Important changes to California’s pay-to-play law took effect January 1, 2025, and now the state’s regulations have caught up to the law.

The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission adopted the new regulations late last month, following statutory revisions to California’s complex pay-to-play law found at California Government Code § 84308, sometimes known as the “Levine Act.”  The law and regulations now reflect the same requirements.

Under the former version of the pay-to-play law, parties and participants in a proceeding involving a license, permit, contract, or other entitlement for use, and their agents, were prohibited from contributing more than $250 in the aggregate (including some contributions from related persons) to an agency officer while the proceeding was pending and for twelve months after a final decision on the proceeding.  The changes to the law—summarized below and now implemented in the regulations—revise several key provisions of the requirement.

  • Contribution Limits:  The de minimis aggregate contribution limit increased from $250 to $500.
  • Contract Exemptions:  The law now exempts competitively-bid contracts required by law or agency policy to be awarded pursuant to a competitive process; contracts valued under $50,000; and contracts where no party receives financial compensation.
  • Aggregation Rules:  To determine whether a person’s contributions have exceeded the $500 aggregate limit, the contributions of an agent are no longer aggregated with contributions from a party or participant.  The removal of agents from the aggregation requirement is significant, as the boundaries of the former aggregation rules were sometimes unclear.  However, the aggregate figure still must include contributions by an individual who directs or controls an entity’s contributions and any other entity whose contributions that individual directs or controls; contributions by entities directed or controlled by a majority of the same persons that direct or control the contributions of the entity; and contributions by any entity majority owned by a person who majority owns the entity.  
  • Other Exemptions:  A person is not deemed to be communicating with an agency (and thus does not qualify as an agent) if they are preparing drawings or submissions of an architectural, engineering, or similar nature for a client pursuant to their profession and only communicate regarding that work with agency staff.  Also excepted from the “agent” definition are persons solely providing technical data or analysis to an agency, if they do not otherwise engage in direct communications to influence a proceeding.

Covington regularly advises on California’s pay-to-play laws and other political law provisions.  We will continue to track any key legislative developments.

Photo of Andrew Garrahan Andrew Garrahan

Andrew Garrahan represents and counsels clients at the intersection of law and politics. He guides them through both regulatory compliance issues and government investigations on matters including state and federal campaign finance, ethics, lobbying, and corruption, as well as in congressional investigations.

Andrew’s…

Andrew Garrahan represents and counsels clients at the intersection of law and politics. He guides them through both regulatory compliance issues and government investigations on matters including state and federal campaign finance, ethics, lobbying, and corruption, as well as in congressional investigations.

Andrew’s prior career in political fundraising gives him a unique perspective on the challenges faced by his clients, which include corporations, candidates, government officials, political and nonprofit organizations, and private individuals.

Andrew’s counseling and advisory practice includes:

guiding clients on structuring of and compliance for their state and federal lobbying and grassroots advocacy campaigns;
representing campaigns, Super PACs, corporations, trade associations, and individuals on the applicability of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and state campaign finance law;
counseling on Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registration and disclosure, and its interaction with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA);
helping companies comply with state and federal ethics laws, particularly on gifts and conflicts of interests, and domestic anticorruption; and
auditing corporate political law compliance practices.

Andrew’s investigations and defense work includes:

representing clients in Congressional investigations, including responding to letter requests and subpoenas;
preparing company officers and other individuals for testimony in Congressional investigative hearings;
defending clients in Department of Justice matters related to campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and public corruption; and
representing clients before the FEC and state campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics regulators.

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Photo of Kimberly Railey Kimberly Railey

Kimberly Railey is an associate in the firm’s Washington, DC office. She is a member of the Election and Political Law Practice Group, advising corporations, PACs, nonprofits, and individuals on compliance with federal and state lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics laws. She…

Kimberly Railey is an associate in the firm’s Washington, DC office. She is a member of the Election and Political Law Practice Group, advising corporations, PACs, nonprofits, and individuals on compliance with federal and state lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics laws. She also represents and counsels clients in matters before government agencies and Congress.

Prior to law school, Kimberly was a political reporter for a nonpartisan publication in Washington, DC.

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