now, SB 1439 has been the law for over a year and CSDA has heard anecdotally from members and other local public agencies that the implementation of SB 1439’s provisions has proven challenging and may be resulting in a chilling effect on the acceptance of otherwise appropriate campaign contributions. This preliminary feedback has prompted CSDA to further examine the provisions of SB 1439 for potential revisions that may improve the legislation.
To this end, CSDA is interested in collecting feedback from its members on their experience living under SB 1439. Specifically, the association is seeking to better understand what, if any, challenges SB 1439 created for special districts and their board members, including (but not limited to): revised meeting procedures, revised public comment disclosures, blanket refusals of contributions by individual special district board members, dedication of staff resources to investigate the impacts of one or more specific contributions, and any other impact(s) that SB 1439 has had on agency operations.
To share your feedback with CSDA staff, please complete this form by no later than April 12, 2024. CSDA staff will not disclose identifying information in connection with your submission without the express consent of the individual submitting the form.
If you have any questions, please contact CSDA Legislative Representative Marcus Detwiler at marcusd@csda.net.
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