Date: November 10, 2025
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: Laura Mandler, Acting Engagement and Compliance Manager
Subject: Agenda Item 5: Quarterly Engagement and Compliance Report
Summary and Action Requested
This report provides general programmatic updates and data of the Commission’s Engagement and Compliance Division. The report includes staffing updates, metrics for the Commission’s online support portals, and an update on the disclosure programs and current projects.
No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.
Staffing Updates
Kyle Kennedy left the position of Engagement and Compliance Manager on October 17, 2025. The Engagement and Compliance Division, and the Ethics Commission staff, are grateful for Kyle’s service, leadership, and guidance over the past two years. We wish him the best in his next endeavors.
Laura Mandler assumed the position of Acting Engagement and Compliance Manager on October 20, 2025. Laura served the Compliance Counsel in Engagement and Compliance starting in November 2024. She previously worked in the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), as well as the FPPC’s Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) unit, and as a law clerk at the Oakland Public Ethics Commission.
The Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) has tentatively been moved to the Electronic Disclosure and Data Analysis (EDDA) Division. TAU handles most technical questions related to e-filing submitted by filers in all disclosure programs and also administers, with the help of the Advice team, the SEI disclosure program. While TAU is currently not a part of the Engagement and Compliance division, both teams are aware of the cross-divisional nature of the duties of TAU and continue to work closely to ensure smooth operation of all programs. This shift will allow the current Engagement and Compliance Team to focus on advice, trainings, and compliance content while one position on the team is unfilled.
FY25 Support Portal Data
Engagement and Compliance utilizes online support portals to manage the various support requests fielded by the Division. These requests primarily include troubleshooting technical issues for filers, providing fact-based compliance advice to City officers and employees, and assisting the public in accessing and understanding disclosure filings. Below are metrics and charts that summarize the volume and variety of requests managed by Engagement and Compliance.
In total, 377 tickets were received through these support portals throughout the first 3 months of FY26. The chart below summarizes the number of tickets by portal:
Chart 1: Support Portal Tickets in Q1 of FY26 (by program area)
| Program | Count of Support Tickets by Program |
| Campaign Finance and Campaign Consultant | 50 |
| Ethics Advice | 83 |
| Lobbyist | 20 |
| Major Developers and Permit Consultants | 6 |
| SEI Form 700 and Departmental Gifts | 218 |
| Grand Total | 377 |
The SEI (Form 700) program continues to represent the greatest number of support requests, with 218 requests submitted. Additionally, Engagement and Compliance staff handled more than 83 support requests related to the Ethics Advice program.
Chart 2: Average Time to Resolution in Q1 of FY26 (by program area)
| Program | Time to Resolution (in business days) |
| Campaign Finance and Campaign Consultant | Approx. ½ |
| Ethics Advice | 3.5 |
| Lobbyist | Approx. ½ |
| Major Developers and Permit Consultants | < ½ |
| SEI Form 700 and Departmental Gifts | < ½ |
Engagement and Compliance continues to track metrics related to the requests received through the support portals. The average time to resolution for requests in all programs other than Ethics Advice was half a business day or less. Ethics Advice requests, which generally require additional staff time to research the facts of the question asked and perform legal analysis on the question, had an average time to resolution of 3.5 business days. While this meets the overall Divisional goal of maintaining a time to resolution of less than 5 business days, staff will continue to create resources and streamline processes in an effort to further reduce our average time to resolution in the Ethics Advice program.
These resolution times reflect the amount of time a request is in the “Waiting for Support” and “In Progress” status before being resolved. When staff request additional information needed to provide a complete and accurate answer to the question asked, the system will pause counting towards resolution until the requestor responds.
Disclosure Programs
Lobbyists
Division staff have been working to update the required training lobbyists must complete after they qualify and register with the Ethics Commission. The updated version of the training will improve the clarity and cohesion of the content and will enhance the audio and visual user experience. This updated training is anticipated to be available at the beginning of the next calendar year.
Campaign Finance
Division staff is currently reviewing and planning improvements to administration processes for disclosure filings. This is especially pertinent with two upcoming elections in 2026. Staff is reviewing the functionality and depth of the filing officer reviews as well as how to most efficiently handle filings required outside of the standard filing schedule.
Staff will be preparing for the upcoming 2026 elections, including both a primary and a general election. Staff will undertake filing administration duties related to the elections including publishing a filing schedule, providing training materials to committees, and answering questions received through the Campaign Finance Support portal.
Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700)
Division staff, as well as TAU and the Policy Division, have worked together to monitor, respond to, and plan for changes to the SEI reporting requirements altered by recent state legislative changes. Commission staff are currently aware of, and participating in when necessary, discussions related to the implementation of several pieces of legislation which will impact Form 700 filers, including the new reporting requirement for prospective employment for 87200 filers. While we don’t yet know the specifics of the implementation, staff will communicate directly with impacted filers about their obligations under these new rules.
Another important recent change in state law concerning the Form 700 is SB 852, which requires that 27 additional City officials file the Form 700 directly with the FPPC. AB 1170 in 2024 first required this change for 23 top City officials, as has been previously reported. This has resulted in the 23 filers in question being required to file the Form 700 twice: once in the City’s system so that the information can be used by City departments, the Commission, press, and the public; and once in the FPPC’s system as required by the new law. Under SB 852, City officials who manage the City’s investments will be added to the group that must double file.
FY26 Projects
Annual Ethics Training
Staff has completed the majority of work on the new Annual Ethics Training, and the training is set to be completed by the end of the calendar year. All officials will be able to access the new training to complete their required ethics training by the next annual deadline of April 1, 2026.
As reported in the previous quarterly update, the training was modified from previous years based on feedback from users on the functionality, format, and content of the training. To directly address the concerns of users, the total training time has been significantly reduced, from over two hours to approximately one hour. The training is also separated into shorter video segments allowing for a more user-friendly experience. This segmented structure will also allow staff to more easily implement substantive changes to the training as necessary – either in response to user feedback or legislative changes to the laws covered.
The training also emphasizes plain language definitions of rules and provides real-world application of the rules to scenarios officials face. Both of these improvements were identified through feedback of past users provided through the survey that is included at the end of the training. The subject matter of the examples and scenarios were informed by questions submitted by officials through the advice portal. These enhancements will make the training more informative and useful.
Disclosure Program Manual Conversion
City policy requires departments to comply with the City’s Digital Accessibility and Inclusion Standards (DAIS) by the end of FY26. Under the DAIS requirements, information can no longer exist solely in PDF format due to the format’s limitations related to both mobile browsing and screen reader technology. Engagement and Compliance will be working over the next quarter to convert three manuals to web format to increase accessibility: the Candidate Manual, the Lobbyist Manual, and the SEI (Form 700) Filing Officer Manual. Staff had planned to make substantive improvements within each manual and harmonize the manuals with existing webpages to ensure material is covered thoroughly without duplicative content. However, given the more limited staffing of the division than previously anticipated because of the elimination of the 1823 compliance position in the FY26-FY27 budget, we project that any major substantive improvements will need to be accomplished at a later time.
Campaign Finance Training Program
Engagement and Compliance staff will be working to streamline and standardize the training process for the campaign finance program ahead of the 2026 election year. Staff will work to develop a standard training program for candidates, primarily formed committees, and general purpose committees that best meets the needs of these committees. A key goal of this training program will be to offer trainings in a format that is both efficient for the division and also for candidates and treasurers. The Division plans to implement a single training plan that will be effective and sustainable for future elections.