EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
For the Meeting of August 8, 2011
1. Budget.
The Mayor signed this fiscal year’s budget into law on July 26. As reported previously, the budget provides the Commission its requested budget, which includes $2,259,979 for the operating budget and $2,009,451 for the Election Campaign Fund (ECF), plus a repayment of $4,079,107 to the ECF. This represents a 4.5% increase over last year’s operating budget.
2. November 8, 2011 Election.
As of August 1, 2011, eight candidates for Mayor have been certified as eligible to receive public funds and a ninth candidate’s application is under review. The eight eligible candidates have received public funds totaling $3,098,191. Every publicly financed candidate’s IEC is currently at $1,475,000.
The last day for candidates to submit an application for public funds is August 20, 2011. 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 on or before August 29, 2011 from at least 250 individuals who reside in the City.
3. Investigation and enforcement program.
As of August 1, 2011, there are 21 pending complaints alleging violations within the Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction.
| Category | # of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Campaign Finance | 7 |
| Conflict of Interest | 3 |
| Governmental Ethics | 0 |
| Lobbyist Ordinance | 2 |
| Campaign Consultant Ordinance | 2 |
| Sunshine Ordinance | 7 |
| TOTAL | 21 |
4. Campaign finance disclosure program.
a. Filing deadline. The most recent filing deadline occurred on August 1, 2011 for the First Semi-Annual statement, which covers the reporting period ending June 30, 2011. Staff continues to receive and process campaign statements and will notify non-filers about their past due statements.
The next filing deadline falls on September 29, 2011 for the First Pre-Election statement, which covers the reporting period ending September 24, 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, the Commission collected a total of $49,768 in campaign finance late fees and forfeitures. Outstanding late fees and forfeitures total $174,515 of which waiver requests are pending for $132,561; and $25,328 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 | $113 | $113 |
| 4 | Care Not Cash | 1244505 | Ronald Jin | 2/29/08 | $5,331 | $956 | $656 |
| 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 |
| 9 | Johnny K. Wang JKW Political Consulting |
100716 | Johnny K. Wang | 4/19/11 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $4,0001 |
| 10 | Coalition to Elect Hon. Chris Jackson to Community College Board | 1302351 | Hon. Chris Jackson | 6/17/11 | 2,658.90 | New Referral | 2,658.90 |
| TOTAL | $25,328 |
5. Revenues report.
For FY 11-12, the Commission is budgeted to generate $100,000 in revenues. As of August 1, 2011, the Commission received and deposited $5,829, as summarized below. The figure represents collection of approximately .05 percent of expected revenues for FY 11-12.
Revenues received and deposited as of August 1, 2011:
| Source | Budgeted Amount FY 11-12 | Receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Fees | $27,000 | $1,000 |
| Other Ethics General | $1,000 | $4 |
| Campaign Finance Fines | $50,000 | $3,900 |
| Campaign Consultant Fees | $18,000 | $500 |
| Lobbyist Fines | $1,000 | $100 |
| Statements of Economic Interests Fines | $1,000 | $325 |
| Other Ethics Fines | $1,000 | $0 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $1,000 | $0 |
| Total | $100,000 | $5,829 |
6. Draft regulations related to complaints regarding Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force.
On August 1, the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF) sent to the Commission comments on its review of draft regulations related to the handling of complaints regarding alleged violations of the Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the SOTF. Staff will review these comments and provide recommendations to the Commission at a future meeting.
7. Lobbyist program.
As of August 1, 2011, 74 individual lobbyists were registered with the Commission. In FY 11-12, total revenues collected to date amount to $1,100, which consist of $1,000 in lobbyist registration fees and $100 in late fines. The July 2011 reporting period deadline is August 15, 2011.
8. Campaign Consultant program.
As of August 2, 2011, thirty-two campaign consultants are active and registered with the Commission. $500 in registration fees have been collected so far during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The next campaign consultant quarterly report deadline is Thursday, September 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 July 8, staff sent 35 second non-filer notifications to 27 commissioners and 8 designated employees.
On July 8 and July 11, staff sent 12 first non-filer notifications to designated employees from the Department of Public Works (DPW). On July 28, staff sent 3 second non-filer notifications to designated employees from DPW.
As of August 2, 2011, there are 20 remaining non-filers: 15 commissioners and 5 designated employees. A non-filer who does not file by August 11 will be referred to the Fair Political Practices Commission’s (FPPC) Enforcement Division.
FPPC’s Recommendations for Notification and Referral for Agencies with More than 50 Filers
| First Non-Filer Notice | Second Non-Filer Notice | Enforcement Referral | Fines Notices | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPPC’s Recommendations | Within 120 days after annual deadline (August 1 or earlier) | Within 60 days after first non-filer notice is sent (October 1 or earlier) | Within 45 days after second non-filer notice is sent (November 15 or earlier) | Within 4 years of the violation |
| Ethics Commission’s Notification Schedule for 2011 |
|
|
Within 45 days after second non-filer notice is sent | After the Ethics Commission completes the enforcement referral process, the Commission staff will begin the fines notification process from November through January. |
10. Outreach and Education.
On July 19, staff met with a 22-member delegation from the Henan provincial government of China. The members were interested in learning about anti-corruption and government transparency topics in the United States.
The Commission continues to offer trainings on Statements of Incompatible Activities to City departments.
The following is a currently scheduled live training for 2011:
Candidates’ Training: August 18
The following are web video trainings available on the Commission website:
Department of Building Inspection SIA Training
Candidates’ Training
Controller’s Office SIA Training
Department on the Environment SIA Training
Governmental Ethics Ordinance Training for City Employees
Lobbyist Ordinance Training
Medical Examiner’s Office SIA Training
Non-Candidate Recipient Committee Training
Public Utilities Commission SIA Training
SIA Template Language Training
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
John St. Croix
Executive Director
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1Under a signed settlement agreement, this filer had agreed to make two payments as follows: 1) $2,000 due by 1/3/2010 and 2) $2,000 due by 3/16/11. Because this filer did not make these payments, the Commission referred the filer to BDR.