City and County of San Francisco
Ethics Commission

SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
AUDIT REPORT:
San Franciscans for Equitable Taxation, No on B, A Coalition of Taxpayers, Seniors and Property Owners

1. Introduction

   This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the San Franciscans for Equitable Taxation, No on B, A Coalition of Taxpayers, Seniors and Property Owners ballot measure committee.  Identification Number 1280622 (“the Committee”), from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005.  The audit was conducted to determine whether the Committee materially complied with the requirements of the Political Reform Act (“the Act”) (California Government Code section 81000, et seq.) and San Francisco’s Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”) (San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code § 1.100, et seq). [1]

2. Audit Authority

   San Francisco Charter section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission (“the Commission”) to audit campaign statements that are filed with the Commission along with other relevant documents to determine whether a committee complied with applicable requirements of State and local law.  The Commission randomly selected the Committee for audit.

3. Audit Scope and Procedures

   This audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.  The audit involved a review of the Committee’s records for the period covered by the audit.  This review was conducted to determine:

   1. Compliance with all disclosure requirements pertaining to contributions, expenditures, accrued expenditures, and loans, including itemization when required;
   2. Compliance with applicable filing deadlines;
   3. Compliance with restrictions on contributions, loans, and expenditures;
   4. Accuracy of total reported receipts, disbursements, and cash balances as compared to bank records; and
   5. Compliance with all record-keeping requirements. 

   The Commission posts audit reports to its web site and, in cases of violations of law, forwards them to the appropriate enforcement agency.

4. Committee Information

   The Committee was formed in October 2005 to oppose San Franciscans for Equitable Taxation, No on B, A Coalition of Taxpayers, Seniors and Property Owners in the November 8, 2005 general election.  Steven S. Lucas served as the treasurer.  The Committee’s filing obligations were completed on December 31, 2005.

5. Audit Findings

   For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received $56,647 (including non-monetary contributions of $7,528) in contributions and incurred expenditures of $49,119.

   The Commission determined that there were no material findings with respect to the audit of the Committee.  The Committee substantially complied with the disclosure and record keeping provisions of the Act and CFRO.

[1] During the period covered by the audit, Article 1, Chapter 3 of the San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code (S.F. C&GC Code) codified the Electronic Filing Ordinance.  As a result of recent amendments to CFRO, the provisions of the Electronic Filing Ordinance are now combined in S.F. C&GC Code section 1.112.