Proposed Amended Conflict of Interest Code for Designated Employees of the Supreme Court of California

Length of comment period: 30 days.

Deadline: January 11, 2024, 11:59 p.m. PST

The Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code, § 81000 et seq.) requires public agencies to adopt conflict of interest codes for their officers and employees.  (Gov. Code, § 87300.)  A conflict of interest code is a document that states the rules and procedures by which designated officers and employees of a public agency must disclose certain personal financial interests and to disqualify themselves from certain decisions in order to identify and prevent conflicts of interest.  The financial interests required to be disclosed are those that foreseeably could be materially affected by decisions that these officers or employees are authorized to make or influence within the agency.  (Gov. Code, § 87302, subd. (a).)

Government Code section 87302 specifies that a conflict of interest code must:

• Designate the classifications of officers or employees who make or influence certain financial decisions (“designated classifications”);
• Identify the categories of financial interests that foreseeably may be affected by such decisions (“disclosure categories”);
• Require officers and employees to file periodic reports of their financial interests (“statements”); and
• Require officers and employees to disqualify themselves from decisions affecting matters in which they have a financial interest.

In addition, a conflict of interest code must be maintained and updated as necessary to ensure that the code’s list of designated classifications reflect all officers and employees within the agency whose duties require them to make decisions that could foreseeably have a material effect on certain economic interests.  (Gov. Code, § 87306, subd. (a).)  When such revisions are necessary, the proposed amendments to a conflict of interest code must be developed in a manner that allows officers and employees of the agency and members of the general public “adequate notice and a fair opportunity to present their views.”  (Gov. Code, § 87311.5, subd. (a).) Following receipt of this input and any further amendments to the proposed amended conflict of interest code that may then occur, the proposed amended code must be presented to the agency’s “code reviewing body” for approval.  (Gov. Code, §§ 87303, 87306.)

In accordance with the above requirements, the Supreme Court of California invites public comment on a proposed amended Conflict of Interest Code for Designated Employees of the Supreme Court of California for the eventual consideration and approval by the Chief Justice of California, who serves as the code reviewing body for this code.  (Gov. Code, § 82011, subd. (g).)  This code does not establish the disclosure and filing requirements for the justices of the Supreme Court, who are instead governed by the requirements of Government Code section 87200 et seq.

Appendix A of the attached proposed amended code lists, by job classification, those proposed employees who make or participate in the making of decisions within the court that may foreseeably have a material effect on certain economic interests and assigns each classification to one or more relevant disclosure categories.   Appendix B describes each disclosure category assigned in Appendix A.  Appendix C of the proposed amended code contains the instructions for how and when designated employees should disclose and file their statements of economic interests.

Access the proposed Amended Conflict of Interest Code for Designated Employees of the Supreme Court of California →

Comments may be submitted via email to coi.feedback@jud.ca.gov.  Any comments submitted will not be deemed confidential, but please indicate whether you wish your personal information, such as your name and email address, to be kept confidential.  The deadline to submit comments is January 11, 2024, 11:59 p.m. PST.

Original source can be found here.