Bill would ban lobbyists for sexual harassment

Plan would require the state Fair Political Practices Commission to probe complaints.

SACRAMENTO — Any California registered lobbyist found to have committed sexual harassment could be banned from similar work for up to four years under a plan introduced Tuesday at the state Capitol.

“We need to protect people throughout the Capitol community from harassment and hold perpetrators accountable,” Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) said. “The scope of sexual harassment expands beyond the Legislature and we have a duty to protect the entire community.”

Levine’s bill would require the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which oversees much of the regulation of lobbying, to investigate sexual harassment complaints made against individuals who are registered to lobby state officials. The ban for those found guilty could, in some cases, be imposed for as long as four years.

Last week, legislative officials revealed documents related to 18 sexual harassment investigations since early 2006 in which the allegations had been validated in some way or discipline was imposed. None of those documents, however, pertained to lobbyists.

Two charts that officials provided to The Times showed as many as 12 individuals listed in allegations involving “lobbyists and others,” but no details were provided in those reports. It was unclear whether those allegations were supported by investigation efforts or dismissed.

Levine’s proposal, Assembly Bill 2055, doesn’t detail how the state’s ethics agency would investigate or pass judgment on allegations. A spokesperson for the lawmaker said in an email the bill will soon include a provision requiring that the findings of the investigations be made public.