LA Councilwoman Raman seeks action on lobbying reforms

Councilwoman Nithya Raman Tuesday filed a motion to have the Los Angeles City Council adopt lobbying reforms presented by the city’s Ethics Commission but placed on the back burner by former Council President Nury Martinez.

The proposal seeks to make lobbying efforts more transparent and limit financial ties between lobbyists and city officials, the motion states.

The commission sent the council recommended updates to the city’s Municipal Lobbying Ordinance in April, but Martinez never placed the report on the council’s agenda.

According to Raman’s motion, the city council also didn’t take any action to the Ethics Commission’s last two proposed amendments to the ordinance — in 2008 and 2016.

Raman also called to further strengthen the commission’s proposal by:

— eliminating the expansion of exemptions beyond current law;

— prohibiting lobbying entities from fundraising for and contributing to candidates and elected officials.

— requiring lobbyists disclose themselves and their client during communications with city personnel.

— maintaining lobbying records for at least five years, and changing the Ethics Commission’s statute of limitations to five years.

The motion is a response to the City Hall racism scandal which led to Martinez’s resignation and “deepened a lack of public trust in city officials and brought into sharp focus the need for the city to take decisive action to ensure accountability at all levels of city government,” according to the motion.

Martinez resigned from the council following the leak of an October 2021 recorded conversation she participated in that included racist comments and discussions over favorable redistricting.

Ron Herrera resigned as president of the LA County Federation of Labor because of his participation in the conversation. Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo also participated in the conversation but have defied widespread calls to resign.

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