The State Senate today voted 31-7 to approve a bill by Senator Nell Soto (D – Pomona) to extend “revolving door” prohibitions for state officials to officials of local government agencies, too.

Current law generally prohibits elected state officers and designated employees of state agencies from representing any other person before their former agency for one year after leaving office if the appearance or communication is for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action.  This prohibition is a portion of what is commonly referred to as the "revolving door" law.

Current law imposes a similar prohibition on board members, officers, and employees of air pollution control districts and air quality management districts. The prohibitions don't apply if the appearance or communication is for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action on behalf of another public agency.

Soto’s bill would prohibit specified local officials, for a period of one year after leaving office or employment, from representing for compensation any other person, by appearing before, or communicating with, their former agencies for the following purposes:

• Influencing administrative or legislative action;

• Influencing any action or proceeding involving the issuance, amendment, awarding, or revocation of a permit, license, grant, or contract, or the sale or purchase of goods or property.

The prohibition would apply to any local elected official, chief administrative officer of a county, city manager or administrator, or general manager or chief administrator of a special district – but would not apply to any individual who is, at the time of the appearance or communication, a board member, officer, employee, or representative of another public agency and is appearing or communicating on behalf of that agency.

"Revolving door" prohibitions are intended to address situations whereby former elected officers and other officials return to represent clients who have business before, or are seeking to influence policy decisions made by, their former agencies.  In many of these instances, the former official may be lobbying his or her former subordinates or peers who may feel inordinate pressure to be accommodating. Revolving door prohibitions also serve to prevent former officials from taking advantage of "insider" information to unfairly benefit the clients they represent. 

“Local agencies are free to adopt their own revolving door prohibitions either through ordinances or initiatives,” Soto says, “and in fact at least three cities – Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego - have adopted prohibitions similar to what I am seeking through my bill. This is a common sense approach that will help increase the people’s faith in their local officials and local agencies.”

And according to the Consumer Federation of California, a sponsor of Soto’s bill, “Existing law already prohibits members of the state Legislature and state elected officials from lobbying the body they served for one year after leaving service.  It makes sense that the same standard should be applied to officials at the city and county level.  SB 8 would help prevent former local elected officials from wielding unfair influence with the office they once held."