Second Quarter Update
Lobbying
Regulations adopted by the Commission
The following are regulatory changes approved by the Commission during the past quarter concerning lobbying. To receive updates for all regulations before the Commission, please sign up for our mailing list here.
None.
Advice Letters
The following are advice letters issued by the Commission’s Legal Division during the past quarter concerning lobbying. To receive the monthly report with all advice letters issued, please sign up for our mailing list here.
None.
Commission Opinions
None.
Enforcement Matters
The following are summaries of significant enforcement actions approved by the Commission in the past quarter involving violations of the Act’s lobbying laws. To receive a monthly report of all enforcement actions, please sign up for our mailing list here.
None.
Legislation
SB 569 (Glazer) – Transfer of lobbying audit duty from FTB to FPPC
Status: Amended 6/19/23 and 6/27/23; passed in the Assembly Elections Committee on 7/5/23 (7-0); referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
Short Summary: SB 569 would transfer the duty to conduct mandatory lobbying audits from FTB to the FPPC.
Detailed Summary:
Existing law: Existing law requires that 25% of all lobbying firms and 25% of all lobbyist employers who employ one or more lobbyists be selected for audit through a random draw process that occurs in February of each odd year. The Franchise Tax Board is required to conduct audits of the selected lobbying entities and the lobbyists employed by them.
Transfer of audit duty: SB 569 would transfer the lobbying audit duty to the FPPC, commencing with the entities selected for audit in February of 2025.
Excluding entities with no activity: The bill would exclude lobbying firms and lobbyist employers from the audit selection pool if they have less than $1 in payments or contributions.
Additional FPPC duties: The bill would require the FPPC to:
1. Post audits conducted by the FPPC on the FPPC website for at least 10 years from the conclusion of the audit.
2. Annually report to the Legislature on the number and type of audits completed by the FPPC.
3. Adopt regulations or policies to ensure the operational independence of audit personnel from enforcement operations under the PRA.
FPPC Position: None
xxx