Effective December 9, 2024 – all Campaign Consultant statements are required to be filed electronically in a format prescribed by the Ethics Commission. The new electronic forms have consolidated the old paper forms and allow for a new, simplified, and more streamlined filing process.
Registration
Each campaign consultant must register with the Ethics Commission by filing a registration report and one or more client authorization statements.
To remain active across calendar years, campaign consultants must file a re-registration report annually no later than January 1st of each year.
A campaign consultant must file a client authorization statement before providing any campaign consulting services to any client retained after the date of initial registration and before receiving any economic consideration from the client in exchange for campaign consulting services, and in any event no later than 15 days after being retained to provide campaign consulting services to any client.
Registration & Client Fees
At the time of registration and re-registration, each consultant must pay a registration fee calculated based on the income the consultant will earn in the calendar year.
| Registration Fees | For filers whose campaign consultant earnings are | Registration Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Less than $5,000 | $50 |
| Tier 2 | Equal to or greater than $5,000 – but not greater than $20,000 | $200 |
| Tier 3 | Greater than $20,000 | $400 |
| Per Client | $50 per client; regardless of earnings | $50 x # of clients |
Fees may be paid online using a debit/credit card, check, or e-check. Checks should be made payable to the City & County of San Francisco
Reporting
Campaign consultants must disclose on their quarterly reports: client payments, campaign contributions, gifts to City officeholders, payments from vendors or subvendors, the names of clients who are City officeholders or employees, City contracts obtained by the consultant that are approved by an officeholder client, and appointments to public office approved by an officeholder client.
Reporting Deadlines
Quarterly disclosure reports must be filed with the Ethics Commission according to the following schedule:
| Deadline | Period Covered |
|---|---|
| March 15 | December 1 – February 28/29 |
| June 15 | March 1 – May 31 |
| September 15 | June 1 – August 31 |
| December 15 | September 1 – November 30 |
Please note than any deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday on which the Ethics Commission is closed will be extended to the next business day.
Recordkeeping
Campaign consultants must also retain documents to substantiate their reports for a period of five years.
Termination
When a client has terminated the services of a campaign consultant, the consultant must file a client termination statement within 30 days. A campaign consultant may not provide campaign consulting services to a client or accept economic consideration for the provision of campaign consulting services after a client termination statement is filed, until a new client authorization statement has been filed and fees are paid.
Campaign consultants may terminate their filing obligations by ceasing all campaign consulting activity and filing a termination statement with the Ethics Commission.