The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday passed an "anti-corruption" measure to restrict post-employment lobbying and prohibit some county officials from using prediction market platforms, such as Kalshi, for insider trading.
For the second measure, board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said during a meeting that supervisors are trying to get ahead of the curve before insider trading becomes an issue locally.
“We haven’t seen any instances of this happening here at the county, thank goodness," she said. "But I always think it’s better to have rules in place before something goes sideways."
Lawson-Remer's proposal directs staff to return within two months with options for:
- Banning officials and designated employees from trading prediction-market contracts tied to their duties or nonpublic information; and
- Requiring disclosure of prediction-market holdings and preventing former officials from trading on matters they handled while on the county payroll
Lawson-Remer cited several examples of why the county needs ethical safeguards, including:
- A U.S. Army soldier being arrested for allegedly making over $400,000 on Polymarket using classified government information;
- Nine Polymarket accounts reportedly making $2.4 million betting on recent U.S. military action in Iran;
- The U.S. Senate barring senators and Senate employees from participating in them;
- The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform formally investigating potential insider trading on prediction-market platforms; and
- Gov. Gavin Newsom banning state gubernatorial appointees from using confidential information to profit on prediction markets.
Lawson-Remer stated the proposal comes after a White House teleprompter operator was placed on leave for reportedly making more than $100,000 betting on the contents of President Donald Trump's speeches on Kalshi.
"The White House had previously warned its staff against using nonpublic information on prediction markets," Lawson-Remer added.
Lawson-Remer said that public service "should never become a private payday."
"You should not be able to cash in by selling access to your former colleagues or betting on confidential information the public does not have," she added. "Trump's Washington is showing us how quickly insiders can exploit new loopholes. San Diego should close them before the damage is done."
The board's anti-corruption measure also asks staff to design a two-year prohibition on former officials and employees lobbying the county, including alternatives to close a "strategic consulting loophole" allowing them to direct lobbying campaigns without personally contacting lawmakers.
During a news conference via Zoom last week, Lawson-Remer said San Diego County "relies on a state one-year restriction on direct lobbying contracts, but we don't have our own post-employment lobbying ordinance."
Lawson-Remer added that if the board passes a formal policy, she would like it to take effect "as soon as possible," she said. "At the same time, we (have to) make sure the rules are written correctly."
