Lobbyists are restricted from engaging in certain activities affecting officials they lobby, including contributing to campaign committees and gifts.
Lobbyists are prohibited from evading or attempting to evade these and other requirements of the lobbyist ordinance and regulations through indirect efforts or through the use of agents or others.
Employment of Unregistered Lobbyist
It shall be unlawful knowingly to pay any Contact Lobbyist to Contact any Officer of the City and County of San Francisco, if said Contact Lobbyist is required to register under the Ordinance and has not done so by the deadlines imposed in the Ordinance
Campaign Contributions
No lobbyist shall make any contribution to a city elective officer or candidate for city elective office, including the city elective officer’s or candidate’s controlled committees, if that lobbyist is registered to lobby the agency of the city elective officer or the agency for which the candidate is seeking election or if the lobbyist has been registered to lobby that agency in the previous 90 days.
If a lobbyist has failed to disclose which agency or department the lobbyist will or can attempt to influence, as required by Section 2.110(b), the lobbyist may not make a contribution to any city elective officer or candidate for city elective office, or any city elective officer’s or candidate’s controlled committees.
Bundling of Campaign Contributions
No lobbyist shall deliver or transmit, or deliver or transmit through a third party, any contribution made by another person to any city elective officer or candidate for city elective office, or any city elective officer’s or candidate’s controlled committees, if that lobbyist is registered to lobby the agency for which the candidate is seeking election or the agency of the city elective officer or has been registered to lobby that agency in the previous 90 days.
If a lobbyist has failed to disclose which agencies the lobbyist attempts to influence, as required by Section 2.110(b), the lobbyist may not deliver or transmit, or deliver or transmit through a third party, any contribution made by another person to any city elective officer or candidate for city elective office, or any city elective officer’s or candidate’s controlled committees.
Gifts
Lobbyists are prohibited from directly or indirectly providing gifts to an official of the City or a member of their family if the lobbyist knows or have reason to know they are a restricted source for the official.
Lobbyists are also prohibited from providing gifts to an intermediary if they know or have reason to know the intermediary will use the payment to provide a gift to an official they are a restricted source of that official.
Future Employment
No lobbyist may cause or influence the introduction or initiation of any local legislative or administrative action if the purpose of the action is to gain employment or retainment to secure the action’s granting, denial, confirmation, rejection, passage or defeat.
Fictitious Person
No lobbyist may contact any officer of the City in the name of a fictitious person, or in the name of any real person, except with the consent of such real person.
Lobbying by City Officers and Employees
No City officer or employee may be paid in exchange for communicating with any other City officer or employee within their own department with the intent to influence an administrative or legislative action.
Lobbying by Campaign Consultants
No campaign consultant, individual who has an ownership interest in an entity considered a campaign consultant, or an employee of the campaign consultant may communicate with any current or former client, serving as an officer for the City, on behalf of another person or entity in exchange for economic consideration for the purpose of influencing local legislative or administrative action. There are limited exceptions to this rule.
Exceptions
This prohibition doesn’t apply to:
- An employee of a campaign consultant whose sole duties are clerical; or who communicates with an officer of the City in their capacity as an employee of the campaign consultant who is prohibited from making the communication.
- An employee of a campaign consultant who did not personally provide campaign consulting services to the officer of the City with whom the employee seeks to communicate in order to influence local legislative or administrative action.