In "the spirit of open government," the city's ethics task force, chaired by District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager, released a draft version of a new city lobbyist ordinance on May 28.

The draft outlines registration and accountability procedures for lobbyists, a group that has traditionally escaped regulation in San Jose.

In addition to registering names, addresses and phone numbers with the city clerk, lobbyists will have to disclose campaign and officeholder donations or gifts, contacts with city officials and payments for consulting services involving city entities such as the redevelopment agency.

Lobbyists will also have to file quarterly reports containing updated information on their activities.

Also, becoming a lobbyist will no longer be free—initial registration would cost $350. For each client paying more than $500, the lobbyist will pay the city an additional $60.

However, some types of lobbyists will be exempt. Uncompensated nonprofit volunteers can skip registration.

San Jose City Council members Pat Dando, Cindy Chavez and Chuck Reed, as part of the ethics task force, also helped revise the ordinance.

"The ordinance is about 80 percent of what needs to be done," Reed said. "We need to broaden the kinds of things that are required disclosure. We need some other exemptions as well. We need to allow people to call up their council person and complain without having to register as a lobbyist."

Reed also filed an ethics complaint May 28 against District 7 Councilman Terry Gregory, asking that he take a leave of absence from the council until an investigation determines whether Gregory broke the law concerning gifts and conflicts of interest.

"I talked with him Friday before I filed the complaint," Reed said. "One of the problems is if he's got conflicts of interest that are undisclosed, that vote's subject to challenge, especially if it's a close vote."

Reed added that this was the first time he'd filed a complaint against a fellow council representative and that he hoped it would be the last.

But Gregory has decided to not take a leave of absence from the council and has the backing of San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, who believes Gregory should be able to continue representing his district.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Gregory allegedly received meals and gifts worth thousands of dollars from developers. California state law demands elected officials report all gifts worth at least $50, but Gregory did not. San Jose bans most gifts worth more than $15.

The allegations surfaced last week when developer Dennis Fong showed Mercury News reporters receipts from expensive dinners he says he'd bought for Gregory and a security-camera tape showing Gregory allegedly walking away with a free case of Opus One wine worth almost $1,500.

Although Gregory denied the allegations without going into detail at a press conference May 27, city attorney Rick Doyle advised Gregory to recuse himself from several upcoming votes during city council meetings, since the issues involve developers in Gregory's district.

The San Jose Elections Committee will appoint an independent investigator to research the situation in response to Reed's complaint.

The proposal went before the council for approval at the weekly council meeting on June 8. A copy of the draft ordinance is posted online at www.sanjoseca.gov.