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Executive Director’s Report – February 8, 2010

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
For the Meeting of February 8, 2010

1.   Budget. 

As mentioned previously, the City has forecasted a $522 million general fund deficit for the next fiscal year.  All departments have been instructed to identify a 20 percent cut in their budgets and an additional 10 percent contingency cut.  For the Commission, this translates to a $431,322 cut, and an additional $215,661 contingency cut, for a possible total of $646,983 in cuts for Fiscal Year 2010-2011.  Staff has met with the Mayor’s Office and will submit a budget by February 22.  The budget will reflect the instructions approved by the Commission at its December 2009 meeting.      

2.  Investigation and enforcement program.

Since its last regular meeting on December 14, 2009, the Commission has received two new complaints.  There are currently 13 complaints pending in the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Category# of Complaints
Campaign Finance5
Conflict of Interest3
Governmental Ethics1
Lobbyist Ordinance0
Campaign Consultant Ordinance0
Sunshine Ordinance4
TOTAL13

3.   Campaign finance disclosure program.

a. Filing deadline.  The most recent filing deadline was February 1, 2010 for the Second Semi-Annual statement, which covers the reporting period ending December 31, 2009.  As of February 2, there are 29 filers who have not filed their required campaign statements.  However, staff continues to receive paper statements in the mail.

The Ethics Commission has begun to conduct candidate trainings for the November 2, 2010 election.  The next training will be on May 12, 2010.  A notice about the training dates has been emailed and mailed to all potential candidates.  A list of training dates is available on the Commission’s website.

Staff continues to provide training to new staff who joined the Commission as a result of recent City-wide bumping. 

b. Collection of late filing fees and contribution forfeitures.  Campaign finance collections as of February 2 for FY 09-10 totaled $43,047, based on filings made during previous fiscal years and the current fiscal year.  By comparison, campaign finance collections as of February 2 in prior fiscal years were as follows:

Fiscal yearCollections by Feb. 2Total collections in FY
02-03$18,706$49,322
03-04$32,300$51,607
04-05$55,070$199,524
05-06$40,665$85,390
06-07$50,159$119,814
07-08$53,100$65,035
08-09$19,562$47,776 [1]

The $43,047 amount is based on prior assessments as follows:

FY when assessedAmount collected in 09-10
04-05$8,812.50
05-06$859.88
06-07$480.00
07-08$3,267.25
08-09$27,648.68
09-10$1,978.43
Total:$43,046.74

FY 08-09 waivers, as well as waivers from past years provided for comparison, are as follows:

FY when assessedAmount assessedAmount waived during FY
04-05$907,069$683,086
05-06$546,859$342,901
06-07$181,831$50,347
07-08$217,444$159,880
08-09$322,529$107,176
09-10$110,314$19,182

To date, the outstanding balance of late fees assessed from the current and previous years, including $64,876 in fees that have been referred to the Bureau of Delinquent Revenues, is $202,582, up from $136,931 as last reported. 

The current outstanding balance of contribution forfeitures assessed as a result of the defective reporting of contributor information is $14,714, down from $19,834 as last reported.  The $14,714 amount consists of forfeitures from the 2005-2006 filing periods and does not include forfeiture assessments from the 2008 filing period.  The individual late fees and forfeitures are listed below.

Late fees & Forfeitures – 2.2.10 quarterly update

Late fees – Table 1

#NameFiler IDCurrent balance ( in $)Status (blank = not yet past-due)
1Asian Pacific Democratic Club PAC93155814,416.98Waiver requested
2Bill Barnes For District 512659693,110.00Collections
3Bruce G. WindremPEN118830.00Past-due
4California Nurses Association PAC7806573,370.00Waiver requested
5Calvin Louie for Community College Board122880610.00Past-due
6Care Not Cash12445055,331.00Collections
7Coalition to Elect Chris Jackson to Community College Board1302351883.60Payment schedule ($433.60); Past-due ($450)
8Coalition to Elect Kim-Shree Maufas 4 School Board12845676,603.89Waiver requested
9Coleman Action Fund for Children Committee13117666,265.00Waiver requested
10Committee to Elect Claudine Cheng for District 3 Supervisor13022265,772.50Waiver requested
11Committee to Elect M. Valle for Treasurer12789375,525.00Collections
12Committee to Elect Rebecca Silverberg122043021,086.00Collections
13Committee to Elect Vilma Guinto-Peoro Supervisor District #2129139410.00Collections
14Committee to Re-Elect Dr. Anita Grier1243852350.00Waiver requested
15Committee to Re-Elect Mirkarimi ‘081304606565.00Waiver requested
16CooperationPEN916420.00Collections
17Dana WalshPEN124960.00Past-due
18Debra Walker for Supervisor – 20101318110670.00Waiver requested
19DeNunzio for Supervisor13033365,985.00Waiver requested
20Edgar "David" Parker, Jr.PEN608200.00Past-due
21Elect Anthony Carrasco SheriffPEN1395100.00Past-due
22Friends of Phil Ting128681830.00Past-due
23Housing Rights Association1245525100.00Settlement payment schedule since 2006
24James RyanPEN1293100.00Past-due
25Jill Wynns for School Board961189380.00Past-due
26Jim Meko for District 6 Supervisor 20101318471380.00Waiver requested
27Johnnie Carter for Community College Board12262647,215.00Collections ($6,595); Past-due ($620)
28Josh H. WolfPEN1391180.00Past-due
29Joshua KrieselPEN1289100.00Past-due
30Mak 061287595490.00Past-due
31Mandelman for Supervisor 20101318949420.00Waiver requested
32Micheas HermanPEN788100.00Collections
33Myrna Viray Lim for Supervisor12566973,855.00Collections
34Myrna Lim for District 11 Supervisor13068821,425.00Collections ($1,180); Past-due ($245)
35No Military Recruitment in Our Schools – No on V13088562,807.60Waiver requested
36Noe Valley Democratic Club963103945.00Waiver requested
37Omar Khalif for School Board12870301,800.00Collections
38Pat  Lakey for Supervisor  District 712553572,225.00Waiver requested in 2004
39People for Tony Hall1298419945.00Payment schedule
40Ramiro Maldonado, Jr.PEN1291100.00Past-due
41Re-Elect City Attorney Dennis Herrera, 2009131447580.00Past-due
42Rick HauptmanPEN1281100.00Past-due
43Rodney HaugePEN593100.00Past-due
44Rodney HaugePEN1084100.00Past-due
45San Franciscans for Fair & Honest Government12582094,659.22Collections
46San Francisco Housing Fund – Yes on B1306922105.00Past-due
47San Francisco Labor Council – Labor & Neighbor9415627,847.43Waiver requested
48San Francisco Labor & Neighbor Member Education/Political Issues Committee97063017,377.38Waiver requested
49San Francisco Small Business Advocates12265957,500.00Waiver requested
50San Francisco Taxpayers Union Political Action Committee12805894,200.00Waiver requested
51San Francisco Tenants UnionPEN13671,060.00Waiver requested
52San Francisco Women's Political Committee124371127,328.41Payment schedule requested ($26,373.41); Collections ($955)
53SF Forward sponsored by San Francisco Chamber of Commerce (formerly San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 21st Century Committee)891575980.00 
54SEIU Local 87PEN9517,600.00Collections
55SEIU United Healthcare Workers West PAC7472853,540.00Waiver requested
56Shawn WestcottPEN1102100.00Collections
57Steve FeinsteinPEN127950.00Past-due
58Thomas D'AmatoPEN735100.00Past-due
59United Educators of San Francisco Committee on Political Education82244810,400.00Waiver requested
60Walter D. ArmerPEN1287100.00Past-due
61Yes on C, Alcatraz Conversion Project13020412,182.50Payment schedule
62Yes on K, Committee United for Safety and Protection1304971160.00Waiver requested
63Yick Tsun Society, Inc.PEN10782,550.00Collections
  Total:202,581.51 

Forfeitures – Table 2 [2]

#NameFiler IDCurrent balance ( in $)Status (blank = not yet past-due)
1Bayard Fong for Board of Education1290444720.00Waiver requested
2Dudum for Supervisor 20061287197240.00Waiver requested
3SF Forward sponsored by San Francisco Chamber of Commerce (formerly San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 21st Century Committee)8915758,624.00 
4Truth on Prop H – Concerned Citizens Against Prop H, Sponsored by: Small Property Owners of San Francisco12920845,130.00 
  Total:14,714.00 

c. Status of accounts to San Francisco Bureau of Delinquent Revenues (BDR).  The following chart provides details on pending accounts referred to BDR:

#Committee/FilerID #Treasurer or Responsible OfficerDate referral effectiveOriginal amount referredLast month’s balanceCurrent balance (Changes are in bold)
1Committee to Elect Rebecca Silverberg1220430Lucia Paulazzo5/6/05$21,086.00$21,086.00$21,086.00
2Yick Tsun Society, Inc.PEN1078Florence Fang8/16/05$7,550.00$7,550.00$2,550.00
3SEIU Local 87PEN951Mike Garcia & Michael Baratz8/25/05$14,350.00$7,600.00$7,600.00
5Johnnie Carter for Community College Board1226264Johnnie Carter6/16/06$9,520.00$6,595.00$6,595.00
7Micheas HermanPEN788Micheas Herman6/26/06$100.00$100.00$100.00
8San Franciscans for Fair & Honest Government1258209Erik Howell10/20/06$4,659.22$4,659.22$4,659.22
9Myrna Viray Lim for District 11 Supervisor1256697Jia Jun Chen4/27/07$3,855.00$3,855.00$3,855.00
10Committee to Elect M. Valle for Treasurer1278937Manuel B. Valle6/14/07$5,525.00$5,525.00$5,525.00
11Shawn WestcottPEN1102Shawn Westcott6/18/07$100.00$100.00$100.00
12Committee to Elect Vilma Guinto-Peoro Supervisor District #21291394Vilma Guinto-Peoro6/18/07$10.00$10.00$10.00
13Bill Barnes for District 51265969Alix Rosenthal1/3/08$3,120$3,110$3,110
14Care Not Cash1244505Ronald Jin2/29/08$5,331$5,331$5,331
15Omar Khalif for Board of Educ.1287030Omar Khalif7/30/09$1,800$1,800$1,800
16Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup1306882Myrna Lim7/30/09$1,180$1,180$1,180
17Gregory StephensPEN196Gregory Stephens3/31/05$420$420$420
18San Francisco Women’s Political Committee1243711Giselle Barry5/16/06$1,906$50$50
19San Francisco Women’s Political Committee1243711Giselle Barry8/24/07$905$905$905
TOTAL$64,876.22

d.  Electronic filing.  On April 30, 2009 staff provided notice to committees subject to the electronic filing requirements under section 1.112(b) that they were required to file FPPC Forms 461 (Independent Expenditure Committee and Major Donor Committee Campaign Statement) and 465 (Supplemental Independent Expenditure Report) in electronic format starting July 1, 2009.  Electronically filed forms and data are made available to the public on the Ethics Commission’s web site.  The electronic filing requirement is in addition to the paper filing requirement.  Forms 461 and 465 were added to the San Francisco Electronic Disclosure System (SFEDS) through the Commission’s contract with Netfile. 

4.  Revenues report. 

For FY 09-10, the Commission is budgeted to generate $50,000 in revenues.  As of February
2, 2010, the Commission received $68,588 as summarized below.  The figure represents collection of approximately 137 percent of expected revenues for FY 09-10. 

Revenues Received as of February 2, 2010

SourceBudgeted Amount FY 09-10Receipts
Lobbyist Fees$8,000$14,662
Other Ethics General$1,000$95
Campaign Finance Fines$22,000$39,290
Campaign Consultant Fees$15,000$11,450
Lobbyist Fines$1,000$400
Statements of Economic Interests Fines$1,000$1,380
Other Ethics Fines$1,000$1210
Campaign Consultant Fines$1,000           $100
 
Total$50,000$68,588

5.  Public financing/Campaign finance audit program.

Staff conducted a workshop in January for candidates running for office in November 2010. Approximately 40 candidates, treasurers and other interested persons attended the workshop.  Staff continues to provide outreach to candidates and their representatives through email notices.

As of January 27, 2010, 53 candidates declared an intent to run for office in November 2010.  Staff has been busy answering questions about campaign finance requirements and about the public financing program.  The first day on which candidates for the Board of Supervisors could submit an application for public funds was February 2.  On that date, three candidates submitted an application for public funds.    

Staff is also preparing for the June 2010 election.  Staff has prepared material for a workshop to be held in early March for candidates running for county central committee seats in June 2010.       

6.  Lobbyist program. 

As of January 15, 2010, 40 lobbyists were registered with the Commission under the old Lobbyist Ordinance.  In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, $14,662.50 in lobbyist fees and $400.00 in fines have been collected, for a total of $15,062.50.  The fourth quarter 2009 filing deadline was January 15, 2010.  All 40 registered lobbyists filed their reports and the 4th Quarter 2009 Summary was published on February 1, 2010. 

As of January 1, 2010, individuals who meet the lobbyist definition under the new Ordinance are required to register and submit reports on a monthly basis, with the first report due by February 15, 2010, covering the period January 1-31, 2010.  As of now, 11 individuals have completed their registration; the registrations of another 25 are in process.  Lobbyists will be required to submit reports electronically on the 15th of each month.  The Commission and Netfile activated the new lobbyist electronic filing system on January 4, 2010. 

Commission staff offered training to lobbyists on January 13, 2010 and began disseminating login and password information to registered lobbyists after the training.  At the training, lobbyists raised some issues with reporting and requested a dialog with Commission staff to develop solutions.  Commission staff disseminated proposed solutions via e-mail and on the Commission’s web site and solicited feedback from the lobbyists.  Commission staff received input from lobbyists via e-mail and held an interested persons meeting on January 25, 2010 to obtain feedback.  On January 29, 2010, Commission staff posted the solutions to the Commission’s web site. 

7.  Campaign Consultant program. 

As of February 2, 2010, 24 campaign consultants are active and registered with the Commission.  The annual re-registration deadline was on Monday, January 4, 2010.  Two consultants filed one day late; all others filed on time.  Two consultants have failed to re-register or terminate.  $11,450 in registration fees and $100 in late fines have been collected in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.  

The next quarterly report is due March 15, 2010.  Staff will send reminder notices to the campaign consultants two weeks prior to the deadline.

8.  Statements of Economic Interests.

April 1 is the deadline for designated officers and employees to file their annual Statement of Economic Interests (“SEIs”).  Staff has issued notices to department heads and commission secretaries about their filing officer duties.  Staff will be giving trainings on the SEI, the first of which is tentatively planned for February  23 in Room 421 City Hall.   April 1 is also the deadline for department heads and members of boards and commissions to file their annual Sunshine Ordinance declaration.

On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 5:30 p.m., the City Attorney’s Office will be providing a Sunshine Ordinance/ethics training workshop at the Koret Auditorium in the Main Library (100 Larkin and Grove).  Attendance at the event will satisfy the annual Sunshine training requirement as well as the biannual AB1234 ethics training requirement.  Commission staff will provide forms for attendees to fill out. 

9.  Outreach and Education.

The Ethics Commission staff posted three interactive checklists to help the following filers keep track of SEI related information, deadlines, and filings; and provides direct links to trainings, legal citations, and pertinent forms.

Checklist for Elected Officials, Department Heads, & Members of Boards & Commissions

https://www.sfethics.org/ethics/2010/01/checklist-for-elected-officials-department-heads-members-of-boards-commissions.html

Checklist for Filing Officers (Department Heads and Commission/Department Secretaries)

https://www.sfethics.org/ethics/2010/01/checklist-for-department-heads-and-commissiondepartment-secretaries-filing-officer.html

Checklist for Designated Employees (SEI Filers who file with their department.)

https://www.sfethics.org/ethics/2010/01/checklist-for-designated-city-employees.html

On January 12, 2010, staff provided a Candidates’ Training.

On January 13, staff provided a Lobbyist Ordinance Training.

On January 25, staff facilitated a Interested Persons Meeting to address follow up questions from the Lobbyist Ordinance Training.

The Ethics Commission will continue to offer trainings on Statements of Incompatible Activities to City departments, the latest of which occurred on December 4. 

The following trainings are the currently scheduled in-person trainings for 2010:

  • Candidates’ Training:  January 12, May 12, July 15, and August 19,
  • Lobbyist Ordinance Training:  January 13
  • Understanding Expenditure Ceilings:  September 21

In addition to in-person trainings, the staff has produced and posted the various web trainings on the Ethics Commission website under “Education.”  The following trainings are currently available on the website:

  • Training for Treasurers of Non-Candidate Recipient Committees
  • Building Inspection Commission, Access Appeals Commission, Board of Examiners and Unreinforced Masonry Building Appeals Board SIA Training
  • Ethics Training for City Employees

The following web trainings will be posted on the website in 2010:

  • Candidates’ Training
  • County Central Committee Candidates’ Training
  • Lobbyist Ordinance Training
  • SIA Template Language Training
  • SEI Training

Respectfully submitted,

_________________________
John St. Croix
Executive Director       

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[1] This amount was previously incorrectly reported as $48,673.

[2] This table does not include forfeitures assessed from the 2008 reporting period.

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