STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION
1102 Q Street • Suite 3050 • Sacramento, CA 95811
March 16, 2026
Trevor Nichols
Via email:
Re: FPPC Complaint No. COM-01272026-00248; Caroline Torosis Dear Trevor Nichols:
This letter is in response to the sworn complaint you submitted to the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) regarding the above-named individual. After review of the complaint and evidence provided, the Enforcement Division will not pursue an enforcement action in this matter. California Government Code § 82030(b)(2) excludes “Salary and reimbursement for expenses or per diem, and social security, disability, or other similar benefit payments received from a state, local, or federal government agency…”, from the definition of “income.” Furthermore, Regulation 18702.5(b)(1) states that a governmental decision’s reasonably foreseeable financial effect on a public official’s financial interest in personal finances is not material if the decision would affect only the salary, per diem, or reimbursement for expenses the public official or a member of the official’s immediate family receives from a federal, state, or local government agency unless the decision is to appoint (other than an appointing decision permitted under subdivision (b)(2) and (3)), hire, fire, promote, demote, suspend without pay or otherwise take disciplinary action with financial sanction against the official or a member of the official's immediate family, or to set a salary for the official or a member of the official's immediate family which is different from salaries paid to other employees of the government agency in the same job classification or position, or when the member of the public official's immediate family member is the only person in the job classification or position. Therefore, the salary Caroline Torosis receives from the County of Los Angeles does not constitute a financial interest that could result in a conflict of interest related to the December 2024 vote. Furthermore, the FPPC does not have jurisdiction over the other allegations in your complaint, such as those involving the Brown Act. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Cole Smith by email at [email protected] or by phone at (279) 237-3770.
Sincerely,
Kendall L.D. Bonebrake
Kendall L.D. Bonebrake
Chief, Enforcement Division
KLDB:cts
cc: Caroline Torosis