Ethics Panel OKs Looser Fine Policy

Despite objections that politicians would be let off too easily, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission tentatively agreed Tuesday to allow city candidates to avoid fines for some campaign finance violations if they quickly return the excess contributions.

The panel asked its staff to draft the policy and five other changes in ethics laws into ordinance form for final approval by the Ethics Commission next month before the rules are sent to the City Council.

Commission President Gil Garcetti said that allowing campaigns to return small amounts of excess contributions to fix violations would be “more just” and would allow “the staff to focus on our priorities, including money laundering and public corruption cases, rather than on some of these technical, more inconsequential mistakes.”

The panel put off a decision on what amount of excess contributions could be returned.

Paul Ryan of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles said the proposal might work with small violations, involving $20 to $100. But he opposed allowing candidates to return larger amounts.

“It lets the politicians off too easily,” Ryan said.

The panel also voted preliminary support for banning city commissioners from raising funds for independent expenditure campaigns, expanding a recent law that barred commissioners from raising money directly for candidates.

“I think there is a loophole there,” Garcetti said.

Councilwomen Wendy Greuel and Cindy Miscikowski introduced a motion to the City Council on Tuesday to ban fundraising by commissioners for independent expenditure campaigns, in which special interests pay for fliers or ads to benefit a candidate without the candidate’s involvement.

The Ethics Commission also endorsed a proposal by Councilman Bernard C. Parks that would prohibit the appointment of people to city commissions if they have been raising funds for city candidates in the months before the action. The panel’s staff will propose how long that period should be.

The Ethics Commission also agreed to give Mayor James K. Hahn some leeway in using political contributions to pay for tickets to the Grammys, Academy Awards and other events.