Politics & Government
San Bruno CA: Governor Signs Hill Bill Increasing Disclosure on Legislator Travel Gifts
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 21 today which increases transparency within the Political Reform Act
CA State Senator Jerry Hill reports:
Governor Signs Hill Bill Increasing Disclosure on Legislator Travel Gifts
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 21 today which increases transparency within the Political Reform Act by requiring non-profits that pay for elected official travel to disclose to the FPPC the names of the donors responsible for funding the travel.
The bill applies to non-profits that spend a large portion of their budgets on conferences and travel. Currently these non-profits don’t have to disclose the source of travel funding, preventing the public from knowing who was behind the gift to the elected official.
SB 21 would also require elected officials to disclose to the FPPC the destination of their travel if it was a gift.
Nearly every legislator voted for the bill to provide clarity on who is funding the conference expenses for the educational trips many legislators participate in each year.
“I believe that more transparency and disclosure around these travel related gifts are in everyone’s best interest,” said Hill. “As recipients of these gifts, legislators from both parties requested that the Governor remove the veil of secrecy surrounding conference donors. Just as elected officials report gifts from sources each year on their FPPC form 700s, this bill would require that non-profit conference hosts also list the source of the gift. By signing the bill the legislature and governor are making a strong statement that they believe all sources of gifts should be disclosed and there should no longer be a loophole for travel conferences just because a non-profit hosts in order to conceal the true source of the gift.”
Only those non-profits that spend more than one-third of their operating expenses on conferences for elected officials based on their prior year IRS form will be required to disclose donors. In addition, only those non-profits that spend more than $10,000 annually on conferences for more than 1 elected official or $5,000 on a conference for 1 elected official will be required to disclose donors. Only those donors that contribute over $1,000 and accompanied the elected official, either personally or through a representative of the donor, for any portion of the travel, would be required to be disclosed to the FPPC if the non-profit met the triggers outlined above.
For example, a non-profit like the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCLS) only spends about 7% on conferences involving elected officials so they would likely not be required to disclose their donors. Other non-profits that host conferences for elected officials that would likely not meet the reporting trigger in the bill include The Energy Coalition (4%), the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (13%), and the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures (32%).
However, non-profits like the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy, Independent Voter Project, and Pacific Policy Research Foundation would likely be required to disclose their donors since they typically spend over 40% of their operating expenses on conferences for elected officials each year.
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News Release - Office of State Senator Jerry Hill
Contact: Leslie Guevarra - cell (415) 298-3404 or Nate Solov - cell 916-768-1378
Find out what's happening in San Brunofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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Robert Riechel
For San Bruno CA Patch
Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives
Source Credit: CA State Senator Jerry Hill
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