Caltrans, gas tax backers working closely
“Clearly the agency was trying to coordinate with the campaign, and they shouldn’t have.”
SACRAMENTO >> As the political battle to overturn California’s gas tax increase intensified, the state transportation agency coordinated frequently with the public affairs firm working to block the repeal on behalf of unions, construction companies and local government groups, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.
The California State Transportation Agency and Sacramentobased Bicker, Castillo & Fairbanks organized news conferences and other efforts to promote legislation to raise the tax to fund road and bridge repairs, which passed the Legislature in April 2017. After Gov. Jerry Brown signed it, the agency and firm continued planning events and coordinating social media posts as opponents gathered signatures for repeal.
Three ethics experts interviewed by the AP said the emails raise concerns that the agency’s relationship with the firm was too close, but none saw a clear violation of campaign laws, which prohibit the use of public resources for political campaigns.
The repeal qualified for the November ballot in June. The firm, BCF, continues to work for the anti-repeal coalition, which includes the League of California Cities and the California Chamber of Commerce.
Some communications between BCF and the state agency involved politics, according to more than 200 emails from 2017 and the first half of this year obtained by the AP through the California Public Records Act.
Last fall, the agency and firm discussed opinion pieces “targeting” U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa and three other vulnerable Republicans in Congress. National Democratic leaders see those seats as key to winning control of the U.S. House.
In January, a BCF partner, Kathy Fairbanks, communicated with the agency about designing a campaign logo for Proposition 69, a June ballot measure involving how gas tax proceeds are spent. And an undated memo shows the agency and firm also planned to coordinate efforts for several months through the primary.
Loyola Law School Professor and government ethics expert Jessica Levinson said the relationship between the firm and agency
— Bob Stern, a government ethics expert who helped write California’s campaign laws
appears too close, and the exchange about the congressmen crossed an ethical line.
“I mean way over the line,” she said.
BCF and agency officials said the communications were appropriate to educate the public about the law and that they ramped down coordination when the firm took an official campaign role.
“Clearly the agency was trying to coordinate with the campaign, and they shouldn’t have,” said Bob Stern, a government ethics expert who helped write California’s campaign laws. But he added the actual amount of time government workers spent coordinating with the firm was likely minimal.
Ann Ravel, who served on the Federal Election Commission and California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, said the volume of emails raises questions about whether the agency aided one side.
“It seems like maybe it’s a little too cozy, but I wouldn’t say that it’s clearly inappropriate,” Ravel said.
The legislation approved last year raised gas taxes by 12 cents per gallon and added diesel and vehicle fees to generate $5 billion annually. Proposition 6 would repeal the increase and require voters approve gas and vehicle tax increases.
The ballot measure is a centerpiece of California Republicans’ efforts to boost turnout. GOP Congress members — including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Orange County’s Mimi Walters — are among the repeal’s biggest financial backers.