Notice of Proposition H Impact on Existing Candidate Committees
About the Public Financing Program
San Francisco’s partial public financing system for candidates for Mayor and the Board of Supervisors is designed to strengthen the accountability of candidates to the voters who elect them. Candidates who meet established criteria can qualify to receive limited amounts of public funds for their campaigns and can spend less time fundraising and more time discussing issues important to their constituents. By increasing the importance of relatively small, individual contributions in election campaigns, public financing systems help encourage new and diverse voices among candidates as well as those whom they are elected to represent.
Under the program, candidates certified as eligible to receive public financing may receive up to the following amounts in public funds:
Candidates for the Office of Mayor – $1,200,000 for Non-Incumbent Candidates; $1,185,500 for Incumbent Candidates
Candidates for the Board of Supervisors – $255,000 for Non-Incumbent Candidates; $252,000 for Incumbent Candidates
Among other things, to receive public funds, candidates must demonstrate that they have raised a certain amount of contributions from individuals who reside in San Francisco. For more information on the rules and requirements of the public financing program (including the rules discussed below), read the Supplement for Candidates for Mayor or the Supplement for Candidates for the Board of Supervisors. Eligible candidates are also encouraged to review the Introduction to the Public Financing Program – November 2022.
- Supplemental Guide for Public Financing – Board of Supervisors – November 2022
- Supplemental Guide for Public Financing – Candidates for Mayor (This guide will be published at a future date)
Important Dates for Candidates Seeking Public Financing
If you are a candidate planning to apply for public financing in the November 2020 election, you must comply with the deadlines shown in the table below. Please review the Supplemental Guides for Mayoral and Supervisor candidates for details on complying with each filing requirement.
These deadlines are applicable to candidates in the November 8, 2022 election.
| Deadline | Date |
|---|---|
| Date Range for Eligible Qualifying Contributions | May 8, 2021 through August 30, 2022 |
| First Date a Qualifying Request (Form SFEC-142(b)) May be Filed | Tuesday, February 8, 2022 |
| Deadline to File Statement of Participation (Form SFEC-142(a)) | Friday, June 17, 2022* |
| First Date Public Funds Can Be Disbursed | Monday, June 20, 2022 |
| Last Date to File (Or Refile) A Qualifying Request (Form SFEC-142(b)) | No later than Tuesday, August 30, 2022 |
| Last Date to Resubmit a Qualifying Request (For SFEC-142(b)) | Friday, September 9, 2022 |
| Deadline for Executive Director to Make Final Determinations | Wednesday, September 14, 2022 |
| Deadline to Submit Matching Requests (Form SFEC-144(c)/144(d)) | 5:00 PM on Thursday, December 8, 2022 |
*Note: This date may be adjusted to match any extension to the nomination period the Department of Elections makes for a specific office.
Statement of Participation
Candidates for Mayor and Board of Supervisors must first electronically file the Statement of Participation or Non-Participation (SFEC Form 142a) indicating their intent to/or not to participate in the public financing program. This form must be filed no later than 3 calendar days after the deadline for filing nomination papers. If this deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline will be extended to the next business day.
Thereafter, candidates must electronically file a Qualifying Request for public funds, which includes a list of all qualifying contributions that demonstrates the candidate has raised the required number and amount of matching funds from San Francisco residents. Supporting documents must show that the contributions exist and that the contributors are individuals who are residents of San Francisco.
To qualify for public funding, a candidate for the Board of Supervisors must demonstrate that they have raised at least $10,000 in contribution amounts ranging from $10 to $100 from at least 100 San Francisco residents within 18 months prior to the election by the 70th day before the election (an incumbent Supervisorial candidate must raise at least $15,000 in contributions from at least 150 San Francisco residents).
A candidate for Mayor must demonstrate that they have raised at least $50,000 in contribution amounts ranging from $10 to $100 from at least 500 San Francisco residents by the 70th day before the election (an incumbent Mayoral candidate must raise at least $75,000 in contributions from at least 750 San Francisco residents).
In addition to the fundraising requirement, candidates must also meet further requirements prior to certification and throughout the election. These requirements are outlined in more detail in the Supplemental Guide for Public Financing, and in San Francisco Campaign & Government Conduct Code Sec. 1.140. All candidates, their treasurers, and committee officers participating in the public financing program are responsible for understanding and complying with all eligibility requirements.
Mandatory Audit of Publicly Financed Candidates
As part of the City’s public financing program, all candidates have been certified eligible to receive public financing for their campaigns must be audited by the Ethics Commission after the election. Commission audits determine the committees’ degree of compliance with applicable state and local laws, and produce written audit reports for the committee and public to detail any material audit findings. Audits may be initiated within 60 days after the first post-election campaign report is due for publicly financed.
Special Filing Requirements
Candidates for the Board of Supervisors must electronically file the Threshold Form within 24 hours of receiving, spending or having $10,000 or more and candidates for Mayor must electronically file within 24 hours of receiving, spending or having $50,000 or more. This form must be filed regardless of whether any other candidate in the race has been certified to receive public financing.
In a race where at least one candidate has been certified to receive public funds, all candidates for that race must electronically file the Threshold Form within 24 hours of reaching the $100,000 threshold (Board of Supervisors races) or $1,000,000 threshold (Mayoral races). Thereafter, candidates must electronically file the Threshold Form within 24 hours of each time they spend or receive an additional $10,000 (Supervisor candidates) or an additional $50,000 (Mayoral candidates).
For additional information on all the forms and statements candidates may be required to file, including the Ethics Commission’s local filing schedule for committees, please review the “Reporting & Recordkeeping for Candidates” page on the Commission’s website.
Individual Expenditure Ceiling
Candidates who seek public funds must agree to limit their spending to the amount of their Individual Expenditure Ceiling (IEC). The IEC for candidates for Board of Supervisor start at $350,000, and the IEC for candidates for Mayor starts at $1,700,000. This means candidates who have applied for public financing or who have been certified eligible for public financing cannot spend more than his or her IEC limit until it is raised. A publicly financed candidate will always be bound by an IEC.
As necessary, the Ethics Commission may raise a candidate’s IEC in response to in increments of $50,000 for candidates for Board of Supervisors, and in increments of $250,000 for candidates for Mayor. Adjustments to a candidate’s IEC will be made based on the funds raised by that candidate’s opponents and independent expenditures made to support or oppose candidates in that race.
A candidate’s IEC may be raised incrementally, but it cannot be reduced or removed altogether. Because IEC limits are adjusted on an individual basis, candidates in the same race may have different expenditure ceilings. When the Ethics Commission raises a candidate’s IEC, the Commission notifies affected candidates and posts this information to its website.
Any person (including committees other than candidate committees) who makes independent expenditures, member communications or electioneering communications in support or opposition of a candidate at a cost of $1,000 or more per candidate during the 90 days preceding an election must file a report with the Ethics Commission within 24 hours of each time the $1,000 threshold is reached.
Any candidate for Mayor or the Board of Supervisors seeking the same office as a candidate identified in a communication may object to the Executive Director’s determination of whether a communication reported on filings required under section 1.161, 1.162 or 1.163 actually supports or opposes a candidate or is neutral. Such requests must be filed within one business day from the date the Executive Director makes his or her determination.
Payments of Matching Funds
Once certified as eligible to receive public funds, a candidate for the Board of Supervisors will receive an initial public funds grant of $60,000 and a candidate for Mayor will receive $300,000. Candidates may be eligible to receive additional public funds, based on the private contributions they raise, through the submission of a Matching Request. The tables below summarize the maximum amount of funds candidates for the Board of Supervisors and Mayor can receive under the public financing program.
Maximum Allowable Matching Funds: Candidates for Board of Supervisors
| Private Funds Raised by Non-Incumbents | Matching Public Funds | Private Funds Raised by Incumbents | Matching Public Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | $10,000 | $60,000 | $15,000 | $60,000 |
| 1:6 | $32,500 | $195,000 | $32,000 | $192,000 |
| Total | $42,500 | $255,000 | $47,000 | $252,000 |
Maximum Allowable Matching Funds: Candidates for Mayor
| Private Funds Raised by Non-Incumbents | Matching Public Funds | Private Funds Raised by Incumbents | Matching Public Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | $50,000 | $300,000 | $75,000 | $300,000 |
| 1:6 | $150,500 | $900,000 | $150,000 | $885,000 |
| Total | $200,000 | $1,200,000 | $222,500 | $1,185,000 |
Notification of Eligibility Certification
Any person who wishes to receive written notification from the Ethics Commission that the Commission has certified a candidate for Mayor or the Board of Supervisors as eligible to receive public funds should complete SFEC Form 152c. The Ethics Commission will also post on its website a listing of each candidate who has been certified to receive public funds, and their disbursements to date.