Shall "the Clean Contracting Charter Amendment" Be Adopted?

• Official WWW Site

• campaign contributions, gifts, payments, or other consideration (hereinafter collectively referred to as "contribution" or "contributions") received from a party to the contract or the party's agents, and
• lobbying activity undertaken or paid by a party or the party's agents in the development, negotiations or making of the contract.

However, this is inconsistent with section 502, which requires disclosure of gifts and payments received only by Supervisors. Disclosures are required if the contributions were received from, or solicited on behalf of a Supervisor by, a party to the contract or the party's agents. It will be difficult, if not impossible, for Supervisors to know whether contributions they received were: (i) solicited on their behalf by a party to a contract since such solicited contributions would be from someone other than the party to the contract, (ii) from agents to the contracting party since there is no available method of identifying of all the party's agents, and (iii) from representatives of a "business entity" since there is no requirement that these persons register or identify themselves.

Proposed section 502.2 requires that the disclosures shall be included as an agenda item of, and be publicly announced during, a regular Board meeting that immediately precedes the meeting at which the Board makes contract decisions. The disclosure also must be posted on the County's internet site within 24 hours of being made public. Proposed section 502.3 requires the County to recover the costs to implement this measure by imposing a fee on bidders for service contracts. Proposed section
502.4 provides that any violation of the disclosure requirements shall: be a misdemeanor, void the Board's vote on the contract, void the contract approved by the Board, and permit taxpayers to commence a lawsuit to challenge the validity of a contract.

In summary, there will be difficulties with the implementation and enforcement of this initiative because the drafters did not consider numerous issues with the practical application of such a Charter provision.

KPBS San Diego Public Broadcasting

• City Gov. Insider and Outsider Team up for A 10/19/00
• Props A and B call for official's disclosure 10/24/00

Proposition B will shine the light of full public disclosure on influence peddling by special interests: all the secret meetings, campaign contributions, and gifts will be out in the open for the public to see. Read it for yourself.

Proposition B was placed on the ballot by petitions signed by 100,000+ voters to put an end to back room deals by requiring full public disclosure of contributions, gifts, and lobbying activities before county politicians vote on contracts for services. To stop Proposition B, the politicians and special interests created a "phony" alternative Proposition A.

Read them both. Proposition A attempts to deceive voters by appearing to fight corruption. But, Proposition A does nothing to fight corruption. Instead, buried in the fine print, is a "killer clause" that will nullify Proposition B even if it is passed by the voters!

Proposition B: the measure the politicians and special interests fear most.

• Proposition B requires full public disclosure of contributions, gifts and lobbying activities before a vote is taken on any contract for county services.
• Proposition B applies equally to any business, union or individual attempting to. influence the contracting process.
• Proposition B includes penalties for violators by making violations of the law a misdemeanor and voiding any contracts passed in violation of the law.
• Proposition B says contracts for services must be approved by a vote of the Board of Supervisors.
• Proposition B requires that its provisions be implemented at no cost to taxpayers.

Send a message to the special interests and politicians. YES on Proposition B!

STANLEY IMBER, Co-Chair Director, Region 8A, California Congress of Seniors

CHARLIE WILLIAMS, Common Cause of San Diego

BILL FARRAR, President, San Diego Police Officers Association

DUNCAN MC FETRIDGE, President, Save our Forest and Ranchland

HOWARD OWENS, Executive Director Consumer Federation of California

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association opposes Proposition B because it could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, reducing funds available for essential public services such as police and fire protection! What's more, Proposition B could increase the size of government and force the County to hire thousands of bureaucrats.

• The County Counsel states that nearly 1000 contract decisions now reviewed by professional staff must be approved by the politicians if Proposition B passes. This paperwork nightmare would create jammed public meeting agendas, thousands of hours in backlogs and delays in many essential County services.
• Proposition B does nothing to require lobbyists to report their gifts and contributions to county officials.
• The County's competitive bidding efforts save the taxpayers over $40 million annually. Proposition B could reverse these savings.
• The real motive of the public employees union pushing Proposition B is to halt the efficient delivery of public services by private and non-profit firms, requiring the hiring of thousands of more expensive union employees.

VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B. IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE!

APRIL BOLING, CPA, President, San Diego County Taxpayers Association

GARY STEPHANY Vice President, Healthcare Association of San Diego

HECTOR MOLINA, Vice President, San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

CAROLYN CHASE, Editor, sdearthtimes. com

BARRY NEWMAN, Deputy Foreman, 1999-2000 San Diego County Grand Jury

• Proposition B could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, resulting in less funding for services such as police and fire protection, after-school programs and senior nutrition services.
• Proposition B could result in the hiring of thousands of County bureaucrats.
• The County Counsel's independent analysis states that Proposition B will bring the politicians into almost 1000 contract decisions that are currently reviewed by professional staff, creating a backlog and delays in services.
• It goes too far Proposition B requires the cancellation of successful contracts if even insignificant gifts are mistakenly not reported. Taxpayers would be liable for millions of dollars in legal judgments.
• Proposition B is poorly written and has a huge loophole it does nothing to require lobbyists to report gifts and campaign contributions.

VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION B IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE!

SCOTT BARNETT, C. P. A. Executive Director, San Diego County Taxpayers Association

APRIL BOLING, Vice President, San Diego County Taxpayers Association

CAROLYN CHASE, Editor, www. sdearthtimes.com

BARRY NEWMAN, Deputy Foreman, 1999-2000 San Diego County Grand Jury

The best answer to the opponents' scare tactics is to READ PROPOSITION B FOR YOURSELF.

• Will, B "cost taxpayers millions"? No. B (Section 502.3) says there will be NO COST TO TAXPAYERS.
• Will B cause "hiring of thousands of County bureaucrats"? To do what? To handle the disclosure reports of five County Supervisors detailing lobbying activities, campaign contributions and gifts of businesses and unions supporting or opposing County contracts?
• Will B force County politicians to vote on "almost 1000 contract decisions"? YES. We have a full-time Board of Supervisors. We elect them to vote publicly and be accountable for how they spend our tax dollars. B MEANS NO MORE BACK ROOM DEALS.
• Does B "go too far"? Obviously the opponents think so. Why? Because B makes violations a misdemeanor and requires contracts approved in violation of the law to be voided.

• Does B have a "huge loophole" that fails to require disclosure of gifts and campaign contributions? Of course not. B REQUIRES DISCLOSURE OF GIFTS, CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOBBYING ACTIVITIES (Sections 502; 502.1).

Tell the lobbyists and politicians we won't be manipulated by their scare tactics.

Vote Yes on Proposition B!

DEREK EVANS, President, Burlingame Neighborhood Association

STANLEY IMBER, Co-Chair, Common Cause of San Diego County

CHARLIE WILLIAMS, Director, Region 8A, Congress of California Seniors

BILL FARRAR, President, San Diego Police Officers Association

JAMES SHEPHERD, President, North County Small Business Association

The people of the County of San Diego hereby ordain as follows:

SECTION 1. Statement of Intent The voters of the County of San Diego find that:

(a) The Clean Contracting Charter Amendment will serve as a deterrent to any company or individual seeking to unfairly influence the awarding of County contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

(b) The Clean Contracting Charter Amendment protects against corruption by requiring members of the Board of Supervisors to publicly disclose any campaign contribution, gift, payment, or other consideration received by themselves or their family members from any party to a contract which turns delivery of a public service over to a private business.

(c) The Clean Contracting Charter Amendment further protects against corruption by requiring members of the Board to disclose any lobbying activities by the special interests seeking these contracts and who are attempting to influence the decision of the Board of Supervisors.

(d) The Clean Contracting Charter Amendment assures full public scrutiny by requiring that the disclosure be made in public well before the Board of Supervisors takes any action on a contract turning public services over to private interests.

(e) San Diego County's Board of Supervisors is considering plans that involve turning hundreds of millions of dollars in public services over to private corporations.

(f) Whenever that much money is at stake, it is important to protect taxpayers against even the appearance of political corruption in the decisions made by elected officials.

(g) The implementation of the Clean Contracting Charter Amendment should be implemented by the County at no cost to the taxpayers. Any costs resulting from this amendment should be borne by the businesses seeking these contracts with the County.

SECTION 2. Amendment of Charter

The following is added to Article V of the Charter for the County of San Diego:

Section 502. Disclosure of Campaign Contributions and Gifts No member of the Board of Supervisors shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to influence a County decision to approve, amend or extend any contract subject to this Article unless the member has publicly disclosed any campaign contribution, gift, payment or other consideration the member has received from any business entity, labor union or individual that is a party or the agent of any party to the contract. Section 502.1. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Prior to rendering any decision in a proceeding involving a contract subject to this Article, the members of the Board of Supervisors shall publicly disclose any lobbying activity undertaken or paid for by any business entity, labor union or individual which is a party or the agent of a party in the development, negotiations or making of the contract.

Section 502.2. Disclosure Requirements

The public disclosure required by Sections 502 and 502.1 shall include, but not be limited to, the following actions:

(a) The Board of Supervisors shall make the disclosure available to the public at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board that immediately precedes the meeting at which the Board will make any decisions concerning a contract subject to this Article. The disclosures shall appear as an item on the agenda of the meeting and the Clerk of the Board shall read the required disclosure into the public record at the appointed time during the meeting.

(b) The disclosure shall appear in the official minutes of any meeting at which the required disclosure is made public.

(c) The disclosure also shall be attached to and circulated with the agenda for the meeting at which the Board will vote on a contract subject to this Article.

(d) Any changes in the information disclosed in compliance with this Article that occur before any decision is made by the Board of Supervisors concerning the contract shall be reported to the Clerk of the Board, and the Clerk shall read such changes in to the record of the Board meeting immediately prior to such decision.

(e) The disclosures required by this Article shall be posted on any web page or other similar Internet site maintained by the County within 24 hours of being made public and shall be clearly accessible from the home page of the site.

Section 502.3. No Cost to Taxpayers

The amendments to the Charter of the County of San Diego shall be implemented without direct costs to the taxpayers of the County. Any cost to the County resulting from the Charter amendments set forth in this Article shall be recovered by the imposition of a fee on bidders for contracts for county services to which the disclosure provisions of Section 502 and 502.1 would apply. Such fees shall be calculated in an amount not to exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the County for such costs and shall be expended only for such purposes.

Section 502.4. Violations

(a) Any violation of the provisions set forth in Section 2 is a misdemeanor.

(b) A vote cast in violation of sections 502, 502.1 or 502.2 of this charter shall be void and shall not be counted by the clerk.

(c) Any contract approved by a vote that included the vote of a member of the Board of Supervisors who has violated these provisions is void.

(d) No provision of this charter shall be construed to prevent a taxpayer from commencing an action to determine the validity of any contract entered into by the County which is alleged to be in violation of the provisions of section 502 through 502.2.

Section 502.5. Definitions

For purposes of this Article, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) "Contribution" means any contribution as defined by Government Code section 82015 and 2 U. S. C. section 431( 8) received by any member of the Board of Supervisors either as a candidate for local, state or federal office or as a member of the Board. "Contribution" includes any contribution solicited on behalf of a member of the Board by any business entity, labor union or individual who is a party or the agent of a party to a contract subject to this Article.

(b) "Gift" means any gift as defined by Government Code section 82028. "Gift" includes any gift solicited on behalf of a member of the Board by any business entity, labor union or individual who is a party, or the agent of a party, to a contract subject to this Article. "Gift" includes a gift to the spouse or dependent children of a member of the Board of Supervisors.

(c) "Payment" means any payment as defined in Government Code section
82044. "Payment" includes any payment solicited on behalf of a member of the Board by any business entity, labor union or individual who is a party, or the agent of a party, to a contract subject to this Article. "Payment" includes a payment to the spouse or dependent children of a member of the Board of Supervisors.

(d) "Other consideration" means anything of electoral value, including, but not limited to: any participation on a campaign committee or finance committee that supports a candidate for, or member of, the Board of Supervisors; any offer of any future campaign contribution, payment, gift or employment; or any election endorsement of a candidate for, or member of, the Board of Supervisors.

(e) "Lobbying activity" means activity intended to influence the decisions of the Board concerning a contract, including, but not limited to, promoting, supporting, influencing, modifying, opposing or delaying by any means, including, but not limited to, the provision or use of information, statistics, studies or analyses.

(f) "Business entity" means any business entity as defined by Government Code section 82005. In the case of a corporation, these provisions apply to the corporation, its officers, employees or other individuals acting as agents of the corporation, and major shareholders. A major shareholder is any shareholder owning 10% or more of the stock of the corporation. "Corporation" includes any consortium or other combination of corporations with other corporations, partnerships or individuals. In the case of a partnership, these provisions apply to the partnership, its partners, officers, employees or other individuals acting as agents of the partnership. In the case of a limited liability company, these provisions apply to the limited liability company, its members, officers, employees or other individuals acting as agents of the limited liability company.

(g) "Labor union" means a labor organization.

(h) "Individual" means any individual acting on behalf of themselves or as agents for others.

(i) "Agent" means any business entity, labor union or individual which represents a business entity, labor union or individual who is a party in a contract subject to this Article, including but not limited to any lobbyist, attorney, public relations firm or media personnel employed or contracted with to influence any decision made by the Board of Supervisors concerning a contract.

(i) "Solicited" means asked, requested or suggested, whether orally or in writing.

(j) "Candidate" means a candidate for local, state or federal office.

(k) "Party" means any business entity, labor union or individual who seeks to enter into a contract with the County, including any business entity, labor union or individual who is involved in the negotiation, development or making of a contract.

(l) "Contract" means any contract for services, including any modification or extension of an existing contract, when the services are of the type performed by employees of the County, the services have been performed by employees of the County, or the services are performed by employees of the County as of the operative date of sections 502-502.3.

(m) "Disclosure" as required by this Amendment includes but is not limited to the date, place, cost and name of parties engaged in lobbying activities and the date, amount or value, and name of parties making contributions, gifts, payments or giving other considerations subject to this Amendment.

Section 502.6. Approval

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter any contract subject to this Article cannot be entered into without a vote of the Board of Supervisors.

Section 1008 is added to Article X to provide as follows:

SECTION 3. Operative Date

These amendments to the Charter of the County of San Diego shall be effective the first day of the month following the month of adoption by the voters.

SECTION 4. Amendment of County Code, Administrative Code, and Regulatory Ordinances of the County of San Diego

The Board of Supervisors is directed to adopt amendments to the County Code, Administrative Code and regulatory ordinances of the County of San Diego as may be necessary to conform existing provisions to the amendments to the Charter for the County of San Diego set forth in Section 2.

SECTION 5. Severability

If any provision of this Charter amendment, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this Charter amendment to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this Charter amendment are severable.

SECTION 6. Amendment

This Charter shall be amended only by the voters of San Diego County.