ETHICS REFORM MEASURES

The city of Los Angeles and the state will place ethics reform measures before the voters in June. In both measures, future pay raises are attached to wide-ranging reforms. Locally, approval of the ethics reform package would include specific pay hikes. If the state measure is approved, a seven-member commission would be appointed by the governor to determine lawmakers’ salaries. Here are the major components of each measure:

Los Angeles Proposition H:

A. Bans outside employment for all elected officials.

B. Bans all honorariums and most gifts.

C. Calls for pay raises of 40% for council members, bringing their salary to $86,157, the level for Municipal Court judges. The mayor would get a 9.2% boost, increasing his pay to $112,004. The city attorney would get an 18.6% hike to $103,388, and the controller a 54% raise to $94,773. Future raises would be tied to raises given to judges by the Legislature.

D. Bans lobbying by elected officials for one year after leaving office.

E. Calls for partial public financing of political campaigns. Council candidates could get up to $100,000 in matching funds for a primary race and $125,000 for a general election, but must limit total spending to $300,000 and $250,000, respectively. A mayoral candidate could get as much as a third in matching funds for a primary race and half for a general election, but must limit spending to $2 million and $1.6 million, respectively.

F. Places a limit of $25,000 on “officeholder accounts,” the currently limit-free funds set up by elected officials and used for a wide range of purposes.

G. Calls for disclosure of exact amounts of income and investments, including the price of a home bought while in office or within a year of taking office.

H. Bans delivery of campaign contributions to any city office building.

California Proposition 112:

A. Transfers the power to set legislative salaries from the Legislature to an independent commission, the Citizens Compensation Commission. The commission is to be appointed by the governor. and appointees must include representatives from labor, business and nonprofit organizations.

B. Bans legislators, the governor and other elected state officials and employees from accepting honorariums or speaking fees. Allows lawmakers and state elected officials to accept reimbursement for travel and lodging within the United States only when traveling to make a speech or conduct other state business. The lodging reimbursement is limited to the days immediately before, during and after the speech. Lawmakers would, however, be allowed to accept free trips to other countries for governmental purposes when sponsored by nonprofit groups or foreign governments.

C. Prohibits legislators and other elected state officials from accepting gifts worth more than $250.

D. Prohibits legislators, the governor and other elected officials from lobbying the Legislature or any state agency for one year after leaving office. Prohibits any administration official or member of a board or agency from lobbying the agencies for which they worked a year after leaving office.

E. Requires all legislative business be conducted in public. There are some exceptions for personnel, litigation and security matters.

F. Prohibits legislators and other state elected officials from receiving income from a lobbyist or person with a state contract.