San Francisco Ethics Commission Audit Report: San Francisco Labor & Neighbor Member Education/Political Issues Committee Sponsored by the San Francisco Labor Council, FPPC ID #970630

I. Introduction

This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the committee, San Francisco Labor & Neighbor Member Education/Political Issues Committee Sponsored by the San Francisco Labor Council, Identification Number 970630 (“the Committee”), from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. 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 section 1.100, et seq).

II. 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 the committee complied with applicable requirements of State and local laws.

III. 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:

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

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

IV. Committee Information

The Committee was formed on May 5, 1997 for member education/public education and activities on issues relating to working families/union members. During the period covered by the audit, the Committee’s treasurer was Tim Paulson. The Committee remains active.

V. Audit Findings

For the period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010 the Committee received $186,649 in contributions and incurred $251,026 in expenditures.

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.