San Francisco Ethics Commission
30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 3900
San Francisco CA 94102
Phone 581-2300 Fax 581-2317
SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION AUDIT REPORT:
YES ON S (MEDICAL MARIJUANA)
I. Introduction
This Audit Report contains information pertaining to the audit of the committee, Yes on S (Medical Marijuana), Identification Number 1250328 (“the Committee”), for the period from January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002. The audit was conducted to determine whether the Committee materially complied with the requirements and prohibitions imposed by the Political Reform Act (“the Act”) (California Government Code Section 81000, et seq.) and San Francisco’s Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”) and Electronic Filing Ordinance (S.F. Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code Sections 1.100, et seq., and 1.300, et seq.).
For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received total contributions of $26,000 and incurred expenditures of $27,390[1]. There were no material findings with respect to this Audit.
II. Committee Information
The Committee was primarily formed to support Proposition S – Medical Marijuana in the November 5, 2002 election. On October 25, 2002, the Committee filed a Statement of Organization with the Ethics Commission indicating that it qualified as a committee on October 24, 2002. The Committee was controlled by Mark Leno and its treasurer was James. R. Sutton.
III. Audit Authority
San Francisco Charter Section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission to audit campaign statements that are filed with the Commission and other relevant documents to determine whether the committee complied with applicable requirements of State and local law. The Ethics Commission, by a random process, selected the Committee for audit.
IV. Audit Scope and Procedures
This audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The audit involved a thorough review of the Committee’s records for the time period covered by the audit. This review was conducted to determine:
- Compliance with all disclosure requirements pertaining to contributions, expenditures, accrued expenditures, and loans, including itemization when required;
- Compliance with applicable filing deadlines;
- Compliance with restrictions on contributions, loans and expenditures;
- Accuracy of total reported receipts, disbursements and cash balances as compared to bank records;
- Compliance with all record-keeping requirements.
V. Conclusion
Through the examination of the Committee’s records and campaign disclosure statements, the Auditor verified that the Committee accurately and timely disclosed contributions received and expenditures made and that the Committee maintained the necessary documentation regarding contributions and expenditures. As a result, the Auditor determined that there were no material findings. The Committee substantially complied with the disclosure and record-keeping provisions of the Act and the CFRO.
Audit reports are posted to the Commission’s web site and are forwarded, in cases of a violation of law, to the appropriate enforcement agency.
Date: February 13, 2004
[1] Please note that expenditures exceed contributions because on December 31, 2002, the Commission’s cash balance was $15,500 and expenditures totaling $16,890 were outstanding; i.e., these expenditures had been incurred but were unpaid as of December 31, 2002.