EXCERPT: ... Jones Hall, one of the state's largest law firms specializing in school bond deals, recently advised Magnolia School District in Anaheim that the members of a committee who monitor how bond funds are spent no longer have to disclose gifts and other payments they receive. That disclosure is a key requirement of the state's ethics law, which is designed to stop public officials from being co-opted by anyone seeking government business.
Last week, the Orange County Board of Supervisors expressed alarm at Magnolia's proposal to drop the gift and income reporting requirement. The school district needs the supervisors' approval to move ahead with their plan.
Supervisor Todd Spitzer said he is worried that with the loss of the disclosure "there's no way to see if those people are independent."...
...Whether or not the oversight committees are covered by the ethics rules appears to be a gray area in the law. But school watchdogs say removing the reporting requirements would raise questions about how much oversight the committees actually provide.
"You want independent people to objectively review the expenses," explained Alicia Minyen, a board member of the California League of Bond Oversight Committees. "If you receive a gift, you may not have the incentive to scrutinize the costs billed by that company. The integrity of the oversight could be compromised." ...
... Among the [bond oversight] committee's duties: make sure the district does not pay too much to law firms, banks and other professionals working on the bonds.
Jones Hall is among the firms that have tried to court California school officials by paying for rounds of golf, dinners and cocktail parties at conferences such as the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, also known as CASH.
Some districts that have hired those companies later agreed to bond deals that left taxpayers with exorbitant bills.
In 2011, Magnolia paid Jones Hall and two other firms to complete a deal that included a $3.2 million borrowing that will cost taxpayers $22.5 million to repay. The extraordinary cost of that borrowing is because it was designed as a "capital appreciation bond" that delays repayments for as long as 30 years. ...
... In December, a Jones Hall lawyer advised Magnolia officials in a letter that the bond oversight committee's members were not required to file the annual disclosure form required by the state Political Reform Act. The disclosure, known as Form 700, requires officials to detail gifts of more than $50, travel reimbursements and other payments received from companies and other private parties. It also requires a detail of the official's financial investments, including real estate. ... ... Jones did not respond to several calls and emails from the Register. ...