California Gov. Gavin Newsom has agreed to pay a $31,500 ethics fine after state regulators found he repeatedly failed to disclose millions of dollars in corporate donations solicited on his behalf, with the penalty coming one day after Newsom publicly announced he is under federal investigation by the Department of Justice.
The Fair Political Practices Commission’s enforcement division said Newsom failed to file 36 required behested payment reports on time in 2024 and 2025, covering more than $5.5 million in payments from corporations, foundations, and other donors, according to a stipulation filed ahead of a FPPC meeting Thursday.
A behested payment is a donation made to a charity or cause at the direction of an elected official. Under California law, elected officials must disclose such payments of $5,000 or more within 30 days.
Among the donors whose contributions were reported late: $1 million from the Chuck Lorre Foundation; $500,000 each from BlackRock, Uber Eats, Lockheed Martin, and the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation; $250,000 from Apple; $200,000 from Amazon; and $150,000 each from Verizon and American Express.
Thirty-four of the payments went to the California Fire Foundation after Newsom or his staff directed donors to the nonprofit following the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. One payment, a $50,000 donation from Schwab Charitable Funds, was reported 229 days late, the filing said.
The FPPC’s enforcement division noted that Newsom filed all 36 reports before regulators became aware of the violations, and that his office cooperated with the investigation. The commission also cited the emergency circumstances surrounding the wildfire response.
The agency imposed the substantial fine, however, because it is a repeat violation.
“The present case is a repeat violation,” the filing stated.
In November 2024, the FPPC approved a separate $10,500 penalty against Newsom for late reporting on $14.4 million in behested payments made between 2018 and 2024. The combined fines now total $42,000.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The settlement was announced one day after Newsom disclosed Sunday that he is under investigation by the DOJ, a probe that also involves his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and a former chief of staff. Newsom has not detailed what the federal investigation concerns.
Newsom faces no term limits and has not ruled out a future presidential run.
The FPPC is scheduled to review and approve the stipulation at its meeting Thursday.
