SACRAMENTO — The state ethics watchdog Thursday made it tougher for politicians to use campaign funds to enhance their lifestyles.
New rules imposed by the Fair Political Practices Commission will force politicians to publicly explain how meals, gifts and out-of-state travel paid for with campaign money are connected to political or governmental business.
The panel's unanimous vote comes four months after The Times revealed that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) spent tens of thousands of dollars from special interests and other political donors on overseas travel, meals, wine and high-end retail goods with no obvious connection to his official duties. The new regulations will take effect for campaign expenditures after July 1.
The commission reported receiving 2,043 letters and 74 phone calls from the public supporting adoption of the new rules -- an unprecedented response to its usually obscure actions. Most were form letters sent by customers of CREDO Mobile, a phone company that urges customers each month to weigh in on state and national issues.
The letters asked the commission to "stop elected officials' misuse of campaign funds."
"Consumers and citizens care about this stuff," said CREDO President Michael Kieschnick, "but they're not usually asked about it in a way they can respond."
State law requires politicians to spend the money they get from corporations, unions, private citizens and other donors in ways "reasonably" related to political or governmental purposes. But they have not had to prove the connection in the periodic spending reports they must make public. Campaign expenditures have simply been grouped under broad categories such as "office expenses," "meetings and appearances" and "candidate travel."
Commission Chairman Ross Johnson, a former Republican legislator from Orange County, said the law was "meaningless" unless more information was required.
The new regulations will require elected officials to name people for whom they buy gifts with campaign funds and describe the nature of gifts. They must also provide the dates and destinations of out-of-state travel, and disclose whether campaign funds were used to pay for the travel costs of family members or staff.
The rules also require politicians to disclose the number of people at a meal and whether family or staff were among the diners. For all gift, travel and meal expenditures, politicians must "briefly describe the political, legislative or governmental purpose of the expenditure."
