PRESS RELEASE
Contact: For release:
John St. Croix
December 20, 2005
(415) 581-2300
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS TAKEN AT DECEMBER 19, 2005 MEETING
At its regular meeting on
December 19, 2005
, the San Francisco Ethics Commission took the following action:
- After receiving testimony from Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and many other individuals, the Commission, by a vote of 5-0, approved, with staff amendments, legislation to extend partial public financing to candidates for Mayor. Under the proposal a candidate who participates in the program may be eligible to receive $850,000 in public funds for raising $525,000 in matching and qualifying contributions. If the candidate's individual expenditure ceiling, which starts at $1,375,000, is raised, the candidate would be eligible to receive additional public funds if enough public funds are available in the Mayoral Election Campaign Fund. The proposed legislation now moves to the Board of Supervisors, which may enact the legislation if at least 2/3 of all its members vote to approve it.
- The Commission considered and adopted amendments to the Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”). These amendments include provisions to clarify and extend the contractor contribution ban under section 1.126; to amend the definition of “qualified campaign expenditures” and clarify what expenditures may be made with public funds; to move section 1.200 of the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code limiting multiple campaign accounts into CFRO; to correct language in sections 1.161.5 and 1.162; to expand and move the False Endorsements Ordinance into CFRO; to delineate the possible uses of unexpended public funds; and to repeal section 1.132 because it is no longer necessary in light of the implementation of Instant Run-Off Voting. The Commission will continue its consideration of additional CFRO amendments at its next meeting.
- The Commission considered and approved a draft letter to the Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) in response to the FPPC’s recent advice letter to Kathryn Donovan that certain provisions of CFRO are preempted by state law.
The Commission will hold its next regular meeting on
Monday, January 9, 2006
at
5:30 p.m.
in Room 408 City Hall.
#
The Ethics Commission, established in November 1993, serves the public, City employees and officials and candidates for public office through education and enforcement of ethics laws. Its duties include: filing and auditing of campaign finance disclosure statements, lobbyist and campaign consultant registration and regulation, administration of the public financing program, whistleblower program, conflict of interest reporting, investigations and enforcement, education and training, advice giving and statistical reporting.
S:\Commission\Meeting Summaries\2005\12.19.05.doc