TITLE
Recommendation to request City Clerk and City Attorney for a report on Long Beach Campaign Reform Act; and request City Attorney to convene a Closed Session to discuss litigation in Chamber of Commerce vs. City of Long Beach.
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Campaign Reform Act, known as Proposition M, is a citizen's initiative adopted by the voters of Long Beach in 1994 to; in part:
A. Insure that individuals and interest groups in Long Beach have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in Municipal elective and governmental processes.
B. Reduce the influence of large contributors with a specific financial stake in matters before the City Council, thus countering the perception that decisions are influenced more by the size of contributions than the best interests of the people of the City.
It was recently reported by the local media that the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce has filed suit in federal court to overturn the will of the voters, which as cited in the Prop M ordinance is, "To help restore public trust in local governmental and electoral institutions." If successful, this challenge to a citizen's initiative would have a chilling effect by limiting the ability to communicate views and positions adequately to the public without excessive expenditures or contributions, thereby negating public discussion of the important issues.
I would like to request a report on the intent and enforcement of Prop M. I would also like to convene a closed session, if necessary and permitted by the Brown Act, to discuss the Chamber's a suit against the City of Long Beach.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.