‘Gag Order’ Silences Former Assemblyman

SACRAMENTO â€”  There’s a move at the state Capitol to “ungagâ€� Fred Aguiar, a new San Bernardino County supervisor who until last fall had been a state assemblyman from Chino.

Aguiar, like all politicians, is a jawsmith by profession. His ability to talk, debate and persuade is his stock and trade.

So imagine his surprise when he learned that state law barred him from calling and buttonholing his former colleagues in the Legislature for details about doings in Sacramento.

As Aguiar discovered, a 1990 state law aimed at slowing the revolving door between the Legislature and the capital lobbying corps bars ex-legislators from lobbying their former colleagues for one year after they leave office.

The law’s intent was to keep them from using their legislative contacts and knowledge of the system for the benefit of private clients.

Aguiar, worried that the law might apply to elected officials such as a county supervisor, asked the legislative counsel’s office for a legal opinion. The answer came back last fall:

“To the extent that a former member attempts to influence legislative action during the one-year period after he or she leaves office as part of his or her official duties as a member of the board of supervisors . . . he or she would violate the Milton Marks Postgovernment Restrictions Act of 1990. There is no exception.�

Case closed.

So now Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) is coming to Aguiar’s aid.

He has introduced legislation he dubs “The Ungag Aguiar Bill.� The measure would exempt former state legislators from the prohibition if they are elected to local offices and thus representing the public.

“I can’t believe he’s calling it that,� Aguiar said in an interview. “If I could talk to him, I’d give him hell.�

In a telephone interview later, Aguiar was reduced to asking a reporter for information about the status of Brulte’s bill, SB 104.

“Brulte and I can talk about personal stuff. We can talk about county issues,� Aguiar said. “But we can’t talk about state issues.�

Aguiar cannot ask Brulte what the proposed state budget promises for or takes from San Bernardino County. When the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors takes a position on legislation and writes a letter to the state on county letterhead, Aguiar’s name must be omitted from the list of supervisors.

Brulte ambled out of his Capitol office one day last week, having just spoken to Aguiar by phone.

“Our conversations are so stilted,� Brulte said, explaining the restrictions. “He ought to have the right to represent his constituents. California law should not deprive local citizens of having their voice heard.�

Brulte and Aguiar see the bill as part of the fallout from term limits. As legislators are forced to leave the Legislature, many run for boards of supervisors or mayor of their hometowns. And they all will want to be able to return to Sacramento to lobby.

The prohibition was overlooked in the past, Brulte believes. When legislators left for local office, they simply assumed they could pick up the phone and check with their old pals in Sacramento. Aguiar, a careful sort, simply thought to ask for a legal opinion to determine his rights.

Given the large number of termed-out legislators considering running for local office, the bill faces little if any opposition. The legislation zipped through its first committee last week without objection, and could come up for a vote in the state Senate as early as Monday.

In the Assembly, Democratic Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who is contemplating running for mayor of Los Angeles in 2001, is expected to keep special watch over the bill. Villaraigosa was coy about its chances, as well as its relevance to his future.

“I’m focused on being speaker,� he said, grinning.

For now, the legislation does not apply to former legislators who win congressional seats. But Brulte is considering amending it to apply to Rep. Steve Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes), who recently left the Assembly, and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), who left the state Senate. Both now serve in Congress.