California Municipal Law Blog
category:
Ethics

Attorney General Addresses Conflict of Interest Question Affecting Joint Powers Authorities

by on September 11, 2016

posted in Ethics,

The California Attorney General issued an opinion related to the rights of Joint Powers Authority (JPA) voting members which likely affects all JPAs throughout California.  The question arose where a member of the board of directors was required to recuse himself from voting on an issue because of a conflict of interest. The subject of this particular opinion was the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), which is comprised of 26 individual agencies or municipalities. Some of these member agencies are allotted more than one seat on the board of directors. Those agencies, for example the City of Los ... Continue Reading

tags: Attorney General, conflicts of interest, joint powers authorities, voting members,

Summary of Important New Laws Affecting Local Agencies in 2016

by on January 28, 2016

posted in CEQA, Damages, Elections, Employee Benefits, Employment Law, Ethics, Legislative Updates, Medical Marijuana, Proposition 215, Public Records Act, Water, Zoning,

The following laws are effective January 1, 2016, unless otherwise provided.  These legislative changes were selected as those of importance and/or interest to public agencies.  ... Continue Reading

tags: 2016 Legislative Session, California Legislature, New laws,

Court Holds Corporate Consultants May be Subject to “1090” Conflict-of-Interest Prohibition

by on June 16, 2015

posted in Ethics,

Consultants are fixtures in the world of local government.  Engineers, architects, lawyers, and many other professionals routinely contract with local agencies to provide a wide range of services.  A recent court opinion, Davis v. Fresno Unified School District, warns the companies that employ these professionals of their potential for conflicts of interest.  ... Continue Reading

tags: conflicts of interest, Public Contracting, Section 1090,

FPPC Amends Regulation Governing Conflicts of Interest for Public Official Businesses

by on February 23, 2015

posted in Administrative Regulations, Ethics,

The Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) has recently adopted a new regulation governing when public officials have conflicts of interests in businesses they own or for which they are investors. The amended regulation, which became effect in January 2015, is part of a broader FPPC program to streamline and simplify the regulations that implement the Political Reform Act of 1974, California’s principal law governing the ethics of public officials. The recent amendment concerning business-based conflicts follows changes the FPPC made in 2014 to the regulation governing conflicts for ... Continue Reading

tags: Business Interests, conflicts of interest, Regulations,

FPPC Releases New Rule Covering Conflicts of Interests In Land Use Applications

by on January 27, 2015

posted in Ethics, Zoning,

The Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) has adopted new rules to determine whether a public official has a conflict of interest when his or her real property interest is located near to a land use application. Under the old rules, if any part of an official’s real property (or interest in real property with a fair market value of $2,000.00 or more) was located within 500 feet of the property lines of a land use application, the official was considered to have a conflict of interest because it was assumed that there would be a material financial effect (whether positive or negative) ... Continue Reading

tags: conflicts of interest, FPPC, Land Use Applications,