Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 2.03 Hawthorne Transparency, Disclosure, and Accountability Reform Act

In order to promote transparency, accountability, and full disclosure of attempts to influence city officials making decisions on legislative, administrative, and quasi-judicial matters, the reporting of and disclosure of certain communications by city officials shall be required.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)

For the purpose of carrying out the intent of this chapter, words, phrases and terms used herein shall have their ordinary meaning, unless otherwise indicated as follows:

"Administrative action"

means the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat of any rule, regulation, policy, or other action in any proceeding that will apply generally to a group or class of persons.

"City elected or appointed official"

means any person who holds an elective office of the city and any person who holds an appointed office as a city commissioner.

"City official"

shall mean a city elected official and any city officer or employee whose duties are not primarily clerical or manual.

"Ex parte communication"

shall mean any direct communication between an interested person and a city elected official or a city elected official's agents, employees or representatives, attempting to influence administrative, legislative, or quasi-judicial action that is not public testimony or made part of the public record. The following are not ex parte communications: (1) any communication between a staff member acting in his or her official capacity and any city elected or appointed official or interested person; (2) any communication which occurs on the record during an official proceeding of a state or local agency that involves a city elected or appointed official who also serves as an official of that agency.

"Influencing official action"

means promoting, supporting, influencing, modifying, opposing, or delaying any administrative, legislative, or quasi-judicial action by any means, including, but not limited to, the provision or use of information, statistics, studies or analyses.

"Interested person"

means: (1) any person who engages in promoting, supporting, influencing, modifying, opposing or delaying any administrative, legislative, or quasi-judicial action; (2) any person with a financial interest in any administrative, legislative, or quasi-judicial action; or (3) any person who acts as an agent or representative of any person listed in No. 1 and 2 in the definition of "interested person."

"Legislative action"

means the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat of any city ordinance including, without limitation, any amendment to the city's general plan.

"Public testimony"

means an appearance at a public meeting of the city council, any subcommittee of the city council, or any city agency or commission.

"Quasi-judicial action"

means the consideration or re-consideration of the granting or denial of any permit, grant, license or other entitlement of use, and the awarding, granting or denial of any city contract for the purchase, sale, or provision of property, goods or services by or for the city or any agency of the city.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)

A city elected or appointed official shall disclose the identity of the interested person for all ex parte communications regarding quasi-judicial matters pending before the city council or a city commission as follows:

A. For ex parte communications that occur prior to the day that the agenda is posted for the next board or commission meeting, the city elected or appointed official shall notify the city clerk of the agenda item and identity of the interested person who engaged in the ex parte communication and that information shall be noted on the agenda under the agenda item to which the ex parte communication relates.

B. For ex parte communications that occur on the day the agenda is posted and through the day of the city council or city commission meeting, the city elected or appointed official shall verbally notify the city clerk and the public of the identity of the interested person prior to the agenda item being addressed by the city council or commission during the public meeting of the city council or commission.

C. The city council shall adopt a standard disclosure form or forms for reporting ex parte communications which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following information: 1) the date, time, and location of the communication; 2) the identity of the persons initiating and receiving the communication; and 3) a description of the content of the communication, including, without limitation, the complete text of document that was part of the communication.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)

No interested person shall:

A. Do anything with the purpose of placing any city official under personal obligation to the interested person.

B. Deceive or attempt to deceive any city official with regard to any material fact pertinent to any pending or proposed legislative, administrative, or quasi-judicial action.

C. Attempt to create a fictitious appearance of public favor or disfavor of any proposed legislative, administrative, or quasi-judicial action or to cause any communication to be sent to any city official in the name of any fictitious person or in the name of any real person, except with the consent of such real person.

D. Represent falsely, either directly or indirectly, that the interested person can control the official action of any city official.

E. Accept or agree to accept any payment in any way contingent upon the defeat, enactment, or outcome of any proposed legislative, administrative, or quasi-judicial action.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)

Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter may be enforced pursuant to Chapter 1.20 of the Hawthorne Municipal Code.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)

The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

(Ord. 2202 § 1, 2020)