Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Monday from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will update conflict of interest laws to ensure local governments and other parties can more effectively implement and follow the law to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption.

“With this law we can build on the state’s local government ethics safeguards by focusing on situations prone to abuse or breach of the public’s trust” Sen. Dodd said. “It is critical everyone is clear on how to follow the law, which is why my bill makes clear what is and isn’t allowed. We need to ban conduct that risks creating a reasonable appearance of impropriety while safeguarding fair and reasonable participation in the political process. I thank the governor and colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support.”

Under current law, known as the Levine Act, an elected official such as a city council member must disclose contributions of more than $250 from anyone who has pending business like a contract, permit or housing development before the body, and must recuse themselves from participation in the decision.

Sen. Dodd’s bill, Senate Bill 1243, goes further by banning agents to a party or a participant from making a contribution in any amount to an officer during a proceeding and for 12 months following the date of the final decision.

While state-level lobbyists have been prohibited from donating to legislators, there has not been a similar requirement at the local level.

Sen. Dodd’s bill would effectively ban local lobbyists from contributing while they are working on projects and for the year afterwards, providing a nation-leading model.

The bill also makes numerous updates and clarifications to existing law to improve workability and efficacy. These include updating the reporting and recusal threshold to $500, better defining who counts as a participant or agent, and providing a mechanism for local elected officials to return contributions that would trigger recusal.

The bill is supported by civil prosecutors in San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland and Santa Clara County, local governments, the California Clean Money Campaign and the League of Women Voters.

It was approved by a unanimous vote of the Assembly and Senate before it was signed into law.

“To ensure public trust in local government, our ethics laws must address potential conflicts of interests in a way that is transparent and workable,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. “These common sense reforms to the Levine Act will strengthen our ability to ensure compliance with the law and uphold the highest ethical standards. I applaud Senator Dodd, California Clean Money Campaign, and Common Cause for their leadership, and my counterparts in Oakland, San Diego, and Santa Clara for their collaboration, which allowed SB 1243 to become law.”