Los Angeles City Council committee takes steps on ethics reform at City Hall

A Los Angeles City Council committee on Thursday, April 18 moved forward a series of proposed changes to the city charter intended to bolster the independence of the Ethics Commission and enhance its enforcement powers.

The Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform voted 6-0 in favor of the changes, which include doubling the penalties for violations of the city’s Ethics Code; increasing the size of the five-member Ethics Commission to seven with the additional members appointed by the commission; bolstering its independence; and tightening conflict of interest rules. Councilwoman Traci Park, who sits on the committee, was absent during the vote.

Council President Paul Krekorian, who chairs the committee, said the proposal will now move to the full council. If approved, council members will instruct the City Attorney’s Office to draft any necessary documents to effectuate the changes, which would then need to be approved by voters, possibly in November.

“…We do need to move things forward in order to meet our time deadlines (for a November vote),” Krekorian said. “Even more important, perhaps, is that the things we discuss here, once they’re put into ordinance or charter language, the public has to have an opportunity to evaluate that as well and provide additional comments. Then we’ll vote on that.”

He added, “I want us to move forward because we have to stay on pace.”

The proposed changes were developed after consulting with members of the Ethics Commission and representatives of Common Cause, a government watchdog group. Of the 16 proposed changes, the committee revised four.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the council’s budget committee, opposed a plan to establish a minimum budget for the Ethics Commission, citing concerns with “ballot box budgeting.” Krekorian had proposed a $6.5 million annual budget — based on city revenue — that would be independent of the council to ensure no one had the power to slash the Ethics Commission’s funding in retaliation for their work.

Another point of contention, for Blumenfield, was a provision to allow the Ethics Commission to continue hiring amid a hiring freeze. He noted that if there’s a “hiring freeze, there’s a damn good reason” for it.

Krekorian defended his proposal by saying the Ethics Commission has taken up more responsibilities since it was first established in 1990.

“I just think that for the relatively small portion of the budget that the Ethics Commission takes us, avoiding that risk is important and the number, I know, seems like an odd number,” Krekorian said. “It was based on historical budgets over recent years.”

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez supported Krekorian’s reasoning, but recommended a slightly higher budget.

Jeffery Daar, president of the Ethics Commission, argued that it was important, in part, to establish an independent budget because it would address concerns surrounding public perception.

“This commission is in a position by charter where we don’t want the appearance that any of us or any of the council members are perceived to be taking action that’s protective of some interests based on what they may or may not do to do the Ethics Commission’s budget,” Daar said.

Blumenfield had introduced an amendment to remove that proposal, swapping it with a plan to have the mayor and council allocate funding to the Ethics Commission at least one year in advance. It failed in a 3-3 vote, and ultimately the original plan moved forward.

Committee members also amended the proposal to update fines for violating ethics laws from what is currently $5,000 per fine to $15,000 per fine, as well as shortening a deadline for making an appointment to fill a vacancy on the Ethics Commission from 120 days to 90 days. Additionally, there had been a call to eliminate an existing 10-year term limit for the executive director of the Ethics Commission, but it failed to pass.

Councilmember Nithya Raman had questioned that specific change on the term limit. She believed the council should consider keeping or revising the term limit as a safety measure, which some of her colleagues agreed with.

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.