CC 02-02-2021 Item No. 16 Lobbying Ordinance_Staff PresentationFebruary 2, 2021Lobbying OrdinanceCC 02-02-2021 Item No. 16 Amended
Background•Requested by Mayor Paul and Vice Mayor Chao on November 2, 2020•Lobbying Ordinances in Santa Clara County•City of Santa Clara•City of San Jose•Santa Clara County•City of Milpitas (limited to lobbying on behalf of the City)•City of Palo Alto (focused on cable television)
Proposed Ordinance•Regulates lobbyists seeking to influence City decisions•Register and pay a registration and client fee•Disclose their identity and clients when lobbying a City official or at a City public meeting•File a report of lobbying activities with the City Clerk’s Office twice a year
Lobbyists•Includes: contract lobbyists, business/organization lobbyists, expenditure lobbyists•Exemptions such as:•Public officials•Those in media/news (unless a contract lobbyist)•Those reimbursed only for reasonable travel, meals, and incidentals•Those only providing testimony at City public meetings (unless otherwise considered a lobbyist)•Recognized employee organizations•Nonprofits (unless compensation for the specific topic)•Business owners (subject to certain limitations)•Those solely providing “whistleblower” complaints
Registration•Required registration and annual renewal •Required disclosures•Contact and business information•Client information•Issues the lobbyist is seeking to influence•Payments received for lobbying services•Fees/Fines•Registration and renewal fees•Client fee for each client in which compensation exceeds $500•Late fine $25/day
Reporting•Reports due to City Clerk’s Office by July 15 and January 15 each year•Reporting requirements included:•Information required at registration•Any payments to lobbyists for services rendered to the City, City officials, City officials-elect or their controlled committees/ballot measure committees•Other options:•Payments made by lobbyists•Lobbyist campaign contributions•Lobbyist donations made on behalf of City officials
Comparison of FeesJurisdictionRegistered LobbyistsInitial Registration FeeRenewal FeeLate Registration Fine Client Registration FeeLate Lobbyist Report Fine*City of Santa Clara68$745 $745 $25/day $128/client N/ASanta Clara County22$180 $60 $60/day N/A $10/day City of San Jose199$239 $239 5% of unpaid fee/day$81/client $10/day*Late lobbyist report fine is not proposed for Cupertino but can be included at the direction of Council
Implementation & Enforcement•Operative July 1, 2021•Development of the registration and report submittal process•Analysis to determine appropriate fees for adoption at the annual fee schedule update in April•Inclusion in the City’s records retention schedule•Enforcement: General Penalty provisions•Lessons learned from other cities•Ongoing ~100 staff hours/yr with more for set up•Enforcement is challenging•Facilitating lobbyist identification at teleconference meetings can be challenging
Recommended Action•Conduct the first reading of Ordinance No. 21-2222: “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Cupertino Adding Chapter 2.100 (“Regulation of Lobbying Activities”) to Title 2 (“Administration and Personnel”) of the Cupertino Municipal Code,” which includes a finding that adoption of the ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.