Behested payments: legal but ethically murky in California politics

A Los Angeles Times column argues that California’s behested payments—donations politicians solicit for nonprofits—are legal but ethically murky, especially when funds go to groups tied to a public official’s family. Gov. Gavin Newsom faces federal scrutiny while the state’s FPPC fined him for late reporting on about $5.5 million in such donations. The practice is widespread across parties and can fund worthwhile programs, but it invites questions of influence and conflicts of interest, and reform seems unlikely amid partisan dynamics; some observers see it as transparent and preferable to opaque fundraising, while others warn it creates vulnerability and public distrust.