EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
For the Meeting of April 11, 2011
1. Budget.
The Commission’s request an operating budget of $2,250,000 and $2,000,000 for the Election Campaign Fund for FY 11-12 has been submitted. The Mayor is expected to propose his budget to the Board of Supervisors on June 1. At this time, the Board of Supervisors is expected to consider the Commission’s budget on June 20 and 27. I will be working closely with both the Mayor and the Board regarding the Commission’s budget. Recently, the Board of Supervisors approved legislation to appropriate $1.3 million from the City’s General Fund to the Election Campaign Fund.
2. November 8, 2011 Election.
Thirty-eight candidates have declared to run for office in November 2011: 31 for Mayor, four for District Attorney and three for Sheriff. Three candidates for Mayor have submitted an application for public funds. The Commission has disbursed a total of $661,828 to two of these three candidates; the third candidate’s application is currently under review.
Candidates for Mayor who are interested in seeking public funding may submit an application for public funds beginning February 8. In order to receive public funds, an interested candidate must demonstrate, among other things, that he/she has received at least $25,000 in qualifying contributions from at least 250 individuals who reside in the City.
3. Investigation and enforcement program.
Since its last regular meeting on March 14, 2011, the Ethics Commission has received no new complaints. There are 24 pending complaints alleging violations within the Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction.
| Category | # of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Campaign Finance | 8 |
| Conflict of Interest | 5 |
| Governmental Ethics | 0 |
| Lobbyist Ordinance | 0 |
| Campaign Consultant Ordinance | 2 |
| Sunshine Ordinance | 9 |
| TOTAL | 24 |
4. Campaign finance disclosure program.
a. Filing deadline. The next filing deadline that applies to all committees falls on August 1, 2011 for the First Semi-Annual statement, which covers the reporting period ending June 30, 2011. In the interim, staff continues to receive and process campaign statements for other filing deadlines. 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 March 31, the Commission collected a total of $36,110 in campaign finance late fees and forfeitures. Outstanding late fees and forfeitures total $128,979, of which waiver requests are pending for $93,080; and $19,869 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 | $6,595 | $6,595 |
| 2 | Committee to Elect M. Valle for Treasurer | 1278937 | Manuel B. Valle | 6/14/07 | $5,525 | $5,525 | $5,525 |
| 3 | Bill Barnes for District 5 | 1265969 | Alix Rosenthal | 1/3/08 | $3,120 | $1,041 | $113 |
| 4 | Care Not Cash | 1244505 | Ronald Jin | 2/29/08 | $5,331 | $2,156 | $1,856 |
| 5 | Omar Khalif for Board of Educ. | 1287030 | Omar Khalif | 7/30/09 | $1,800 | $1,775 | $1,775 |
| 6 | Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup | 1306882 | Myrna Lim | 7/30/09 | $1,180 | $1,180 | $1,180 |
| 7 | Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup | 1256697 | Jia Jun Chen | 8/20/07 | $3,855 | $2,775 | $2,775 |
| 8 | San Francisco Women’s Political Committee | 1243711 | Giselle Barry | 5/16/06 | $1,906 | $50 | $50 |
| TOTAL | $19,869 |
5. Revenues report.
For FY 10-11, the Commission is budgeted to generate $78,000 in revenues. As of April 6, 2011, the Commission received and deposited $90,335 as summarized below. The figure represents collection of approximately 123 percent of expected revenues for FY 10-11.
Revenues received and deposited as of April 6, 2011:
| Source | Budgeted Amount FY 10-11 | Receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Fees | $8,000 | $38,500 |
| Other Ethics General | $1,000 | $307 |
| Campaign Finance Fines | $50,000 | $36,110 |
| Campaign Consultant Fees | $15,000 | $15,650 |
| Lobbyist Fines | $1,000 | $2,050 |
| Statements of Economic Interests Fines | $1,000 | $70 |
| Other Ethics Fines | $1,000 | $1,076 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $1,000 | $2,350 |
| Total | $78,000 | 96,113 |
6. Draft regulations related to complaints regarding Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force.
The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF) has informed the Commission that its review of draft regulations related to the handling of complaints regarding alleged violations of the Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the SOTF continues. The SOTF anticipates that it will complete its work sometime this spring.
7. Lobbyist program.
As of April 1, 2011, 72 individual lobbyists were registered with the Commission. In FY 10-11, total revenues collected to date amount to $40,550, which consist of $38,500 in lobbyist registration fees and $2,050 in fines. The March 2011 reporting period deadline is April 15, 2011.
8. Campaign Consultant program.
As of April 5, 2011, twenty-seven campaign consultants are active and registered with the Commission. $15,650 in registration fees and $2,350 in late fines have been collected during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The next campaign consultant quarterly report deadline is Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Staff will mail and e-mail reminder notices to all active campaign consultants two weeks before the deadline.
9. Statement of Economic Interests program.
On March 7, 21, 31, staff facilitated three SEI Trainings.
Reminder notices were sent out on March 22 to Filing Officers regarding the April 1 deadline for SEI-filings such as the Statement of Economic Interests (SEI) and the Sunshine Ordinance Declaration.
From January 1 to March 18, approximately 286 SEI-related filings were entered into SFEDS. From March 19 to April 1, 902 SEI-related forms were filed with the Commission. Staff continues to work on processing the filings.
10. Outreach and Education.
On March 9, staff facilitated a Statement of Incompatible Activities Training for the Department on the Environment.
On April 4, staff met with a delegation of 21 officials from the Wuhan City Bureau of Supervision, Wuhan Province, China. The group, which consisted of inspectors who oversee anti-corruption programs, were in the U.S. to learn about ways to control government spending, prevent corruption and improve government efficiency, as well as extending educational opportunities for public employees.
The Commission continues to offer trainings on Statements of Incompatible Activities to City departments.
The following are web video trainings available on the Commission website:
Department on the Environment SIA Training
Governmental Ethics Ordinance Training for City Employees
Medical Examiner’s Office SIA Training
Non-Candidate Recipient Committee Training
Public Utilities Commission SIA Training
SIA Training for the Department of Building Inspection
The following are the currently scheduled live trainings for 2011:
Candidates’ Training: April 12, June 23, and August 9
SIA Training for the Fire Department: May 11
SIA Training for the Planning Department: May 17 and June 14
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
John St. Croix
Executive Director
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