San Bernardino County adopts lobbyist registration ordinance on unanimous vote
Ordinance No. 4517, adopted Aug. 18, requires people paid at least $1,000 a month to lobby county officials to register with the county, and directs that the forms be posted online.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 18 adopted an ordinance requiring paid lobbyists to register with the county.
Ordinance No. 4517 passed 5-0 as Item 74 (file 14774) on the consent calendar. Supervisor Joe Baca Jr. made the motion and Supervisor Curt Hagman seconded.
The ordinance was introduced Aug. 4 as Item 103, also on consent. That vote was 4-0 with Hagman absent, according to the county's roll call record.
Who has to register
The ordinance adds a new Division 11 to Title 1 of the county code.
It defines a county lobbyist as any individual, firm or organization paid $1,000 or more in any calendar month to lobby, not counting reimbursement for reasonable expenses.
Lobbying is defined as communicating directly with a county official in an attempt to influence legislative, administrative or quasi-judicial action. That covers contact in person, by phone, in writing or electronically.
County officials, under the ordinance, include supervisors and their non-administrative staff, other elected county officers, the chief executive officer, department heads and members of county boards and commissions.
Several kinds of contact are excluded. Among them are on-the-record comments at public meetings, requests for information, bids or responses when the county solicits goods or services, and communications by elected officials or public employees acting in an official capacity.
Lobbyists the county itself hires to advocate at the state or federal level fall outside the definition.
What the rules require
A lobbyist must register within 10 days of meeting the definition, the ordinance says. The form asks for the lobbyist's name and contact information and the same details for each client.
Changes must be reported within 10 days. Registrations are to be renewed annually by Jan. 15, starting in 2027.
The Clerk of the Board is directed to post every registration form on a county website open to the public.
The ordinance also lists prohibited acts. A lobbyist may not deceive a county official about a material fact, claim to be able to control an official's action, or contact officials in the name of a nonexistent person. Gifts or contributions that violate state or federal law are also barred.
Cost and timing
The County Counsel staff report says adoption does not require discretionary general fund money and describes the code changes as non-financial.
The ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption.
The text reviewed does not set out penalties for failing to register.