Payments to Lawmakers for Speeches Drop in ’89

The San Gabriel Valley’s 15 state legislators, reacting to heightened public sensitivity about ethics in government, collected $34,500 in honorariums for speeches last year, a sharp drop from the $184,500 received in 1988.

The trend mirrors a statewide decline in legislators’ acceptance of such income in the wake of an FBI probe of corruption in Sacramento. The investigation resulted in the conviction of former state Sen. Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) on charges of extortion, racketeering and money laundering.

Montoya resigned Feb. 9 after being found guilty in federal court by a jury that saw a videotape of him accepting $3,000 from an FBI agent who was posing as a businessman seeking legislative assistance. Montoya reported the $3,000 as an honorarium, even though he did not give a speech.

Assemblyman Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) said honorariums “are definitely on their way out.”

In addition to ethical concerns, he said, honorariums also have declined because of an initiative that took effect last year limiting speech payments to $1,000 from any one source.

Calderon, who accepted $1,000 in speech fees last year, said legislators no longer accept honorariums “unless the speech is before a legitimate organization and there is some understanding that there is no connection between the honorarium and any specific legislation.”

Assemblymen Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) and Frank Hill (R-Whittier), who have been identified as targets but not charged in connection with the FBI investigation, reported sharply lower honorarium income for 1989. Neither responded to phone calls seeking comment.

Hill, who received more than $32,000 in honorariums in 1988, reported $4,000 last year. The payments included $1,000 for a speech from Acorn Engineering Co. in the City of Industry and $750 from a home-cleaning business based in Chicago.

Nolan, who earned $26,143 in honorariums in 1988, when he was Assembly minority leader, was paid a total of $3,750 for five speeches last year.

Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) also sharply scaled back his honorarium income. He reported $3,550 for seven speeches, down from $15,500 in 1988.

Unlike campaign contributions, honorariums are personal income that lawmakers can use to supplement their salaries. Legislators earn $40,816 annually, plus $88 in a tax-free allowance for each day they are in session.

Honorariums and gifts must be reported by lawmakers in financial disclosure statements filed each year with the state Fair Political Practices Commission. Honorariums, which are almost always payments for speeches, are reported separately from gifts, which may range from payments for meals to football tickets to trips abroad.

Sen. Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale) said that legislators are becoming more cautious about honorariums. “There’s a general feeling that (acceptance of honorariums) is frowned upon by the public,” he said.

But Russell said it is proper for a legislator to accept compensation for the time and effort required to make a speech outside his legislative district. “I’ve sort of felt that for someone to ask me to go outside my district--that’s worth something,” he said, adding that the usual compensation is $500.

Russell reported $1,000 in honorariums last year. The money came from participating in two panel discussions organized by an association of cable television operators. Russell said he has never made more than $2,500 a year in honorariums.

Other lawmakers have sought and received much larger payments for their appearances. Former Sen. William Campbell of Hacienda Heights, who resigned in December to become president of the California Manufacturers Assn., netted $46,900 in 1988 from honorariums, charging as much as $5,000 a speech.

Last year, Campbell’s speech income dropped to $13,500. He not only made fewer speeches (16 in 1989 contrasted with 30 in 1988) but he also ran up against the $1,000 limit on honorariums imposed by voters in Proposition 73, a measure that took effect at the beginning of last year.

Ironically, one of the sponsors of Proposition 73 was the man who has been most hurt by the acceptance of honorariums, Montoya.

Montoya reported $36,550 in honorariums in 1988. He picked up $3,000 for participating in the videotaping of a hair and nail fashion show at a beauty college, $4,000 for speaking at a luncheon of swap meet operators, and $5,000 for giving a talk at a medical association luncheon in Monrovia. Montoya reported no income from honorariums in 1989.

The value of gifts reported by San Gabriel Valley legislators for 1989 was lower than the amounts reported in 1988, but the decline was not as steep as the drop in honorarium income. The area’s seven state senators and eight Assembly members reported $87,049 in gifts in 1988 and $64,716 in 1989.

Sen. Bill Leonard (R-Big Bear), Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park) and Sen. Torres were among seven legislators who took a two-week trip to Brazil in November sponsored by the nonprofit California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy. The cost of $4,200 per person was picked up by large corporations, including Chevron USA, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Waste Management Inc.

The trip was billed as a look at environmental problems related to global warming and to the destruction of the rain forest. Tanner, who heads the state Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, said: “I thought it was a very beneficial trip.”

Tanner said she turns down most offers of free travel because she would rather preserve her spare time for herself. “I’d usually rather go fishing,” she said.

Torres, in addition to going to Brazil, traveled last year to Vietnam and Cambodia in his capacity as chairman of the Joint Committee on Refugee Resettlement, International Migration and Cooperative Development. Private donations in amounts ranging from $10 to $500 paid more than $5,000 of his expenses.

Other legislators reported a wide variety of gifts. Montoya received $60 worth of balloons from a Sacramento balloon business, $20 worth of milk products from the Carnation Co. and a $1 engagement calendar from a tobacco company. Campbell received $3,000 worth of air transportation from United Packaging in the City of Industry. Hill reported the gift of $3,852 in a car lease from a Whittier auto dealer. Hill also received free tickets to USC and UCLA football games, professional baseball and basketball games and boxing matches.

Both Russell and Nolan reported free memberships in country clubs. Nearly every legislator got an $80 calculator from Hewlett Packard, and many reported free memberships, valued at $852, in a Sacramento health club.

HONORARIUMS AND GIFTS TO LOCAL LEGISLATORS Honorariums--mostly speech fees--and gifts received by San Gabriel Valley legislators during the past three years.

Honorariums 1987 1988 1989 State Assembly members Charles Bader (R-Pomona) $3,375 $2,550 $1,000 Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) 5,500 3,250 1,000 Frank Hill (R-Whittier) 20,950 32,367 4,000 William Lancaster (R-Covina) 2,000 500 500 Richard Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) 0 1,000 0 Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) 3,850 26,143 3,750 Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) 1,800 6,200 2,000 Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park) 3,500 5,600 250 Totals $40,975 $77,610 $12,500 State Senate members Ruben S. Ayala (D-Chino) $3,547 $500 $2,250 William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) 26,350 46,900 13,500 Bill Leonard (R-Big Bear) * * 1,700 Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier)** 33,515 36,550 0 H.L. (Bill) Richardson (R-Glendora) 2,500 1,400 * Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield) 250 3,700 0 Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale) 2,500 2,350 1,000 Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) 19,950 15,500 3,550 Totals $88,612 $106,900 $22,000

Gifts 1987 1988 1989 State Assembly members Charles Bader (R-Pomona) $2,648 $1,180 $1,756 Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) 4,138 828 1,496 Frank Hill (R-Whittier) 12,441 20,045 2,371 William Lancaster (R-Covina) 196 407 425 Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) 2,096 1,106 2,189 Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) 19,328 7,990 8,361 Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) 10,051 609 2,508 Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park) 575 619 5,061 Totals $51,473 $32,784 $24,167 State Senate members Ruben S. Ayala (D-Chino) $2,605 $2,323 $1,852 William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) 6,266 5,534 5,898 Bill Leonard (R-Big Bear) * * 6,386 Joseph B. Montoya (D-Whittier) 17,898 8,498 1,641 H. L. (Bill) Richardson (R-Glendora) 1,512 0 * Don Rogers (R-Bakersfield) 1,141 3,330 1,703 Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale) 13,502 8,669 7,474 Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) 11,625 25,911 15,595 Totals $54,549 $54,265 $40,549

* Leonard succeeded Richardson, who resigned his seat Dec. 15, 1989.

** Montoya resigned Feb. 9, 1990.

Source: Statements filed by legislators with the state Fair Political Practices Commission