Assemblymembers last week unanimously passed legislation supporters say is meant to ensure financial disclosure forms continue to be publicized.
Elected officials and certain public employees’ financial disclosure forms — often called Form 700 or statement of economic interests — are already made public on the Fair Political Practices Commission’s website. The disclosures are a way to prevent potential conflicts of interest in government, according to the FPPC, but despite their practice of publishing them online, the nonpartisan commission is not required by state law to post them, said Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim.
Valencia’s bill would require public officials, candidates and certain other public employees (like legislative staff) to file their SEIs electronically with the FPPC. And it would also mandate the FPPC continue to post those forms for public view, Valencia said, with some redactions for protection.
The bill passed out of the Assembly last week but details on just what would be redacted are still being hammered out. In a national survey of state legislators and local officials by the progressive nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice in 2023, 43% of state legislators said they experienced threats, and 38% said the amount of abuse they’ve experienced had only increased since first taking office.
In California, the issue of elected officials’ safety is perhaps most recently underscored by the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, in 2022. The assailant broke into the Pelosis’ home, looking for the then-speaker, and attacked Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, with a hammer. He was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping in November.
The intent though, according to Valencia, is to allow only the filer’s personal address to be redacted from the public forms. Any business or other ownership would be posted, he said, with the only exception being if a person owned property, like a duplex, and rented out part of the building while primarily residing in another part. That address, then, would be redacted.
“Outside of that, if they’re not living there full-time, it would not be excluded,” Valencia said. “Everything would be public.”
Still, Valencia says the main intent of his legislation is to ensure financial disclosures continue to be publicly available.
“All it takes is for bureaucracy to start snowballing and for whatever reason, the FPPC could decide not to post (the forms) anymore starting tomorrow,” he said. “We need to be proactive in setting these parameters.”
The bill would result in “minor and absorbable enforcement costs,” according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. But since the FPPC already operates an online system for posting financial disclosure forms, mandating officials file using an online system could result in savings for the commission, the committee said.
Recall reforms
California voters may be asked in November whether they want to see the state’s recall election process reformed.
The Senate last week OK’d a constitutional amendment that would eliminate what’s called the successor question during a state-level recall election.
State-level recall elections in California, as you may remember from the effort to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom less than three years ago, ask voters two questions: Should the officeholder be removed and who should replace that person?
The constitutional amendment, from Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, aims to eliminate that second question, making a recall effort just a simple yes-or-no choice for voters. If voters say yes, then the office would be empty until it’s filled by whatever process is laid out in state statute to fill a vacancy. (For the state’s chief executive, for example, the lieutenant governor would step into the position.)
“The unfortunate reality is that our recall system in its current form incentivizes political opportunism and gamesmanship when it comes to recall elections,” Newman said in a statement. “By simplifying the recall process to focus firmly on the probity and fitness of an elected official, as opposed to his or her prospective replacements, SCA 1 will restore and reaffirm the value of the recall process as a just and measured check on corrupt or malfeasant state-level public officials as originally intended by its framers.”
The Democratic lawmaker was successfully recalled in 2018 after voting to raise the gas tax to help pay for future transportation projects and road improvements but won his seat back in 2020. He’s pitched bills to tighten the recall process in years past as well.
The measure passed 31-7 last week with Orange County’s Democratic delegation voting for it and Republican Sens. Janet Nguyen and Kelly Seyarto against it. It is now in the Assembly, and if it gets a two-thirds majority there, the constitutional amendment could be before voters on November’s general election ballot.
It has the support of Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the League of Women Voters of California. It’s opposed by the nonprofit Election Integrity Project California.
In other news
• Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, wants to establish statewide what’s called a “Blue Envelope” program in California. Already implemented in Riverside and San Diego counties, individuals with developmental disabilities can give law enforcement a blue envelope that contains their license and other information that signals to an officer that they may require special accommodations during the interaction. The idea behind the legislation is to facilitate better interactions between police and individuals with autism, anxiety, deafness or other conditions during traffic stops, emergencies and other service calls, according to her office.
“These blue envelopes have successfully been used in multiple counties and other states to improve accessibility and communication between law enforcement and individuals with disabilities. Simply put, this program works to promote inclusivity and help keep people safe,” Sanchez said.
• Seyarto, whose district includes Yorba Linda, introduced a slate of government transparency legislation last week. Among them is a bill that would require state and local bond measures to include an estimate of the amount of interest the bond would accrue.
That information is already included as part of an annual payment estimate, according to Seyarto’s office, but this would break it out so voters have “sufficient information to make an educated decision,” the senator said.
“That includes being transparent and upfront about the cost of borrowing and what those voters will be paying back, even if it is over an extended period of time,” said Seyarto. “Nobody would enter into a loan agreement without knowing the terms and interest, and the same information should be made clearly available for voters.”
