DATE: November 28, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Hollis Magill, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: First Hearing of Proposed Amendment to County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 (Employees - Political Activity)
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct first hearing on an Ordinance amending Fresno County Ordinance Code Title 3 - Personnel, Chapter 3.08 - Civil Service System, - Section 3.08.110 - Employees - Political Activity by deleting Subsection (A)(5) prohibiting County officers and employees from directly or indirectly soliciting political funds or contributions, knowingly, from other County officers or employees or persons on the employment list of the County and making other non-substantive revisions; waive reading of Ordinance in its entirety; and set the second hearing for the adoption of the proposed Ordinance on December 12, 2023;
2. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary in accordance with Government Code, Section 25124(b)(1)
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will set a second hearing for the adoption of the proposed Ordinance, which amends Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 by deleting language that prohibits County officers and employees from directly or indirectly soliciting political funds or contributions, knowingly, from other County officers or employees or persons on the employment list of the County. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved by the Board, Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 will remain unchanged and the County would not be able to enforce Subsection (A)(5) because it does not conform to recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Ninth Circuit”) case law.
DISCUSSION:
On July 19, 2023, the Ninth Circuit determined that Government Code Section 3205 is unconstitutional (Progressive Democrats for Social Justice v. Rob Bonta, 73 F. 4th 1118 (9th Cir. 2023)). Government Code Section 3205 generally prohibits local government employees from soliciting political contributions from their coworkers.
Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 (Employees - Political Activity) currently contains similarly prohibitive language, which is based on Government Code Section 3205.
To conform the Fresno County Ordinance Code to Ninth Circuit case law, the Human Resources Department recommends that Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 be amended to:
1. Delete Subsection (A)(5) in its entirety, which prohibits County officers and employees from directly or indirectly soliciting political funds or contributions, knowingly, from other County officers or employees or persons on the employment list of the County;
2. Renumber Subsections (A)(6) and (A)(7) as Subsections (A)(5) and (A)(6), respectively; and
3. Replace “1aw” with “law” in the newly renumbered Subsection (A)(6) to correct an apparent misspelling.
The Proposed Ordinance before the Board makes no other substantive changes.
If the recommended actions are approved by the Board, the second hearing for the adoption of the proposed Ordinance will be scheduled for December 12, 2023.
The attached “redline” document shows the specific amendments to Subsection (A) of Section 3.08.110 that are in the proposed Ordinance, shown with complete text of Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 for context.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
Progressive Democrats, et. al v. Rob Bonta, 73 F 4th 1118 (9th Cir. 2023)
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Proposed Amendment - Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110
On file with Clerk - Ordinance Summary
Ordinance
CAO ANALYST:
Paige Benavides