On January 1, 2019, local laws went into effect that established new disclosure requirements for ballot measure committees and committees making independent expenditures. Under San Francisco Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code Section 1.114.5(b)(2), any ballot measure committee or committee making independent expenditures that receive contributions totaling $5,000 or more from any person, in a single calendar year, at the behest of a City elective officer shall file this form.
Behested Payment
“At the behest of” means under the control or at the direction of, in cooperation, consultation, coordination, or concert with, at the request or suggestion of, or with the express, prior consent of. However, a contribution is not made at the behest of a public official solely because the official requested the contribution via television, radio, billboard, a public message on an online platform, the distribution of 200 or more identical pieces of printed material, the distribution of a single email to 200 or more recipients, or a speech to a group of 20 or more individuals.
Ballot Measure Committee and Committees Making Independent Expenditures
For this purposes of section 1.114.5(b), a “ballot measure committee” is a committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more measures. A “committee making independent expenditures” is a committee that spent $1,000 or more in a calendar year on independent expenditures in support of our opposition to a single candidate or measure.
Person
“Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, corporation, association, firm, committee, club or other organization or group of persons, however organized.
Filings by Committees
When to File
The committee must file Form SFEC-114.5 no later than the deadline to file the semi-annual or pre-election campaign statement that must report the behested contribution that makes the cumulative total $5,000 or more. If a committee has filed a Form SFEC-114.5 and, during the same calendar year receives additional contribution(s) from the same person, the committee is required to file a new Form SFEC-114.5 disclosing the additional contribution(s) no later than the deadline to file the semi-annual or pre-election campaign statement that must report the contribution(s).
How to File
To file Form SFEC-114.5, you must use the electronic link located at the bottom of this webpage. If you run out of space and are unable to include all of the information that you are required to disclose and the option, you must make a supplemental filing that includes the remaining information. Be sure to include the same identifying information on the supplemental filing as in the original to allow the Ethics Commission to connect the information.