SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The state Senate has approved a bill that would ban lobbyists from hosting fundraisers at their homes and offices after one firm was slapped with a record fine.
Lawmakers on Monday passed SB1441 by Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens on a 33-0 vote. It now moves to the Assembly.
Lara, who is leading a Senate ethics task force, says lawmakers don’t always know if a fundraiser at a lobbyist’s home exceeds the current $500 limit. He says such fundraisers do not further the work of elected officials and only create ambiguity.
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The Fair Political Practices Commission fined lobbyist Kevin Sloat’s firm $133,500 in February after investigating the fundraisers.
A similar bill, AB1673 by Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, is in the Senate after passing the Assembly.
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