2005 California Government Code Sections 87100-87105 Article 1. General Prohibition

87100.  No public official at any level of state or local government
shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his
official position to influence a governmental decision in which he
knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.
87100.1.  (a) A registered professional engineer or licensed land
surveyor who renders professional services as a consultant to a state
or local government, either directly or through a firm in which he
or she is employed or is a principal, does not have a financial
interest in a governmental decision pursuant to Section 87100 where
the consultant renders professional engineering or land surveying
services independently of the control and direction of the public
agency and does not exercise public agency decisionmaking authority
as a contract city or county engineer or surveyor.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the consultant renders
professional engineering or land surveying services independently of
the control and direction of the public agency when the consultant is
in responsible charge of the work pursuant to Section 6703 or 8703
of the Business and Professions Code.
   (c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to that portion of the work
that constitutes the recommendation of the actual formula to spread
the costs of an assessment district's improvements if both of the
following apply:
   (1) The engineer has received income of two hundred fifty dollars
($250) or more for professional services in connection with any
parcel included in the benefit assessment district within 12 months
prior to the creation of the district.
   (2) The district includes other parcels in addition to those
parcels for which the engineer received the income.
   The recommendation of the actual formula does not include
preliminary site studies, preliminary engineering, plans,
specifications, estimates, compliance with environmental laws and
regulations, or the collection of data and information, utilized in
applying the formula.
87101.  Section 87100 does not prevent any public official from
making or participating in the making of a governmental decision to
the extent his participation is legally required for the action or
decision to be made.  The fact that an official's vote is needed to
break a tie does not make his participation legally required for
purposes of this section.
87102.  The requirements of Section 87100 are in addition to the
requirements of Articles 2 (commencing with Section 87200) and 3
(commencing with Section 87300) and any Conflict of Interest Code
adopted thereunder.  Except as provided in Section 87102.5, the
remedies provided in Chapters 3 (commencing with Section 83100) and
11 (commencing with Section 91000) shall not be applicable to elected
state officers for violations or threatened violations of this
article.
87102.5.  (a) The remedies provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 83100) shall apply to any Member of the Legislature who
makes, participates in making, or in any way attempts to use his or
her official position to influence any of the following governmental
decisions in which he or she knows or has reason to know that he or
she has a financial interest:
   (1) Any state governmental decision, other than any action or
decision before the Legislature, made in the course of his or her
duties as a member.
   (2) Approval, modification, or cancellation of any contract to
which either house or a committee of the Legislature is a party.
   (3) Introduction as a lead author of any legislation that the
member knows or has reason to know is nongeneral legislation.
   (4) Any vote in a legislative committee or subcommittee on what
the member knows or has reason to know is nongeneral legislation.
   (5) Any rollcall vote on the Senate or Assembly floor on an item
which the member knows is nongeneral legislation.
   (6) Any action or decision before the Legislature in which all of
the following occur:
   (A) The member has received any salary, wages, commissions, or
similar earned income within the preceding 12 months from a lobbyist
employer.
   (B) The member knows or has reason to know the action or decision
will have a direct and significant financial impact on the lobbyist
employer.
   (C) The action or decision will not have an impact on the public
generally or a significant segment of the public in a similar manner.
   (7) Any action or decision before the Legislature on legislation
that the member knows or has reason to know will have a direct and
significant financial impact on any person, distinguishable from its
impact on the public generally or a significant segment of the
public, from whom the member has received any compensation within the
preceding 12 months for the purpose of appearing, agreeing to
appear, or taking any other action on behalf of that person, before
any local board or agency.
   (b) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
   (1) "Any action or decision before the Legislature" means any vote
in a committee or subcommittee, or any rollcall vote on the floor of
the Senate or Assembly.
   (2) "Financial interest" means an interest as defined in Section
87103.
   (3) "Legislation" means a bill, resolution, or constitutional
amendment.
   (4) "Nongeneral legislation" means legislation that is described
in Section 87102.6 and is not of a general nature pursuant to Section
16 of Article IV of the Constitution.
   (5) A Member of the Legislature has reason to know that an action
or decision will have a direct and significant financial impact on a
person with respect to which disqualification may be required
pursuant to subdivision (a) if either of the following apply:
   (A) With the knowledge of the member, the person has attempted to
influence the vote of the member with respect to the action or
decision.
   (B) Facts have been brought to the member's personal attention
indicating that the action or decision will have a direct and
significant impact on the person.
   (6) The prohibitions specified in subdivision (a) do not apply to
a vote on the Budget Bill as a whole, or to a vote on a consent
calendar, a motion for reconsideration, a waiver of any legislative
rule, or any purely procedural matter.
   (7) A Member of the Legislature has reason to know that
legislation is nongeneral legislation if facts have been brought to
his or her personal attention indicating that it is nongeneral
legislation.
   (8) Written advice given to a Member of the Legislature regarding
his or her duties under this section by the Legislative Counsel shall
have the same effect as advice given by the commission pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 83114 if both of the following apply:
   (A) The member has made the same written request based on the same
material facts to the commission for advice pursuant to Section
83114 as to his or her duties under this section, as the written
request and facts presented to the Legislative Counsel.
   (B) The commission has not provided written advice pursuant to the
member's request prior to the time the member acts in good faith
reliance on the advice of the Legislative Counsel.
87102.6.  (a) "Nongeneral legislation" means legislation as to which
both of the following apply:
   (1) It is reasonably foreseeable that the legislation will have
direct and significant financial impact on one or more identifiable
persons, or one or more identifiable pieces of real property.
   (2) It is not reasonably foreseeable that the legislation will
have a similar impact on the public generally or on a significant
segment of the public.
   (b) For purposes of this section and Section 87102.5, all of the
following apply:
   (1) "Legislation" means a bill, resolution, or constitutional
amendment.
   (2) The term "public generally" includes an industry, trade, or
profession.
   (3) Any recognized subgroup or specialty of the industry, trade,
or profession constitutes a significant segment of the public.
   (4) A legislative district, county, city, or special district
constitutes a significant segment of the public.
   (5) More than a small number of persons or pieces of real property
is a significant segment of public.
   (6) Legislation, administrative action, or other governmental
action impacts in a similar manner all members of the public, or all
members of a significant segment of the public, on which it has a
direct financial effect, whether or not the financial effect on
individual members of the public or the significant segment of the
public is the same as the impact on the other members of the public
or the significant segment of the public.
   (7) The Budget Bill as a whole is not nongeneral legislation.
   (8) Legislation that contains at least one provision that
constitutes nongeneral legislation is nongeneral legislation, even if
the legislation also contains other provisions that are general and
do not constitute nongeneral legislation.
87102.8.  (a) No elected state officer, as defined in subdivision
(f) of Section 14 of Article V of the California Constitution, shall
make or participate in the making of, or use his or her official
position to influence, any governmental decision before the agency in
which the elected state officer serves, where he or she knows or has
reason to know that he or she has a financial interest.
   (b) An elected state officer knows or has reason to know that he
or she has a financial interest in any action by, or a decision
before the agency in which he or she serves where either of the
following occur:
   (1) The action or decision will have a direct and significant
financial impact on a lobbyist employer from which the officer has
received any salary, wages, commissions, or similar earned income
within the preceding 12 months and the action or decision will not
have an impact on the public generally or a significant segment of
the public in a similar manner.
   (2) The action or decision will have a direct and significant
financial impact on any person, distinguishable from its impact on
the public generally or a significant segment of the public, from
whom the officer has received any compensation within the preceding
12 months for the purpose of appearing, agreeing to appear, or taking
any other action on behalf of that person, before any local board or
agency.
   (c) The definitions of "public generally" and "significant segment
of the public" contained in Section 87102.6 shall apply to this
section.
   (d) Notwithstanding Section 87102, the remedies provided in
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 83100) shall apply to violations
of this section.
87103.  A public official has a financial interest in a decision
within the meaning of Section 87100 if it is reasonably foreseeable
that the decision will have a material financial effect,
distinguishable from its effect on the public generally, on the
official, a member of his or her immediate family, or on any of the
following:
   (a) Any business entity in which the public official has a direct
or indirect investment worth two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more.
   (b) Any real property in which the public official has a direct or
indirect interest worth two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more.
   (c) Any source of income, except gifts or loans by a commercial
lending institution made in the regular course of business on terms
available to the public without regard to official status,
aggregating five hundred dollars ($500) or more in value provided or
promised to, received by, the public official within 12 months prior
to the time when the decision is made.
   (d) Any business entity in which the public official is a
director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or holds any position
of management.
   (e) Any donor of, or any intermediary or agent for a donor of, a
gift or gifts aggregating two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more in
value provided to, received by, or promised to the public official
within 12 months prior to the time when the decision is made.  The
amount of the value of gifts specified by this subdivision shall be
adjusted biennially by the commission to equal the same amount
determined by the commission pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
89503.
   For purposes of this section, indirect investment or interest
means any investment or interest owned by the spouse or dependent
child of a public official, by an agent on behalf of a public
official, or by a business entity or trust in which the official, the
official's agents, spouse, and dependent children own directly,
indirectly, or beneficially a 10-percent interest or greater.
87103.5.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 87103, a
retail customer of a business entity engaged in retail sales of goods
or services to the public generally is not a source of income to an
official who owns a 10-percent or greater interest in the entity if
the retail customers of the business entity constitute a significant
segment of the public generally, and the amount of income received by
the business entity from the customer is not distinguishable from
the amount of income received from its other retail customers.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 87103, in a
jurisdiction with a population of 10,000 or less which is located in
a county with 350 or fewer retail businesses, a retail customer of a
business entity engaged in retail sales of goods or services to the
public generally is not a source of income to an official of that
jurisdiction who owns a 10-percent or greater interest in the entity,
if the retail customers of the business entity constitute a
significant segment of the public generally, and the amount of income
received by the business entity from the customer does not exceed
one percent of the gross sales revenues that the business entity
earned during the 12 months prior to the time the decision is made.
   (c) For the purposes of subdivision (b):
   (1) Population in a jurisdiction shall be established by the
United States Census.
   (2) The number of retail businesses in a county shall be
established by the previous quarter's Covered Employment and Wages
Report (ES-202) of the Labor Market Information Division of the
California Employment Development Department.
87103.6.  Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 87103, any
person who makes a payment to a state agency or local government
agency to defray the estimated reasonable costs to process any
application, approval, or any other action, including but not limited
to, holding public hearings and evaluating or preparing any report
or document, shall not by reason of the payments be a source of
income to a person who is retained or employed by the agency.
87104.  (a) No public official of a state agency shall, for
compensation, act as an agent or attorney for, or otherwise
represent, any other person by making any formal or informal
appearance before, or by making any oral or written communication to,
his or her state agency or any officer or employee thereof, if the
appearance or communication is made for the purpose of influencing
action on a contract, grant, loan, license, permit, or other
entitlement for use.
   (b) For purposes of this section, a "public official" is any
person defined in Section 82048, and every member of any advisory
committee of a state agency, whether the committee is created by
statute or otherwise.
87104.  (a) No public official of a state agency shall, for
compensation, act as an agent or attorney for, or otherwise
represent, any other person by making any formal or informal
appearance before, or any oral or written communication to, his or
her state agency or any officer or employee thereof, if the
appearance or communication is for the purpose of influencing a
decision on a contract, grant, loan, license, permit, or other
entitlement for use.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "public official" includes a
member, officer, employee, or consultant of an advisory body to a
state agency, whether the advisory body is created by statute or
otherwise, except when the public official is representing his or her
employing state, local, or federal agency in an appearance before,
or communication to, the advisory body.
87105.  (a) A public official who holds an office specified in
Section 87200 who has a financial interest in a decision within the
meaning of Section 87100 shall, upon identifying a conflict of
interest or a potential conflict of interest and immediately prior to
the consideration of the matter, do all of the following:
   (1) Publicly identify the financial interest that gives rise to
the conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest in detail
sufficient to be understood by the public, except that disclosure of
the exact street address of a residence is not required.
   (2) Recuse himself or herself from discussing and voting on the
matter, or otherwise acting in violation of Section 87100.
   (3) Leave the room until after the discussion, vote, and any other
disposition of the matter is concluded, unless the matter has been
placed on the portion of the agenda reserved for uncontested matters.
   (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), a public official described in
subdivision (a) may speak on the issue during the time that the
general public speaks on the issue.
   (b) This section does not apply to Members of the Legislature.