O26191
City Council Meeting: October 22, 2019 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2619 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADDING SECTION 4.08.820 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO
PROHIBIT THE MAKING OF FALSE STATEMENTS TO THE CITY
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica is a municipal corporation existing under its
charter and the laws of the State of California and is empowered b y the California
Constitution to control its own municipal affairs; and
WHEREAS, Article XI of the California Constitution recognizes the City’s authority
to enforce laws of general application via its police power; and
WHEREAS, persons regularly submit information to the City that has the capacity
to influence a decision made by a decision-making body of the City; and
WHEREAS, false and misleading statements submitted to the City impair the
functions of municipal government and undermine the integrity an d reliability of
information available to the City; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.25.030 prohibits false
statements made in the ammunition sales log maintained by a holder of a business
license to sell ammunition; and
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WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 5.20.420 prohibits false
statements made in documents filed with the Director of the Public Works Department
regarding industrial wastewater control under Section 5.20.420; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 6.04.220 prohibits false
statements made in annual statements of licensee filed with the Director of Finance; and
WHEREAS, under Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 1.09.060, a recipient of
an administrative citation may request a hearing to contest the administrative citation; and
WHEREAS, under Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 1.10.090, a Hearing
Examiner for a hearing requested under Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 1.09.060
shall issue written findings and, if appropriate, issue an administrative order; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has stated in United States v.
Gillilandi (1941) that a federal law prohibiting false statements to the government is
designed to “protect the authorized functions of governmental departments and agencies
from the perversion which might result from the deceptive practices described ”; and
WHEREAS, the California Court of Appeal in Hudson v. Superior Court (2017)
recognized that California Penal Code Section 115, which prohibits offering false
instruments to any public office in California, has the purpose to “protect the integrity and
reliability of public records.”
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.820 is hereby added to
read as follows:
4.08.820 False Statements
Any person who knowingly makes a false, misleading, or fraudulent material
statement or representation in any matter within the jurisdiction of the City shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars per violation, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Municipal Code or appendices thereto
inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies
and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the
provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any porti on of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official
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newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30
days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________
LANE DILG
City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 22nd day of October, 2019.
_____________________________
G l e a m D a v i s , M a y o r
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2619 (CCS) had its introduction
on September 24, 2019 and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council
meeting held on October 22, 2019, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Morena, McKeown, Himmelrich, Winterer, Jara,
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor Davis
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2619 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
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11/21/2019