The trip, which kicks off on Monday, is the second legislative junket to Cuba organized by Anderson this year. During the Legislature’s spring break, eight lawmakers participated in a similar trip that included a tour of a castle, afternoon salsa lessons and rooftop cocktails, among other activities, according to Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, the only legislator to speak publicly about the trip.

The legislative junket to Cuba has been criticized by ethics experts for conflict of interest issues as well as the questionable practice of setting up a nonprofit organization that is “a wholly owned subsidiary” of a lobbying firm.

Assemblywoman Campos confirmed as participant

It is unclear how many legislators or their staff are participating in this week’s trip. At least one legislator has been identified as a participant. The San Jose Mercury-News reports that Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, and her husband, Neil Struthers, are going.

“It’s an opportunity to develop economic and trade ties,” Campos spokesman Steve Harmon told the Mercury-News by email.

However, an ethics expert said this type of trip gives lobbyists an unfair level of influence.

“It absolutely raises ethical questions when lobbyists travel with elected officials,” Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in ethics, told CalWatchdog.com in April. “We want elected officials to hear from all of us, not just those who are taking trips.”

The trip’s price tag, according to the invitation, is $4,175 per person with a $500 supplement for single occupancy. But legislators won’t be paying for it out of their own pockets. A spokesman for Campos told the Mercury-News that the San Jose Democrat would use campaign funds to pay for the trip.

Under the California Political Reform Act, legislators and their staffs cannot accept gifts worth more than $10 per month from a registered lobbyist. However, campaign accounts provide legislators with an easy vehicle for circumventing these strict limits on lobbyist gifts. Lobbyists can direct their clients to donate to a member’s campaign account. Then the member can use the campaign account to pay for personal expenses, including foreign travel.

Nonprofit has links to lobbying firm

In order to comply with the State Department’s ban on travel to Cuba, the trip was arranged by Californians Building Bridges, a shadowy nonprofit organization controlled by Anderson. The organization’s website was registered by an employee of Platinum Advisors in August 2010, who provided contact information for Platinum Advisors.

The nonprofit’s board of directors includes Anderson as well as Holly Fraumeni and Melinda McClain, both of whom are registered lobbyists with Platinum Advisors. Only two other individuals serve on the board of directors, Kevin Murray, a former state senator and lobbyist, and James Bruner, the director of Orrick’s Governmental Affairs Practice Group in Sacramento.

That information, Levinson previously suggested, raised the question of whether “the nonprofit is a wholly owned subsidiary of the lobbying firm.”

More evidence of lobbying firm directing trip

The latest trip provides even more evidence that Anderson has used the nonprofit organization as a subsidiary of his lobbying business. In June 2013, Anderson invited lawmakers on the trip on behalf of “Platinum Advisors” and signed the invitation on Platinum Advisors letterhead.

“On behalf of Platinum Advisors and in partnership with Californians Building Bridges, we are excited to invite you to join us on an upcoming trip to Havana, Cuba during December 2-7, 2013,” Anderson wrote on Platinum Advisors letterhead. “In 2010, I founded an exciting nonprofit organization, Californians Building Bridges (CBB), which gained independent approval from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2011 to travel to Cuba and coordinate educational exchanges.”

Nevertheless, despite overwhelming evidence that the nonprofit is a subsidiary of the lobbying firm, Californians Building Bridges denies that lobbying will occur on the trip.

Jason Kinney, a spokesman for the nonprofit, told the Los Angeles Times that no policy issues are discussed. “These are nongovernmental educational exchanges with the people of Cuba — which means that no policy issues are discussed and certainly none relating to anything going on in Sacramento,” Kinney said in interview with the newspaper earlier this year.

83% of nonprofit funds spent on travel

Federal tax documents, filed by the organization on May 28, 2013, for the 2012 tax year, claim that the group’s primary purpose is to support other charitable endeavors. In 2012, $541,363, or 83 percent of the organization’s overall expenses, was spent on travel.

“The organization’s primary purpose is to assist other charitable organizations in expediting projects, setting priorities, and achieving goals,” the group stated as its charitable mission on tax forms for the past two years. “Californians Building Bridges will develop humanitarian programs that help volunteers and corporate partners alike make a useful connection to a world in need.”

Despite its tax-exempt status, Californians Building Bridges has little to show in the way of charitable activities. Californians Building Bridges, according to its most recent tax return, provided no financial support to domestic or international charities.

In fact, Californians Building Bridges, which spent $652,200 last year, has never spent a penny in support of grants or contributions to other charities, according to the two tax returns that are publicly available. Yet the organization’s mission, according to its tax return, listed as a priority making “one-time financial grants and donations of supplies and materials to charitable organizations that lack their own resources or do not qualify for assistance through existing agencies and organizations in their region.”

Darius Anderson: Sacramento’s ‘best connected lobbyist’

According to state disclosure reports, Anderson’s firm is the lobbyist of record for 68 government organizations and special interest groups, including Anthem Blue Cross, AT&T, California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Clear Channel Communications, Station Casinos, Sutter Health, United Food and Commercial Workers, UPS, and the counties of Alameda, Napa, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura.

In 2009, Anderson was voted by state legislators as the “best connected lobbyist,” according to a survey of all 120 legislators conducted by Capitol Weekly.

In 2010, Anderson and Platinum Advisors “paid $500,000 to settle claims by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo stemming from a yearlong investigation into so-called pay-to-play practices in city and state pension fund investment partnerships,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

As of Sept. 12, seven of the eight legislative members on the spring-break trip to Cuba have been identified. Attendees include: Achadjian, Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins, D-San Diego; Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego; Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles; Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley; state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello; and state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston.

Additional background information, past coverage

California Building Bridges 2012 tax return

Platinum Advisors 2013 Invitation Page 1

Platinum Advisor 2013 Invitation Page 2

CalWatchdog: Legislators take secret trip to Cuba with Sacramento lobbyist

CalWatchdog: FPPC shuns investigation of CA legislators’ Cuba trip

CalWatchdog: Two more legislators ID’d who went on lobbyist-organized Cuba junket

LA Times: Six California lawmakers took trip to Cuba with Capitol lobbyist

CalWatchdog: 7th legislator on Cuba junket identified

San Jose Mercury-News: Nora Campos’ junket to Cuba

A seventh state lawmaker that participated in a spring break trip to Cuba has been identified. The office of Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, confirmed to CalWatchdog.com that the freshman legislator spent the spring break holiday in Cuba.

“Please be informed that Assembly Member Shirley Weber traveled to Cuba on vacation at her own expense,” Lisa Martin, Weber’s chief of staff, wrote in an email to CalWatchdog.com after multiple requests for comment.

However, Weber’s office refused to acknowledge that the trip to Cuba was in conjunction with the eight-member legislative delegation organized by Darius Anderson, the founder and president of the powerhouse lobbying firm Platinum Advisors. Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, the only legislator to speak publicly about the Cuba trip, told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that the trip included a tour of a castle, afternoon salsa lessons and rooftop cocktails, among other activities.

In refusing to acknowledge that she spent spring break cozying up to “Sacramento’s best-connected lobbyist,” Weber may have opened herself up to problems with the federal government. After all, Americans are banned from “traveling to Cuba on vacation,” as Weber claims.

Treasury Department bans American tourism in cuba

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control regulates all American travel to the Caribbean nation through the issuance of travel licenses, which are limited to 12 categories.

“OFAC does not authorize transactions related to activities that are primarily tourist-oriented, including self-directed educational activities that are intended only for personal enrichment,” according to the Comprehensive Guidelines for License Applications to Engage in Travel-Related Transactions Involving in Cuba, published by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

That could present some problems for Weber — unless she traveled in conjunction with the lobbyist-organized trip.

In order to comply with the U.S. State Department’s ban on travel to Cuba, Anderson arranged the trip through the nonprofit organization Californians Building Bridges. In 2011, the only year for which the organization filed a tax return, it spent $94,586, a majority of its revenue, on travel-related expenses.

The organization’s mission also listed as a priority, making “one-time financial grants and donations of supplies and materials to charitable organizations that lack their own resources or do not qualify for assistance through existing agencies and organizations in their region.” Yet, it paid out $0 in domestic and foreign grants, according to the group’s tax return.

Anderson’s clients donated to Weber’s campaign

In the past 18 months, Weber’s campaign committees  have collected $11,900 from Anderson’s past or current clients, including AT&T, DirectTV, Phillips 66 and the United Food and Commercial Workers. In 2010, Anderson and his firm agreed to pay out half a million dollars to settle pay-to-play allegations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Campaign watchdog groups have criticized the practice of spending extended time with lobbyists, such as on travel junkets.

“It absolutely raises ethical questions when lobbyists travel with elected officials,” Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in ethics, told CalWatchdog.com in April. “We want elected officials to hear from all of us, not just those who are taking trips.”

Levinson repeated those comments in August, when the Los Angeles Times reported on the trip.

7 of 8 legislators identified

Last month, with the release of semi-annual campaign reports, CalWatchdog.com first reported that state Senator Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, whose offices were raided by FBI agents in June, traveled to Cuba, along with Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley

Under the California Political Reform Act, legislators and their staffs cannot accept gifts worth more than $10 per month from a registered lobbyist. However, campaign accounts provide legislators with an easy vehicle for circumventing these strict limits on lobbyist gifts. Lobbyists can direct their clients to donate to a member’s campaign account. Then, the member can use the campaign account to pay for personal expenses, including foreign travel.

As of Sept. 11, CalWatchdog.com has identified seven of the eight-member legislative delegation to Cuba. Other attendees include: Achadjian, Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins, D-San Diego; Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles; Skinner; and State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston.

Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, another Cuba trip participant, told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that the trip included a tour of a castle, afternoon salsa lessons and rooftop cocktails, among other activities.

According to the most recent campaign finance report for his state Senate officeholder committee, Calderon spent $6,159 on the March trip, including more than $2,500 on an upgraded Virgin America flight. Within days of returning from Cuba, Pfizer, one of Anderson’s lobbying clients, contributed $1,500 to the same Calderon committee that paid for his trip expenses. In May, just days before Calderon’s offices were raided by the FBI, another Anderson client, AT&T, made a $1,600 contribution to the same Calderon committee.

Under the Calfiornia Political Reform Act, legislators and their staff cannot accept gifts worth more than $10 per month from a registered lobbyist. However, campaign accounts provide legislators with an easy vehicle for circumventing these strict limits on lobbyist gifts. Lobbyists can direct their clients to donate to a member’s campaign account. Then, the member can use the campaign account to pay for personal expenses, including foreign travel.

Since 2011, Calderon’s various campaign committees have collected $12,100 from Anderson’s past or current clients, including the American Council of Life Insurers California, Anthem Blue Cross, AT&T, Conoco Phillips, DirectTV, Dish Network, Pfizer and Phillips 66 Company.

Skinner on Cuba junket

Calderon wasn’t the only legislator to be identified through the most recent campaign disclosure reports. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, also joined the lobbyist-organized trip to Cuba during the Legislature’s spring break. She reported $2,400 in Cuba trip expenses, according to her most recent campaign finance report.

Skinner has accepted $12,900 in campaign contributions from Anderson’s clients since 2011. According to state campaign lobbying reports, Anderson’s firm is the lobbyist of record for AT&T, DirectTV, Entertainment Software Association, Pfizer, SKS Investments, LLC and the United Food and Commercial Workers, all of whom made campaign contributions to Skinner.

Campaign watchdog groups have criticized the practice of using campaign funds for personal expenses, such as travel junkets.

“Unfortunately, paying for travel and other non-campaign expenses through campaign funds is a growing trend among public officials,” Phillip Ung, a policy advocate for California Common Cause, told CalWatchdog.com earlier this year. “The simple, common sense fix to this problem is to limit campaign funds to campaign related spending.”

6 of 8 legislators identified

As of July 31, CalWatchdog.com has identified six of the eight-member legislative delegation to Cuba. Other attendees include: Achadjian, Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins, D-San Diego; Assemblymember Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles; and State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston.

In order to comply with the U.S. State Department’s ban on travel to Cuba, the trip was arranged by Californians Building Bridges, a non-profit organization controlled by Anderson. In 2011, the only year for which the organization filed a tax return, it spent $94,586 on travel-related expenses of $136,476 in overall expenses. The organization’s mission also listed as a priority, making “one-time financial grants and donations of supplies and materials to charitable organizations that lack their own resources or do not qualify for assistance through existing agencies and organizations in their region.” Yet, it paid out $0 in domestic and foreign grants, according to the group’s tax return.

Anderson and his firm agreed in 2010 to pay out half-a-million dollars to settle pay-to-play allegations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

By John Hrabe and Katy Grimes

After Friday’s report on CalWatchdog.com that at least two state legislators traveled to Cuba with a powerful Sacramento lobbyist, you’d think the state’s political watchdog might be launching a formal investigation. After all, the trip was hosted by the same lobbyist that reached a $500,000 settlement in 2010 with then-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over allegations of pay-to-play practices in that state.

Lawmakers haven’t answered any questions, and won’t face any scrutiny from the state’s ethics watchdog, because they claim to have paid for their own expenses.

“We are not investigating the Cuba trip,” confirmed Gary Winuk, chief of the Enforcement Division at the Fair Political Practices Commission. “If someone violated the current laws and regulations, then we will pursue it.”

The FPPC’s failure to investigate the matter rests on legislators’ claim to have paid their own trip expenses. It’s perfectly legal for lobbyists to escort legislators on foreign junkets, away from any public scrutiny, or the ability to independently verify legislators’ claims.

New details

To date, it still isn’t clear which legislators were in Cuba, their purpose of traveling to a foreign country with a lobbyist, or why they’ve refused to release any information about the trip itinerary, which they claim wasn’t a secret. Only State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston, and Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, have been willing to confirm to CalWatchdog.com that they spent the spring holiday in Cuba with lobbyist Darius Anderson, the president and founder of Platinum Advisors.

The state’s ethics commission might not be asking any questions, but new details are slowly emerging about the trip thanks to local media reports. The San Luis Obispo Tribune, in a follow up to CalWatchdog.com’s piece, confirmed that there were eight state lawmakers on the Cuba trip.

“It is also important to note that the delegation included seven other members of the Legislature, nonprofit staff, as well as other business leaders,” Achadjian told his hometown paper in defense of his trip to a foreign country with a registered lobbyist. “It was not a personal trip with a lobbyist as it was described in other news outlets, nor was it done in secret.”

That raises the question: if the trip wasn’t a secret, why do the identities of six legislators remain a mystery?

Not talking to CalWatchdog.com

A spokesman for Galgiani said the government office doesn’t have any information on the Cuba trip and that the senator isn’t willing to comment.

Achadjian’s office was even less forthcoming with us, only telling CalWatchdog.com to read other media reports. “Earlier today the assemblyman was happy to answer a series of questions regarding his participation in the delegation trip to Cuba,” said Craig Swaim, chief of staff to Achadjian. “You are free to use that as a reference for your reporting.”

He added: “As for [who] else participated in the delegation trip, you may wish to contact Californians Building Bridges or member offices directly, as I only speak on behalf of Assemblyman Achadjian and not for other members of the Legislature.”

Achadjian’s staff was referring to the Tribune’s report, which included Achadjian’s declaration that the trip wasn’t a secret.

It isn’t clear whether the legislators used campaign or personal funds to pay for trip expenses. Under state law, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Influence

One campaign watchdog group believes that lobbyists and legislators shouldn’t be traveling together, regardless of who pays the bill because it gives lobbyists more influence than average citizens.

“We are in an era where powerful lobbyists have more access to public officials than constituents. Look no further than these trips as proof,” said Phillip Ung, a policy advocate for California Common Cause, a non-profit, non-partisan citizens’ lobby organization. “These junkets must either end or voters should know who is on the trip and what is being discussed regardless of who pays for it.”

Ung said that California’s weak ethics regulations don’t meet the federal government’s disclosure requirements for members of Congress that engage in foreign travel.

“Congress banned travel junkets with lobbyists years ago and now requires strict disclosure before a privately funded trip can even take place,” Ung said.

Campaign funds

“From trips across the ocean, gifts to staff, and even cars, many elected officials feel there is no real restriction for what they can spend their campaign funds on,” said Ung. “Under current law this is legal because of the vague definitions that allow campaign funds to be spent on almost anything under the sun.”

Not everyone in Sacramento is critical of the lobbyist-legislator foreign travel issue. Dan Pellissier, the president of California Pension Reform, defended the trip to Cuba based on his own experiences on a similar trip organized by Anderson’s nonprofit, Californians Building Bridges.

“I do not know what happened on other CBB trips, but ours was an outstanding experience without a hint of secrecy or impropriety,” Pellissier told CalWatchdog.com.  “It was a wonderful personal experience for both of us and I cannot imagine a more meaningful cultural exchange. I tipped well, in U.S. dollars.” Pellissier also wrote similar comments after the first CalWatchdog.com article on the trip.

All of this means that entertainers Beyonce and Jay-Z, who also recently traveled to Cuba, have faced more scrutiny than state lawmakers traveling to the same place with the state’s “best-connected” lobbyist. Two members of the U.S. Congress from Florida, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, have demanded answers from the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Department of Treasury about the superstars’ trip. No word yet on whether the Florida members of Congress will demand a similar investigation into Achadjian and Galgiani.

CalWatchdog.com is currently contacting every member of the State Assembly to confirm their whereabouts over the spring holiday.

By John Hrabe and Katy Grimes

At least two California state legislators secretly traveled with Sacramento’s “best connected” lobbyist to Cuba during the legislature’s spring break, an exclusive CalWatchdog.com investigation has revealed.

State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Livingston, and Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, confirmed through their offices that they spent the spring holiday in Cuba with lobbyist Darius Anderson.

The founder and president of the influential lobbying firm Platinum Advisors, Anderson and his firm agreed in 2010 to pay out half a million dollars to settle pay-to-play allegations.

Both legislators’ offices said the elected officials paid their own way on what one Capitol source described as a “super-secret trip.” The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that participants “shredded their itineraries when they landed.”

“He went on the annual trip to learn and study about Cuba,” said Craig Swaim, Achadjian’s chief of staff.

“Sen. Galgiani did travel to Cuba on the Darius organized trip,” said Trent Hager, the senator’s chief of staff. “As opposed to other trips, the costs for this one are fully borne by the participants.”

Anderson did not respond to requests for comment regarding the trip.

Nonprofit: “Wholly-owned subsidiary of lobbying firm”

One ethics expert said that the trip raised multiple ethical questions, including why legislators were traveling with lobbyists, the true purpose of the nonprofit and why officials felt compelled to hide the trip from the public.  “It absolutely raises ethical questions when lobbyists travel with elected officials,” said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law school professor who specializes in campaign finance issues. “We want elected officials to hear from all of us, not just those who are taking trips.”

In order to comply with the State Department’s ban on travel to Cuba, the trip was arranged by Californians Building Bridges, a shadowy non-profit organization controlled by Anderson.

In addition to Anderson, the nonprofit’s board of directors includes Holly Fraumeni and Melinda McClain, both of whom are registered lobbyists with Platinum Advisors. Only two other individuals serve on the board of directors, Kevin Murray, a former state senator and lobbyist, and James Bruner, the director of Orrick’s Governmental Affairs Practice Group in Sacramento.  The foundation shares the same phone number with Platinum Advisors.

The organization’s website was registered by Fraumeni in August 2010 and the provided contact information was for Platinum Advisors.

That information, Levinson believes, raises the question of whether “the nonprofit is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the lobbying firm.”

CA Building Bridges: “Renowned artists, fine arts museums & fabulous home restaurants”

In June 2012, the Sonoma News described a trip organized by the California Building Bridges Foundation, which served as a raffle prize for the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art:

 “’This really opens it up to the community,’ says Kate Eilertsen, museum director. ‘Imagine, a chance for two people to spend a week in Cuba, seeing renowned artists in their studios, visiting the Rum and Fine Arts Museum, and dining in the fabulous home restaurants – all for a $100 ticket.

“Travel plans also include a two-day side trip to 16th-century tiny Trinidad with its Valley of Seventy Sugar Mills and French-inspired Cienfuegos.”

A 2011 San Francisco Chronicle column by former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown described a similarly lavish trip. “Having spent a few days in Havana as a part of a Californians Building Bridges junket,” Brown wrote, “the trip was put together by Darius Anderson, who turns out to be very big in Cuban investments. So big, in fact, that the night he was missing from the group, he was dining with the president.”

However, federal charitable tax documents and the group’s website present a very different mission for the 501(c)3 organization. “The organization’s primary purpose is to assist other charitable organizations in expediting projects, setting priorities and achieving goals,” the group stated as its charitable mission on tax forms. “Californians Building Bridges will develop humanitarian programs that help volunteers and corporate partners alike make a useful connection to a world in need.”

In 2011, the only year for which the organization filed a tax return, it spent $94,586 on travel-related expenses of $136,476 in overall expenses. The organization’s mission also listed as a priority, making “one-time financial grants and donations of supplies and materials to charitable organizations that lack their own resources or do not qualify for assistance through existing agencies and organizations in their region.”

Yet, in 2011, it paid out $0 in domestic and foreign grants, according to the group’s tax return.  The organization’s tax return raises questions about whether the group is meeting its tax-exempt mission statement. Contributions to Anderson’s non-profit organization are tax deductible, according to an IRS database.

Conflicting history of group’s operations

According to his biography on the Platinum Advisors website, “Through Californians Building Bridges, Darius founded Project Havana, a humanitarian project dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the Cuban people through providing grants and donations of supplies to charitable organizations that lack their own resources. For the past 10 years, Darius and CBB have led over 50 missions to Cuba.”

Yet, according to the organization’s website, it did not receive a license to legally operate in Cuba until 2011. “On March 29, 2011, Californians Building Bridges (CBB) was granted a license by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, License # CT-16606, to travel and engage in transactions directly related to a new humanitarian project in Cuba,” the organization states under “Project Havana,” one of only four pages on its website. Guide Star, the independent organization that tracks nonprofit financial information, lists the organization’s founding and ruling year as 2012.

Only one tax return, filed on October 30, 2012, was publicly available.

Well-connected lobbyists

According to state disclosure reports, Anderson’s firm is the lobbyist of record for thirty-four government organizations and special interest groups, including Anthem Blue Cross, AT&T, California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Clear Channel Communications, Station Casinos, LLC, Sutter Health, United Food and Commercial Workers, UPS, and the counties of Alameda, Napa, Orange and San Bernardino.

In 2009, Anderson was voted by state legislators as the “best connected lobbyist,” according to a survey of all 120 legislators conducted by Capitol Weekly. In 2010, Anderson and Platinum Advisors “paid $500,000 to settle claims by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo stemming from a yearlong investigation into so-called pay-to-play practices in city and state pension fund investment partnerships,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Following the settlement, Dan Schnur, then chairman of the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, appointed Anderson to serve on the Chairman’s Task Force on the Political Reform Act. The appointment was criticized by Common Cause.

The past three consecutive years, Anderson has ranked in Capitol Weekly’s Top 100, the list of the most influential people in state politics.

“Darius Anderson rose to prominence during former Gov. Gray Davis’ administration, handling fund-raising chores, then expanded his contacts and influence dramatically,” read Capitol Weekly’s 2012 profile, when Anderson ranked 76th on the list.

In November 2012, Anderson and former Democratic Rep. Doug Bosco were among a group of investors that purchased the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Cuba trip: One of three spring junkets

CalWatchdog.com contacted every member of the state Senate to confirm their whereabouts over the spring holiday.

Thirty-one offices confirmed that their bosses did not participate in any foreign travel over the holiday. Only the offices of four state Senators, Ron Calderon, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Curren Price, Jr. and Rod Wright, would not definitely confirm that their bosses did not participate in any trip to Cuba. Two state Senate seats are vacant.

State Senator Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar were participating in a separate junket to Eastern Europe, which, according to the Los Angeles Times, was “sponsored by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy, which is bankrolled by groups lobbying the Legislature, including PG&E, Chevron, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Southern California Edison, among others.”

CalWatchdog.com was unable to reach all members of the State Assembly.