FPPC unveils new way for public to view cases and complaints

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 20, 2020

For More Information Contact:

Jay Wierenga (916) 322-7761

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), California’s governmental ethics and campaign disclosure agency, is expanding transparency by providing the public with a new way to find and view the status of any complaint or case in the FPPC’s new Case and Complaint Information portal.

You’ll be able to search for the status of complaints and cases in a variety of ways, by using names of those involved or the case or complaint numbers. And, for the first time, you’ll be able to search by jurisdiction to view the complaints or cases in your city or county. You can then focus the search. For instance, you can add whether you want to see closed cases or cases that are open and pending. The portal provides two drop downs, one with instructions on how to use the portal, the other with the types of information you can find. For cases, this includes searching by the type of violation alleged, such as advertisements, gift reporting, campaign non-filer, conflicts of interest, and all the various types of cases. You can also view the outcome of closed cases and link to the website to view those documents.

“We’re always looking for ways to help the public get the information they are looking for as easily as possible,” said FPPC Chair Richard C. Miadich. “Transparency in government and politics is vital, and this new Case and Complaint Information portal is a wonderful tool to help the media, the public and all those we serve with information that is current and relevant.”

The portal will be updated twice daily, with complaints and cases appearing on the portal one day after receipt of the complaint or opening a case. For those who want to file a complaint with FPPC Enforcement, the process remains the same with a link to the electronic filing of complaints provided in the Instructions dropdown.

“It’s important to note that while the portal provides a lot of information to the public, it still allows our hard-working and highly capable Enforcement Division the independence needed and the confidentiality required in the investigative process,” said Chair Miadich. “I applaud our Enforcement and Administration IT staff for developing this system, which will greatly improve transparency going forward.”

This system is now active. Just go to the FPPC website (https://www.fppc.ca.gov) and you’ll find the new search in three places: (1) a link on the bottom of the home page, (2) the Enforcement tab (https://www.fppc.ca.gov/enforcement.html) and, (3) the Transparency tab (https://www.fppc.ca.gov/transparency.html).

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