Newsom Signs Law to Deter ‘Pay-to-Play’ Schemes in California

Officials in California will soon have to avoid voting on items in which their campaign donors have financial interests.

Senate Bill 1439, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Authored by Sen. Steven Glazer (D-Orinda), SB 1439 will mandate a 12-month blackout period between a campaign donation of more than $250 accepted by a local or state official and the official’s participation in approving an item that might benefit the donor, no matter which comes first.

The law also allows an official who unknowingly or unwillingly violated the rule to resolve the situation by returning the donation within 30 days of finding out about the conflict of interest.

Donors in the process of obtaining “a license, permit, or other entitlement” are also required to disclose any contribution made in the past year.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a bill signing ceremony at Nido’s Backyard Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco on Feb. 9, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

After the legislation was signed by Newsom, California Common Cause—a nonpartisan organization aimed at promoting accountable local governments, according to its website—celebrated the news on social media.

“We’re building a stronger democracy. Our bill to clean up pay-to-play corruption scandals in local governments just became law,” the group wrote on Twitter.  “[SB 1439] ensures local politicians are serving the public interest, not special interests.”

The new law is an expansion of the state’s Levine Act of 1982, which only requires a 3-month gap and excludes elected legislative bodies such as city councils, county boards of supervisors, and the Legislature, according to an Aug. 31 Senate floor bill analysis.

Violators will face fines of up to $5,000 per violation.

At the city level, some cities already have prohibitions on campaign contributions from developers and city contractors, including Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, Malibu, Pasadena, San Francisco, Santa Ana, and Yorba Linda.

A man attends an Anaheim City Council meeting while holding a sign criticizing Anaheim’s Angels Stadium deal in Anaheim, Calif., on May 24, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

In July, the Anaheim City Council considered but failed to pass a series of very similar campaign finance reform measures after corruption allegations surfaced against former Mayor Harry Sidhu. Sidhu was named in an FBI affidavit claiming he intended to ask for $1 million from representatives of the Angels baseball team during the Anaheim Stadium sale negotiations.

Sidhu has not been charged or indicted but resigned in May during the fallout of the investigation.

Under the new state rules, Anaheim will now be required to implement the reforms.