ORDINANCE NO. 2026-XXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY AMENDING SECTION 2.20.100 OF THE UNION CITY MUNICIPAL CODE
TO ALIGN ETHICS TRAINING REQUIREMENTS WITH STATE LAW
WHEREAS, Union City Municipal Code Section 2.20.100(A)(1) requires each Commissioner and alternate to complete at least two hours of training in general ethics principles and ethics laws no later than one year from the first day of service; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 827 (Chapter 661, Statutes of 2025) amended Government Code Section 53235.1(b)(1), effective January 1, 2026; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 53235.1(b)(1), as amended, requires a local agency official who commences service on or after January 1, 2026, to complete ethics training no later than six months from the first day of service, while retaining the one-year deadline for an official who commenced service before January 1, 2026; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to conform the ethics-training deadline in the Union City Municipal Code to current state law while preserving the applicable transition for service that commenced before January 1, 2026, and to maintain alignment with any future amendment to the state-law deadline or any successor provision.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals.
The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated into this Ordinance by this reference.
Section 2. Municipal Code Amendment.
Subsection (A)(1) of Section 2.20.100 of the Union City Municipal Code is amended as set forth in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. All other provisions of Section 2.20.100 remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
Section 3. California Environmental Quality Act.
The City Council finds that adoption of this Ordinance is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act because it constitutes an organizational and administrative activity of government that will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 14, sections 15060(c)(3) and 15378(b)(5).
Ordinance No. 2026-XXX
Ethics Training Deadline Alignment Ordinance
Section 4. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 5. Publication and Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its adoption. Within 15 days after adoption, the City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in Alameda County and circulated in the City of Union City, in accordance with Government Code section 36933.
INTRODUCED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Union City held on September 8, 2026.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Union City held on September 22, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
APPROVED:
GARY SINGH
Mayor
ATTESTED: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THAI NAM N. PHAM
City Clerk
KRISTOPHER J. KOKOTAYLO
City Attorney
Attachments
1. Exhibit A – Municipal Code Amendment
Ordinance No. 2026-XXX
Ethics Training Deadline Alignment Ordinance
Ordinance No. 2026-XXX
Ethics Training Deadline Alignment Ordinance
EXHIBIT A
MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT
Deletions are shown in strikethrough; additions are shown in underline.
Section 2.20.100. Ethics/AB 1234 and Other Training Requirements.
A. Pursuant to the requirements of Assembly Bill 1234, as codified in Government Code Section 53234 et seq., Commissioners and alternates are required to complete the following training in general ethics principles and ethics laws:
1. Each Commissioner and alternate must complete at least two hours of training in general ethics principles and ethics laws relevant to his or her public service no later than one year from the first day of service as a Commissioner or alternate if service commenced before January 1, 2026, and no later than six months from the first day of service as a Commissioner or alternate if service commences on or after January 1, 2026, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 53235.1 of the Government Code.
Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if subdivision (b)(1) of Section 53235.1 of the Government Code, as amended from time to time, or any successor provision prescribes a different deadline applicable to that Commissioner or alternate for completing the initial ethics training, the deadline prescribed by state law shall control.
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