California Governor Jerry Brown (D) has banned lobbyists from hosting fundraising parties amid a series of political scandals.

Brown signed a bill that prohibits lobbyists from throwing political fundraisers at their homes of offices in hopes of restricting campaign expenditures and gift giving among candidates and lobbyists.

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The measure was created after a known lobbyist was fined US$133,500 for hosting extravagant fundraising parties for candidates, despite a law that limits fundraising events to US$500-worth "meetings."

The state Senate first introduced bills on political ethics after lawmakers have been under the radar following the arrests of two Democrats because of corruption charges.

San Francisco Senator Leland Yee and Montebello Senator Ron Calderon were arrested after federal agents proved the two received lavish gifts from supporters. Their supporters also held extravagant dinners in exchange for political favors.

According to Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Ca.), who introduced the bill, it is the responsibility of public servants to maintain the integrity of their offices.

In addition, Brown said politicians should be governed by campaign finance rules.

Meanwhile, Brown has vetoed several other bills that legislative leaders proposed in response to ethics scandal, saying that the following bills would not benefit the public and would only complicate campaign rules.

One measure that Brown vetoed stipulated that government officials can only receive gifts worth US$200 from a single source and would ban supporters from giving any valuable gifts to public servants.

Brown also vetoed a bill that required government officials to frequently submit a report of their fund allocation and how much was raised.

In a statement released by Senate President Pro Tem Darell Steinberg, the vetoed bills would have addressed the issues frequently raised about the leniency of campaign rules and practices.

According to Democratic senator Jerry Hill, the bills would have given transparency between officials and the public, during a time when political integrity has been tarnished by recent indictments.

Tagspolitics, Lobbying in the United States, Lobbying, Honest Leadership and Open Government Act