(a) For purposes of this article, except as provided in subdivision (b), an “ex parte communication” is any oral or written communication between a member of the commission and an interested person, about a matter within the commission’s jurisdiction, which does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other official proceeding, or on the official record of the proceeding on the matter.

(b) The following communications are not ex parte communications:

(1) Any communication between a staff member acting in their official capacity and any commission member or interested person.

(2) Any communication limited entirely to procedural issues, including, but not limited to, the hearing schedule, location, format, or filing date.

(3) Any communication that takes place on the record during an official proceeding of a state, regional, or local agency that involves a member of the commission who also serves as an official of that agency.

(4) Any communication between a member of the commission, with regard to any action of another state agency or of a regional or local agency of which the member is an official, and any other official or employee of that agency, including any person who is acting as an attorney for the agency.

(5) Any communication between a nonvoting commission member and a staff member of a state agency where both the commission member and the staff member are acting in an official capacity.

(6) Any communication to a nonvoting commission member relating to an action pending before the commission, where the nonvoting commission member does not participate in that action, either through written or verbal communication, on or off the record, with other members of the commission.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 97, Sec. 9. (SB 1497) Effective January 1, 2023.)