EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
For the Meeting of August 9, 2010
1. Budget.
The final budget number for the Ethics Commission for FY 2010/11 is $9,499,050. This is a combination of $2,208,225 for the operating budget and $7,290,825 for the Election Campaign Fund. During budget discussions, the Mayor added $500,000 and the Board of Supervisors added $1,300,000 to the Election Campaign Fund. This has not been previously reported to the Commission. The amount in the Election Campaign Fund includes funds carried over from prior fiscal years.
2. Investigation and enforcement program.
Since its last regular meeting on July 12, 2010 the Commission has received three new complaints and initiated one complaint. There are currently 19 complaints in the Commission’s jurisdiction.
| Category | # of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Campaign Finance | 4 |
| Conflict of Interest | 6 |
| Governmental Ethics | 0 |
| Lobbyist Ordinance | 0 |
| Campaign Consultant Ordinance | 2 |
| Sunshine Ordinance | 7 |
| TOTAL | 19 |
3. Campaign finance disclosure program.
a. Filing deadline. The most recent filing deadline occurred on August 2 for the First Semi Annual statement, which covers through the reporting period ending June 30, 2010. Staff continues to receive statements sent by mail on an ongoing basis. Staff will make phone calls and send out Non-Specific Notices.
The next filing deadline is October 5, 2010 for the First Pre-election statement, which covers through the reporting period ending September 30. Staff continues to answer questions from and conduct outreach to candidates and other committee representatives about campaign finance filing obligations.
b. Collection of late filing fees and contribution forfeitures. In the FY 10-11, as of July 31, the Commission collected a total of $5,325 in campaign finance late fees and forfeitures. As of July 31, outstanding late fees and forfeitures total $174,408. Of the $174,408 in outstanding late fees and forfeitures, waiver requests are pending for $92,886, and $30,623 is pending at the Bureau of Delinquent Revenues.
c. Status of accounts to San Francisco Bureau of Delinquent Revenues (BDR). The following chart provides details on pending accounts referred to BDR:
| # | Committee/ Filer |
ID # | Treasurer or Responsible Officer | Date referral effective | Original amount referred | Last month’s balance | Current balance (Changes are in bold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnnie Carter for Community College Board | 1226264 | Johnnie Carter | 6/16/06 | $9,520.00 | $6,595.00 | $6,595.00 |
| 2 | Micheas Herman | PEN788 | Micheas Herman | 6/26/06 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| 3 | San Franciscans for Fair & Honest Government | 1258209 | Erik Howell | 10/20/06 | $4,659.22 | $4,659.22 | $4,659.22 |
| 4 | Myrna Viray Lim for District 11 Supervisor | 1256697 | Jia Jun Chen | 4/27/07 | $3,855.00 | $3,855.00 | $3,855.00 |
| 5 | Committee to Elect M. Valle for Treasurer | 1278937 | Manuel B. Valle | 6/14/07 | $5,525.00 | $5,525.00 | $5,525.00 |
| 6 | Committee to Elect Vilma Guinto-Peoro Supervisor District #2 | 1291394 | Vilma Guinto-Peoro | 6/18/07 | $10.00 | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| 7 | Bill Barnes for District 5 | 1265969 | Alix Rosenthal | 1/3/08 | $3,120 | $2.447.85 | $2,247.85 |
| 8 | Care Not Cash | 1244505 | Ronald Jin | 2/29/08 | $5,331 | $4,506 | $4,206 |
| 9 | Omar Khalif for Board of Educ. | 1287030 | Omar Khalif | 7/30/09 | $1,800 | $1,800 | $1,775 |
| 10 | Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup | 1306882 | Myrna Lim | 7/30/09 | $1,180 | $1,180 | $1,180 |
| 11 | Gregory Stephens | PEN196 | Gregory Stephens | 3/31/05 | $420 | $420 | $420 |
| 12 | San Francisco Women’s Political Committee | 1243711 | Giselle Barry | 5/16/06 | $1,906 | $50 | $50 |
| 13 | San Francisco Women’s Political Committee | 1243711 | Giselle Barry | 8/24/07 | $905 | $905 | $0 |
| TOTAL | $30,623,07 |
4. Revenues report.
For FY 10-11, the Commission is budgeted to generate $78,000 in revenues. As of August
3, 2010, the Commission received $7,883 as summarized below. The figure represents collection of approximately 10 percent of expected revenues for FY 10-11.
Revenues Received as of August 3, 2010:
| Source | Budgeted Amount FY 10-11 | Receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Fees | $8,000 | |
| Other Ethics General | $1,000 | $35 |
| Campaign Finance Fines | $50,000 | $4,898 |
| Campaign Consultant Fees | $15,000 | $900 |
| Lobbyist Fines | $1,000 | |
| Statements of Economic Interests Fines | $1,000 | |
| Other Ethics Fines | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $1,000 | $1,050 |
| Total | $78,000 | $7,883 |
5. Public financing/Campaign finance audit program.
As of August 4, 2010, 15 candidates for the Board of Supervisors have been certified as eligible to receive public funds. The Commission disbursed a total of $625,659 in public funds to the 15 eligible candidates. Three candidates’ applications for public funding are currently under review.
The next training for candidates is on August 19, 2010. This is the last of four trainings that the Commission scheduled for candidates running for office in November 2010.
6. Lobbyist program.
As of August 1, 2010, 41 individual lobbyists were registered with the Commission. In FY 10-11, there have been no lobbyist fees collected or fines assessed.
The August 2010 reporting deadline is August 15, 2010.
7. Campaign Consultant program.
As of August 2, 2010, thirty-one campaign consultants are active and registered with the Commission. $900 in registration fees and $1,050 in late fines have been collected in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The next quarterly report is due Wednesday, September 15, 2010. Staff will mail reminder notices to all active campaign consultants two weeks prior to the deadline.
8. Outreach and Education.
On July 27, staff met with Masahiko Gobamtu from Japan, a guest of the Department of State and International Institute of Education, to discuss lobbying/election/campaign laws and the role that the Ethics Commission plays in enforcing them.
On August 2, staff met with a 20-member delegation of English teachers from the Shanaxi Technology and Science University in Xian, China. Currently in San Francisco for English training at the San Francisco State, the delegation paid a visit to our office to learn about the functions of the Ethics Commission.
On July 15, 2010, staff provided a Candidates’ Training.
Ethics Commission staff was asked to beta test the CCSF Trainer Network. The network was created by the Department of Human Resources (DHR) as a way of providing cross training materials and information to support trainers employed by the City. The network requested information and a possible future training on how to create affordable web training videos. Staff provided a summary of information on how to create web training videos on the network and may offer training to City trainers pending available time.
DHR also expressed interest in having our staff contribute information for future New Employee Orientations (NEO). In response, Ethics Commission staff created a brief informational sheet for new employees which would fit into a ten minute time frame as requested by DHR.
DHR is also in the early stages of developing a comprehensive NEO video which may include governmental ethics, conflicts of interest, Statement of Incompatible Activities, and Statement of Economic Interests information. The Ethics Commission staff created a ten minute slideshow with script that can be added to the NEO video.
The Commission continues to offer trainings on Statements of Incompatible Activities to City departments.
The following are the currently scheduled in-person trainings for 2010:
Candidates’ Training: August 19
Understanding Expenditure Ceilings: September 21
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
John St. Croix
Executive Director
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