Each year by April 1, public officials and employees throughout California who make or influence government decisions are required under the law to submit a public disclosure statement known as a Form 700. These financial disclosure forms, also known as Statements of Economic Interests, serve two important purposes. First, they act as a tool for public officials and designated employees to monitor their financial interests to detect and avoid potential conflicts of interest. Second, as public documents, these disclosure filings also allow the public to hold officials accountable and help ensure that officials make decisions without regard to their personal financial interests. In this way, these required economic interest filings help promote accountable government and public trust.
What is the Form 700?
The Form 700 is a form created by the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) that is used by state and local government officials and employees to disclose certain categories of personal financial interests. In general, the type of economic interests a designated officer or designated employee is required to disclose is based on the breadth and nature of the official’s governmental duties and typically reflects the kinds of interests that could be affected by those duties. Reportable interests can include investments, interests in real property, and income (including gifts and travel payments).
Importantly, the disclosure of a particular interest does not necessarily mean the filer has a conflict of interest. But, it can signal a need for the filer to seek guidance and avoid creating a conflict with their official duties.
Is every City employee required to file a Form 700?
No. State law requires all public agencies to identify all agency officials and employees who make or participate in making certain governmental decisions and requires those individuals – together referred to as designated filers — to be designated in the jurisdiction’s Conflict of Interest Code. The Conflict of Interest Code must also specify the types of financial interests that each filer needs to disclose. Those interests are referred to as a filer’s disclosure category. Agencies must update this information no less than every two years, most commonly through a process known as a Biennial Code Review.
The City and County of San Francisco’s Conflict of Interest Code lists filers and their disclosure categories and can be found beginning in Section 3.1-100 of the San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code.
Where can filed Form 700s be viewed?
Presently, accessing the statements depends on whether the designated filer is a City officer or a designated employee.
Disclosures filed online by Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members and Commissioners
Since 2014, elected officials, department heads, and members of City boards and commissions have been required to file their statements electronically with the Ethics Commission. Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members and Commissioners are required to file their forms online on the Ethics Commission’s website. For more information about how to access these filings, follow the links that appear in the sections below.
Disclosures filed by Designated Employees
Presently, Statements of Economic Interests filed by individual employees who are in positions designated under the City’s Conflict of Interest Code to file a Form 700 are filed with the filers’ respective departments in paper format. These Form 700 filings are also public documents under the law. To obtain a copy of a Form 700 filing of a designated employee, requesters should contact the filer’s department.
The Ethics Commission has prioritized expansion of the existing online system already used by City officials and department heads so that all designated filers will file electronically beginning January 1, 2022.
What happens if a City official or designated employee fails to submit a required disclosure statement?
Annual Form 700 filings covering the period January 1 to December 31, 2020 were required to be filed by April 1, 2021. By that filing deadline, more than 94% of the public officials who file online had timely submitted their required 2020 financial disclosure statement.
For filers who are required to submit their Form 700s electronically with the Ethics Commission, they are also required by City law to file a Certification of Ethics and Sunshine training, which demonstrates they have completed their annual training obligation.
As of April 8, 2021, the officials shown in the table below were required to electronically file their Annual Form 700 filing due April 1 with the Ethics Commission but had not filed. The latest filing information for public officials who file online with the Ethics Commission can be searched by name on the Commission’s website.
| Name of Board or Commission Member | Filer Name | Filing(s) Due April 1, 2021 Not Submitted as of April 8, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Education | Sanchez, Mark | Annual Form 700 |
| Board of Examiners | Buscovich, Patrick | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Children Youth and Their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee | Shereff, Nadiyah | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee | Larkin, Brian | Annual Form 700 |
| Community College District | Davila, Brigitte | Annual Form 700 |
| Disability and Aging Services Commission | Lum, Nelson | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Entertainment Commission | Lee, Steven | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Environment Commission on the | Bermejo, Elmy | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Fine Arts Museums | Cruciger, Marc | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Health Authority | Butler, Dale | Annual Form 700 |
| Historic Preservation Commission | Matsuda, Diane | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Human Rights Commission | Kelleher, Mark | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Human Services Commission | Semel, Rita | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Juvenile Probation Commission, Workforce Investment Board | Montejano, Jess | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Police Commission, Citizens General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee | Brookter, Dion-Jay | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Public Utilities Commission | Paulson, Tim | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Rate Fairness Board | Querubin, Jamie | Annual Form 700 |
| Recreation & Parks Commission | Bonilla, Gloria | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Retiree Health Care Trust Fund Board | Walsh, Ed | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Revenue Bond Oversight Committee | Cronin, Tim | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Revenue Bond Oversight Committee | George, Travis | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Revenue Bond Oversight Committee | Leshner, Robert | Annual Form 700; Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Treasure Island Development Authority | Tsen, V. Fei | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Workforce Investment Board | Hernandez, Ramon | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Workforce Investment Board | Rodriguez, Sam | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Workforce Investment Board | Santana, Ruben | Annual Form 700 |
| Name of Department | Filer Name | Filing(s) Due April 1, 2021 Not Submitted as of April 8, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Management Department of | Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Fire Department | Jeanine Nicholson, Fire Chief | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
| Municipal Transportation Agency | Jeffrey Tumlin, Director | Certification of Ethics & Sunshine Training |
Under City law, on or before April 10th of each year, every City department must submit a written report to the Ethics Commission identifying the names of persons at the department who are required to file a Form 700 but failed to do so by the statutory deadline to certify who has completed the filing requirement. Once received by the Ethics Commission, the content of these reports are accessible through the Ethics Commission website, and include the name, department, and position of the person who failed to file by the required deadline.
For the latest information about the status of a late Form 700 filing by a designated employee, or to request a copy of a designated employee’s filed Form 700, requesters should contact the filer’s individual department.
Under the law, Statements filed late are subject to a late fee of $10 per day up to a maximum of $100. In addition, the Ethics Commission and the state Fair Political Practices Commission may take steps to initiate an enforcement action against a filer who is more than 30 days late in filing their Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest Under state law, failure to file a Form 700 can subject the filer to a fine of up to $5,000 per violation. In addition, willful failure to file may be a misdemeanor, and non-filers may also be subject disciplinary action under City law.
In addition, per San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code Section 3.1-102.5(c), members of City boards or commissions are disqualified from participating in or voting on matters listed on their boards’ and commissions’ meeting agendas if they have failed to file Form 700 and/or the Ethics and Sunshine Ordinance Training Declaration Form by the applicable filing deadline, until those filing requirements are met.
Disclosures filed by Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members and Commissioners
Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members and Commissioners are required to file their forms online on the Ethics Commission’s website. For more information about how to access these filings, follow the links that appear in the sections below.
View E-filed Form 700s
View Form 700 statements filed electronically by Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members, Commissioners, and Designated Employees.
- Find e-filed forms based on filer’s name, position, department or filing period
- View the forms in PDF format
Search and Filter the Contents of Form 700 Statements
Search within the contents across e-filed From 700 statements to view reportable financial interests such as investments, interests in real property, and income (including gifts and travel payments).
- Find reported data across e-filed statements based on search text, department name, filing year or type of financial interests
- View filtered results on the web page or download to Excel
Ethics and Sunshine Training Declaration Forms
In addition to Form 700, Elected Officials, Department Heads, Board Members and Commissioners also file statements to fulfill the Ethics and Sunshine Ordinance Training Requirements.
- Find filed statements based on filer’s name, position, department, or filing period
- View the statements in PDF format
Form 700 Datasets
Research Statement of Economic Interests data in a tabular form via SF OpenData.
- View data in a spreadsheet format
- Download datasets in a variety of data formats
- Save search criteria
- Build and save your own maps, charts and graphs
- Integrate data with other City datasets
Disclosures filed by Designated Employees
Statement of Economic Interests filed by individual employees who are in positions designated under the City’s Conflict of Interest Code to file a Form 700 are available at their respective departments in paper format. These Form 700 filings are also public documents under the law and are available by request to the department.
Need More Information?
If you need any assistance regarding the Ethics Commission’s disclosures please contact us at ethics.commission@sfgov.org. We also invite you to share your ideas and suggestions to help make this public data more informative and easy to use.