It will be tougher for City officials to lobby their former City Hall colleagues when they leave public service under code changes adopted unanimously by City Council today. They go into effect Sept. 1.

The Auditor’s Office proposed the changes to limit the incentive for City employees to trade on knowledge gained during their public service on behalf of private interests when they leave. The proposal focused on elected officials, their salaried staff, and Bureau directors. The proposal, a marked up version of which you can read here, includes a number of other improvements to existing code, including increasing the penalties to $3,000 per violation if they fail to comply with registration and reporting requirements.

My thanks to Deborah Scroggin, who oversees the lobbying registration program, for developing the proposal and shepherding it along the bumpy road to passage. Thanks also to Commissioner Nick Fish for signing on as a co-sponsor and championing government transparency.

-- Mary Hull Caballero