DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Hollis Magill, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: Second Hearing and Adoption of Proposed Amendment to County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 (Employees - Political Activity)
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Conduct second hearing and adopt 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; and waive reading of the Ordinance in its entirety.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will adopt the Ordinance amending the Fresno County Ordinance Code Section 3.08.110 by deleting language that prohibits County officers or 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. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is 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 p...
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