California Assembly Bill AB1779 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1779INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani FEBRUARY 21, 2012 An act to amend Section 8920 of the Government Code, relating to the code of ethics. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1779, as introduced, Galgiani. Code of ethics. Existing law prohibits a Member of the Legislature, state elective or appointive officer, or judge or justice, while serving as such, from having any interest, engaging in any business or transaction or professional activity, or incurring any obligation which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of that person's duties in the public interest. Existing law also prohibits a Member of the Legislature from performing specified acts, including, among others, accepting specified employment and disclosing confidential information acquired in the course of and by reason of the Member's official duties. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 8920 of the Government Code is amended to read: 8920. (a)  No   A  Member of the Legislature, state elective or appointive officer, or judge or justice shall  not  , while serving as such, have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional activity, or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his  or her  duties in the public interest and of his  or her  responsibilities as prescribed in the laws of this state. (b)  No   A  Member of the Legislature shall  not  do any of the following: (1) Accept other employment which  he   the Member  has reason to believe will either impair his  or her  independence of judgment as to his  or her  official duties or require him  or her  , or induce him  or her  , to disclose confidential information acquired by  him   the Member  in the course of and by reason of  his   the Member's  official duties. (2) Willfully and knowingly disclose, for pecuniary gain, to any other person, confidential information acquired by  him   the Member  in the course of and by reason of  his   the Member's  official duties or use any such information for the purpose of pecuniary gain. (3) Accept or agree to accept, or be in partnership with any person who accepts or agrees to accept, any employment, fee, or other thing of monetary value, or portion thereof, in consideration of  his  the Member's  appearing, agreeing to appear, or taking any other action on behalf of another person before any state board or agency. This subdivision shall not be construed to prohibit a  member   Member  who is an attorney at law from practicing in that capacity before any court or before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and receiving compensation therefor. This subdivision shall not act to prohibit a  member   Member  from acting as an advocate without compensation or making inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent before a state board or agency, or from engaging in activities on behalf of another which require purely ministerial acts by the board or agency and which in no way require the board or agency to exercise any discretion, or from engaging in activities involving a board or agency which are strictly on his or her own behalf. The prohibition contained in this subdivision shall not apply to a partnership or firm of which the Member of the Legislature is a member if the Member of the Legislature does not share directly or indirectly in the fee, less any expenses attributable to that fee, resulting from the transaction. The prohibition contained in this subdivision as it read immediately prior to January 1, 1983, shall not apply in connection with any matter pending before any state board or agency on or before January 2, 1967, if the affected Member of the Legislature was an attorney of record or representative in the matter prior to January 2, 1967. The prohibition contained in this subdivision, as amended and operative on January 1, 1983, shall not apply to any activity of any Member in connection with a matter pending before any state board or agency on January 1, 1983, which was not prohibited by this section prior to that date, if the affected Member of the Legislature was an attorney of record or representative in the matter prior to January 1, 1983. (4) Receive or agree to receive, directly or indirectly, any compensation, reward, or gift from any source except the State of California for any service, advice, assistance  ,  or other matter related to the legislative process, except fees for speeches or published works on legislative subjects and except, in connection therewith, reimbursement of expenses for actual expenditures for travel and reasonable subsistence for which no payment or reimbursement is made by the State of California. (5) Participate, by voting or any other action, on the floor of either house, in committee, or elsewhere, in the passage or defeat of legislation in which  he   the Member  has a personal interest, except as follows:  (i)   (A)  If, on the vote for final passage by the house of which he  or she  is a member, of the legislation in which  he   the Member  has a personal interest, he  or she  first files a statement (which shall be entered verbatim on the journal) stating in substance that  he   the Member  has a personal interest in the legislation to be voted on and, notwithstanding that interest, he  or she  is able to cast a fair and objective vote on that legislation,  he   the Member  may cast his  or her  vote without violating any provision of this article.  (ii)   (B)  If the  member   Member  believes that, because of his  or her  personal interest, he  or she  should abstain from participating in the vote on the legislation,  he   the Member  shall so advise the presiding officer prior to the commencement of the vote and shall be excused from voting on the legislation without any entry on the journal of the fact of his  or her  personal interest. In the event a rule of the house requiring that each  member   Member  who is present vote aye or nay is invoked, the presiding officer shall order the  member   Member  excused from compliance and shall order entered on the journal a simple statement that the member   Member  was excused from voting on the legislation pursuant to law. The provisions of this section do not apply to persons who are members of the state civil service as defined in Article VII of the California Constitution.