CAMPAIGN RULES REWRITE DEMANDED.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer After learning that a plan to screen campaign finance violations would allow officials to fix problems before fines are levied, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. called Tuesday on the County Counsel's Office to re-write the ordinance. ``The way you've written this thing is a joke,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``What you are saying to me is I can violate the law with impunity IMPUNITY. Not being punished for a crime or misdemeanor committed. The impunity of crimes is one of the most prolific sources whence they arise. lmpunitas continuum affectum tribuit delinquenti. 4 Co. 45, a; 5 Co. 109, a. and when I'm caught I can make amends by returning the money. That's ridiculous. ``That's tantamount tan·ta·mount adj. Equivalent in effect or value: a request tantamount to a demand. [From obsolete tantamount, an equivalent, from Anglo-Norman to saying if I violate the law and the cop catches me, nevermind, I'll go back and undo it. No one would ever go to jail.'' The Board of Supervisors had planned to vote Tuesday on the plan to screen campaign finance filings to ensure compliance with a proposition voters passed in 1996. The Campaign Finance Ordinance was designed to reduce the influence of campaign contributions on county government and elected officials' decisions. At Yaroslavsky's urging, the supervisors postponed the vote for a week to allow the County Counsel's Office to re-write the ordinance, giving elected officials 30 days from the receipt of a contribution that violates the law to return the money and amend the reports. Yaroslavsky also asked that language be included giving the Registrar-Recorder's Office the role of screening the reports for violations and levying fines up to $5,000 per violation. Under the rejected plan, elected officials would have been given 45 days from the date of learning of a campaign violation to return the money and file an amended report. The board's discussion follows reports that more than two dozen contributions violations occurred in 2003-04, including instances involving District Attorney Steve Cooley Stephen Lawrence ("Steve") Cooley (born May 1, 1947 in Los Angeles, California) is a veteran prosecutor who was elected as Los Angeles County's 36th District Attorney on November 7, 2000. He was sworn in for his second term on December 6, 2004. and Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San , Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Don Knabe Donald R. Knabe (born October 15, 1943 in Illinois) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, serving the Fourth District, a crescent shaped district that covers the coastline from Marina Del Rey southward to Long Beach, and southeastern Los Angeles County to . The proposition prohibits the Board of Supervisors, district attorney, sheriff, assessor and hundreds of other officeholders in schools, community college and special districts from accepting more than $1,000 per donor and knowingly soliciting or accepting donations from registered lobbyists. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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