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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday will consider placing ethics reforms on the ballot for November's election.
Council members will vote on a series of proposed changes to the city charter intended to ensure the Ethics Commission is more independent and enhance its enforcement powers. The council's Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics Reforms previously approved changes in April.
Highlights of the proposal includes a proposed $6.5 million annual budget that would be funded through city revenue; updated fines for violating ethics laws from $5,000 per fine to $15,000 per fine; shortening a deadline for making an appointment to fill a vacancy on the Ethics Commission from 90 days to 30 days; and allowing the commission to hire and operate within its own budget amid hiring freezes. Additionally, the proposal would increase the size of the commission from five to seven members.
The proposal was developed in partnership with Council President Paul Krekorian's office, Ethics Commission and representatives of Common Cause, a government watchdog group.
The proposed changes to the city charter would need to be approved by voters. The committee was created in November 2022 after the leaked recording in which three council members were caught discussing ways to redraw districts in their favor.
As part of the item, the council would also look to establish a Charter Reform Commission, which would be tasked with reviewing the entirety of the city charter, and update specific areas of the city charter as referred to them by the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform and the City Council.
The commission would have 13 members -- four appointed by the mayor, two appointed by the council president; and another two appointed by the council president pro tempore. The eight appointed members would then begin an application process and develop criteria to appoint the remaining members. The five additional members would be subject to council approval.
Council members would also instruct city staff to ensure funding for the commission and staffing needs in the 2024-25 fiscal budget.
Three former city council members have been indicted for charges related to corruption, among other crimes, including Mark Ridley-Thomas, Jose Huizar, and Mitch Englander. City Councilman Curren Price is currently facing charges of theft by embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest -- and has vehemently maintained his innocence and denies any wrongdoing.
Price also faces accusations of 21 violations of city ethics laws for voting on several projects and other matters connected to his wife, Del Richardson Price. Also facing multiple ethics violations is Councilman John Lee.
Last year, the Ethics Commission accused Lee of violating governmental ethics laws by allegedly accepting and failing to report excessive gifts, including some received during a trip to Las Vegas in 2017 he took with Englander, who pleaded guilty in 2020 to lying to federal investigators looking into his alleged receipt of excessive cash and gifts.
Lee was Englander's chief of staff prior to being elected to the City Council. The councilman has also maintained his innocence and has taken steps to fight against the accusations.
While the proposal has garnered support from some council members, government groups such as CA Clean Money, League of Women Voters of LA, RepresentUs LA, Unrig LA, and Common Cause LA have urged for stronger ethics reforms.
These groups support an increase to the minimum budget the Ethics Commission would receive, a provision to force City Council to act on reform and empower the commission to place ordinances on the ballot. They also oppose that the mayor, council president and pro tempore appoint members to the Charter Reform Commission.
The commission should be independent similar to how the Independent Redistricting Commission will be -- the entity tasked with setting boundaries for the city's districts. Similar to their recommendation for the Ethics Commission, the group is calling on the council to empower the charter reform entity to place proposals directly on the ballot for voters to decide.