1 City Council Meeting: October 25, 2022 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 4.85.010, DEFINITIONS, AND ADDING SECTION 4.85.015 TO PROHIBIT ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM SERVING
OR CONTINUING TO SERVE ON A CITY BOARD, COMMISSION, TASK FORCE, OR
ADVISORY BOARD IF THAT INDIVIDUAL HAS ENGAGED IN LOBBYING ACTIVITES
IN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA IN THE TWO YEARS PRIOR TO APPOINTMENT WHEREAS, in 2016, Council adopted Ordinance No. 2511 (CCS) requiring lobbyists to register with the City Clerk’s office; and WHEREAS, all lobbyists must register no later than ten days after qualifying as a lobbyist, and any changes to the registration information must be reported within ten days of the change; and the ordinance includes a list of exemptions intended to ensure the ordinance is narrowly tailored to achieve its purpose of transparency without impermissibly burdening First Amendment rights; and
WHEREAS, at its July 13, 2021, meeting, Council directed staff to return with a proposed ordinance, similar to that in place in other municipalities, that: (1) more precisely defines what constitutes a lobbyist/legislative advocate; (2) precludes any individual who in the prior two years has been acting as a lobbyist/legislative advocate from being appointed to a board, commission, or task force; and (3) precludes any member of a board, commission, or task force from simultaneously acting as a lobbyist/legislative advocate; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance addresses the items in Council’s July 13, 2021, direction to staff.
2 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.85.010 is hereby amended as follows:
4.85.010 Definitions.
“Lobbyist” means any individual who receives economic consideration, including cash, expenses paid, and/or in-kind compensation, totaling more than $7,500 in a calendar year as the employee, representative, or contractor of a person or entity other than the City of Santa Monica for communicating with any official or employee of the City for the purpose of influencing City action. The $7,500 threshold shall be adjusted on January 1 of each year beginning in 2024 by the most recent California Consumer Price Index as published by the State of California.
For purposes of this Chapter, “Lobbyist” does not include the following:
(a) City contractors and those seeking City contracts on their own behalf through bids and proposals;
(b) Licensed architects;
(c) Licensed professional engineers;
(d) Representatives of other government agencies.
“Official” means any person who is:
(a) A members of the Santa Monica City Council;
(b) Appointed by the Santa Monica City Council to serve on a board or commission; and,
(c) The City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk;
3 (c) A City employee appointed to serve as director of a A City department director; and
(d) Any other person who is required to file a Statement of Economic Interest in connection with the City of Santa Monica.
Section 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.85.015 is hereby added as follows:
Section 4.85.015 Prohibition on Lobbyists Serving on City Boards, Commissions, Task Forces, or Advisory Boards.
(a) Any person who has been a Lobbyist in the prior two years prior to the start of a term, and once appointed, shall be ineligible to be appointed or to continue to serve on a City board, commission, task force, or advisory board.
(b) The Council, by unanimous vote, may appoint a person to a board, commission, task force, or advisory board, despite otherwise being disqualified under this Chapter, for good cause, including but not limited to unavailability of qualified candidates.
Section 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining 4 portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 5. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall take effect 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney