Note: Statements of Incompatible Activities will no longer apply after October 12, 2024. As of that date, City officers and employees are subject to the following incompatible activities and prohibitions listed in the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, Section 3.218.
Incompatible Activities
Under Section 3.218 of the San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code, lists activities that are inconsistent or incompatible with the duties of the officers and employees of the City.
Activities Subject to your Department’s Jurisdiction
You may not engage in activities that are subject to your department’s jurisdiction. This includes activities that are under the control, inspection, review, audit, permitting, enforcement, contracting, or any other kind of responsibility of your department.
Activities prohibited by this rule include, but are not limited to:
- Contracting with your own department or serving on the board of directors of an entity that contracts with your department,
- Note that there is an additional rule that will be discussed later in the Contracting Section of this training, which applies just to City officers, and prohibits them from having or seeking any contract or subcontract with the City worth over $10,000.
- Acquiring an ownership interest in real property, if you participated personally and substantially in the permitting or inspection of that property within the 12 months prior to the acquisition, and
- Having or acquiring a financial interest in any financial products issued or regulated by your department.
Selective Assistance
You may not provide assistance or advice that is not generally available to all persons in a manner that confers an advantage on any person who is doing business or seeking to do business with the City. This type of assistance or advice is known as “selective assistance” – it is prohibited and will be discussed in greater detail later in the Contracting Section of this training.
Use of City Resources
You may not engage in the use of the time, facilities, equipment, or supplies of the City for private gain or advantage. Minimal or incidental use is not prohibited.
This means you cannot use City resources for non-City purposes. For example, you may not use your work computer for personal tasks. Nor may you use staff time to carry out non-City business.
Additionally, there are rules on the misuse of public funds. The California Constitution requires public funds to be used for a “public purpose.” Examples of misuse of public funds include making gifts of public funds, using public funds for personal purposes, and using City resources for campaign activities.
Determining what constitutes a “public purpose” is usually within the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, or the Department Head. But no City official can authorize using public funds for personal purposes or using City resources for campaign activities.
Use of Prestige of Office
You may not use any marker (including , but not limited to a badge, uniform, or business card), prestige, or influence of your City position for private gain or advantage.
For example, say that you received a parking ticket and are contesting it. You consider mentioning your status as a City official, in the hope that it may help you get the ticket dismissed. Using the prestige of your office in such a way is prohibited.
Use of City Work Product
You cannot use any City work product for your own benefit. Specifically, you may not sell, publish, or otherwise use, in exchange for anything of value and without appropriate authorization, any non-public materials that were prepared on City time or while using City facilities, property (including without limitation, intellectual property), equipment, or other materials.
Acting as an unauthorized City representative
You may not identify yourself as a representative of your department, or as an agent acting on behalf of your department, unless authorized to do so. This includes using City letterhead, title, email, business card, or any other resource for any communication that may lead the recipient of the communication to think that you are acting in an official capacity when you are not.
Compensation for City Duties or Advice
You may not receive or accept a payment from anyone other than the City for the performance of a specific service or act you would be expected to render or perform in the regular course of your City duties or, for advice about the processes of the City directly related to your duties and responsibilities, or the processes of your department.
Lobbying Activity
As a City officer or employee, you are prohibited from being paid to influence any other employee or officer within your department. Specifically, you may not receive or accept a payment from anyone, other than the City, in exchange for communicating with any other City officer or employee within your own department with the intent to influence an administrative or legislative action.
Additionally, there is a similar rule that applies only to City officers. City officers cannot receive any payment for attempting to influence any other City officer or employee. Specifically, City officers may not directly or indirectly receive any form of compensation to communicate orally, in writing, or in any other manner on behalf of any other person with any other officer or employee of the City and County with the intent to influence a government decision.
Excessive Time Demands and Regular Disqualifications
City employees, including department heads, may not engage in any activity that either:
- imposes excessive time demands, such that it impairs your ability to perform your City duties, or
- disqualifies you from City assignments or responsibilities on a regular basis.
Employees may seek an Advanced Written Determination (AWD) from their department head or appointing authority to determine if a proposed outside activity imposes excessive time demands or requires regular disqualifications.
Advanced Written Determinations are only available for these two types of prohibited activities. If you have questions about if any other specific activity is prohibited, please reach out to the Ethics Commission through our advice portal for assistance.
Other Prohibited Activities
In addition to the incompatible activity rules that we just discussed, we will now cover some other prohibitions that exist for City officers and employees.
Referrals
As a City officer or employee, you may not:
- Receive any money, gift or other thing of economic value from a person or entity other than the City and County for referring a member of the public to a person or entity for any advice, service, or product related to the processes of the City; or
- Condition any governmental action on a member of the public hiring, employing, or contracting with any specific person or entity.
This means that you are prohibited from being paid to refer members of the public to specific business. It also means you can’t take, or fail to take, any governmental action based on whether someone has hired a specific person or company.
For example, let’s say your City job involves approving building permits. You have a friend who owns a local construction company. Your friend offers to give you $50 any time you recommend his company to someone seeking a building permit. This would be prohibited. It would also be prohibited for you to deny someone’s building permit, because they failed to hire your friend.
Confidentiality
As a City officer or employee, you may not:
- Willfully or knowingly disclose any confidential or privileged information, unless authorized or required by law to do so; or
- Use any confidential or privileged information to advance the financial or other private interest of yourself or others.
Confidential or privileged information is information that at the time of use or disclosure was not subject to disclosure under the Sunshine Ordinance or California Public Records Act.
This obligation not to disclose confidential or privileged information continues even after leaving City service.
Decisions Involving Family Members
As a City officer or employee, you may not make, participate in making, or seek to influence any employment decision involving a person with whom you have a familial or romantic relationship. Note that this rule does not prohibit you from acting as a personal reference or providing a letter of reference for a relative who is seeking a position in a department other than your own.
Dual Office Holding
Elected and appointed officers are prohibited from holding incompatible offices.
You cannot hold two offices if:
- the offices are incompatible because of overlapping responsibilities or jurisdiction, OR
- both offices have annual salaries of over $2,500.
Rules on Board Members and Commissioners Seeking Elective Office
There is also an important rule that relates to serving as a member of a board or commission while running for elective office.
Appointed members of boards, commissions, and other bodies established by the City’s Charter may not run for State or local elective office during their time in office.
Those officials immediately and automatically lose their appointed positions upon filing a declaration of candidacy for any State elective office, any City elective office, School Board, City College Board, or Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors.
Voting on one’s own character and conduct
As a member of a board or commission, you are also prohibited from knowingly voting on, or in any way attempting to influence the outcome of a governmental action involving:
- your own character or conduct,
- your rights as a member,
- or your own appointment to any office, position, or employment.
Note that this rule does not prohibit you from:
- responding to allegations,
- applying for an office, position, or employment,
- responding to inquiries, or
- participating in a decision by your board, commission, or committee to appoint yourself as chair, vice chair, or other officer of the board, commission, or committee.
Conflicts of Interest for Elected Officers, Members of Boards and Commissions
If you are an elected officer or a member of a board or commission, you are prohibited from using your public position to seek or obtain anything of value for your private or professional benefit, or the benefit of your immediate family, or any organizations with which you are associated.
You are “associated” with an organization if you or an immediate family member is an employee, agent, director, officer, or trustee, or owns or controls at least 10% of the equity in the organization.
For example, if a commissioner is on the board of directors of a nonprofit organization, the official cannot use their City position or title to fundraise for that organization. An example of using your position or title to fundraise for an organization is when your name and City title are listed on a solicitation that is sent to potential donors. This includes invitations to fundraising events.