Good evening, everyone.

Welcome to the March twenty nineteen meeting of the Public Ethics Commission.

Seeing that we have more than a quorum of four, I call the meeting to order.

As our first announcement, I would like to introduce and welcome our new enforcement chief.

Kelly Johnson has joined just a few days ago.

Would you let the audience see who you are?

Wonderful.

We are very glad that you're here.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Yes, I'm very excited to have welcomed Kelly Johnson last Thursday was her first day in the office.

Kelly graduated cum law from Humboldt State University with a bachelor's in political science and then went on to law school at the University of Oregon Law School.

She has served for seven years as assistant disciplinary counsel for the Oregon State Bar, and also for many years, I think it's 13 years before that, as a prosecutor for both Lane County and Multnomah County, both in Oregon.

She was born and raised in Compton, so she is from California originally.

She's also held a number of leadership posts and received recognition for her work to promote minorities in the legal profession.

So we are very excited to have her on board and thank her for joining the commission staff.

Thank you so much.

Welcome.

Also, as I announced last meeting also, we do have one seat open at the moment.

I'll take that opportunity to note that Commissioner Butler is not with us tonight, is not feeling well, but there's one seat unfilled on the commission.

That is a city auditor appointment, and her office is accepting applications through March 13th.

So anyone who is interested in serving on this commission, please do contact her office about that appointment.

Are there any other staff or commission announcements?

Yes, Ms.

Hines.

Good evening, Commission Chair and Commissioners.

I have one announcement that I will make following up from our meeting last week, and the second announcement, which has to do with the mediation requirement and sunshine, I'll hold off until we get to that item on the agenda.

So with regard to the question from last uh month's meeting about whether OCRA, whether we have the ability to regulate ads, the content and the substance of ads through OCRA.

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is no.

Currently, OCRA regulates only independent expenditures for mass mailings, slate mailings, or other campaign materials which support or oppose candidates.

And the committees must disclose the names of the two highest donors or contributors that total 5,000 or more.

To my quick research, neither the state FPPC nor the Federal Communications Commission currently regulate the content of ads, and I have a feeling that has to do with First Amendment issues.

So I just wanted to report back on that.

Thank you for the follow-up.

Any other staff or commission announcements?

Yes, Commissioner Maxson.

Uh coming up on May 8th with the Bay PEC, the Bay Area Political Equality Collaborative.

It's a Wednesday, May 8th.

I can mention this during the subcommittee report out also, but I wanted to just flag it as quickly as possible and make sure everyone has it on their calendar.

It's coming up on May 8th, that's a Wednesday, and we can bring more information about the location at the future meeting.

Commissioner Maxim, would you explain the topic of that meeting, please?

So this entity came together as a coalition of several organizations that are tackling political reforms around issues like campaign finance.

So if you're interested in tackling uh issues like campaign finance and community outreach to bring in a more democratic process into that whole piece of this picture, that would be a great opportunity for you to get more engaged and learn more.

Thank you.

Others.

Okay, we will proceed to the open forum portion of our agenda.

Open forum is a time for members of the public to comment on any matter that is within the PEC's jurisdiction but is not otherwise on tonight's agenda.

Um commissioners cannot discuss the substance of any comment made during open forum, and that is not because we're not interested, it's simply because it's not on our agenda tonight.

Um we can hear you, and we do hear you when you speak in open forum, and we invite your comments.

If you wish to speak on an item that is on our agenda tonight, please wait until that item is called, and I will open the floor for public comment at that time.

I also want to clarify how the commission handles public comment, both during open forum right now and during the public comment periods that are later on the agenda for each agenda item, so that everyone is confident that they will have the ability to speak and be heard, and also so that everyone knows what to expect.

The purpose of public public comment is for us to hear from you, the public.

It is not a time for commissioners to talk or to answer questions or to have dialogue.

It is a time for us to listen.

If you speak during public comment, commissioners may ask you a brief clarifying question, such as where did you get the document you've provided to us, or where did you first become aware of this issue that you're uh talking talking about?

Um but otherwise, public comment is not a time for commissioners to talk or answer questions.

However, after the close of each public comment period, we may address questions or concerns that you have raised.

I may ask the city attorney for information about an issue raised in public comment.

One of the commissioners may address uh questions in a general manner in a general manner to clarify the commission's uh policies or procedures.

I may ask staff to explain procedures about how a certain type of case is handled, or I may ask you to provide your information to staff so that they can follow up with you and give you the information that you have requested.