Lobbyist fined $30,000 for not disclosing payments

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The state’s ethics watchdog agency fined Sacramento lobbyist Frank Molina $30,000 on Thursday for failing to disclose three years of payments from clients, including Deloitte Consulting and Indian tribes operating casinos, to lobby on their behalf.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission had earlier this year proposed a $50,000 fine, in part because Molina is a former legislative staffer who should have known about the disclosure requirements, but also because of the large amount of money not disclosed, $840,000 in payments to Molina. But the panel decided Thursday that the lower fine is more consistent with past penalties in similar cases.

Molina has already paid the $30,000 fine.

-- Patrick McGreevy, reporting from Sacramento