City and County of San Francisco
Ethics Commission

English

Table of Contents

• Committee Audits
• What happens if candidates have funds remaining in the Campaign Contribution Trust Account?
  • Use of Unexpended Public Funds
  • Funds Raised After the Election
  • Example

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Committee Audits

Adopted by San Francisco voters, S. F. Charter § C3.699-11(4) authorizes the Ethics Commission to conduct campaign audits of City candidates and committees to determine compliance with both state and local law. Under the rules of the public financing program, all candidates who receive public funds are subject to mandatory audit.  The Commission will initiate the audit process after the first post-election campaign report is filed.

See S.F. C&GC Code § 1.150.

What happens if candidates have funds remaining in the Campaign Contribution Trust Account?

Funds that remain in the campaign contribution trust account on the 30th day after the election are “unexpended public funds.” Unexpended public funds can include private contributions and public funds.  The total amount of unexpended public funds will not exceed the amount of public funds a candidate received.  Committees must forfeit unexpended public funds to the City for deposit into the Election Campaign Fund within 30 days of whichever event happens the latest: 

1. an election; 
2. candidate’s withdrawal from an election; 
3. candidate’s failure to qualify for public funding; or 
4. the completion of the Ethics Commission’s audit of the campaign committee.  

Use of Unexpended Public Funds

Candidates may use unexpended public funds to continue to pay outstanding qualified campaign expenditures directly related to the election, including expenses invoiced after the date of the election but occurred prior, and a limited range of post-election expenses. These can include treasurer/consultant, storage, and banking fees associated with an audit, consultant/treasurer fees related to the preparation and filing of required campaign forms and statements, and rent/utility fees related to a campaign office for up to 30 days after the election. Funds in the committee trust account designated as unexpended public funds cannot be used to pay for other expenses that do not directly affect the outcome of the election such as fines/penalties, consultant/staff bonuses, and post-election expenses such as celebrations/events, announcements, or expenses associated with holding office.   

The amount of funds used to pay for qualified expenditures or the limited range of allowable post-election expenses described above can be deducted from the total amount of unexpended public funds designated to be returned to the City. It is up to the committee to demonstrate through reasonable accounting methods that unexpended funds were only used to pay for qualified expenditures and that the committee returned the appropriate amount to the City.

Funds Raised After the Election

Any funds raised between the election date and the 30^th day after the election will still qualify as “unexpended public funds” if these funds remain in the committee trust account after the 30^th day after the election. Funds that the committee receives more than 30 days after an election day do not constitute unexpended public funds and may be used for any lawful purpose such as settling outstanding debts from the campaign.

See S.F. C&GC Code § 1.148(c).