EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ETHICS COMMISSION
For the Meeting of June 13, 2011
1. Budget.
The Mayor proposed his FY 11-12 budget to the Board of Supervisors on June 1. The budget generally provides the Commission its requested budget, which includes $2,259,979 for the operating budget and $2,009,451 for the Election Campaign Fund (ECF), plus a repayment of $4,079,107 to the ECF. The Board is scheduled to consider the Commission’s budget on June 20 and 27. I will continue to work closely with both the Mayor and the Board regarding the Commission’s budget.
2. November 8, 2011 Election.
Eight candidates for Mayor have submitted an application for public funds. The Commission has disbursed a total of $1,491,924 to five of these eight candidates; staff is reviewing the applications submitted by the other three candidates.
Candidates for Mayor who are interested in seeking public funding may submit an application for public funds beginning February 8. In order to receive public funds, an interested candidate must demonstrate, among other things, that he/she has received at least $25,000 in qualifying contributions from at least 250 individuals who reside in the City.
3. Investigation and enforcement program.
Since its last regular meeting on May 9, 2011, the Ethics Commission has received two new complaints. There are 23 pending complaints alleging violations within the Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction.
| Category | # of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Campaign Finance | 7 |
| Conflict of Interest | 4 |
| Governmental Ethics | 0 |
| Lobbyist Ordinance | 1 |
| Campaign Consultant Ordinance | 3 |
| Sunshine Ordinance | 8 |
| TOTAL | 23 |
4. Campaign finance disclosure program.
a. Filing deadline. The next filing deadline that applies to all committees falls on August 1, 2011 for the First Semi-Annual statement, which covers the reporting period ending June 30, 2011. In the interim, staff continues to receive and process campaign statements for other filing deadlines. Staff continues to answer questions from and conduct outreach to candidates and other committee representatives about campaign finance filing obligations.
b. Collection of late filing fees and contribution forfeitures. In the FY 10-11, as of May 31, the Commission collected a total of $40,600 in campaign finance late fees and forfeitures. Outstanding late fees and forfeitures total $182,152 of which waiver requests are pending for $95,079; and $21,269 is pending at the Bureau of Delinquent Revenues.
c. Status of accounts to San Francisco Bureau of Delinquent Revenues (BDR). The following chart provides details on pending accounts referred to BDR:
| # | Committee/ Filer |
ID # | Treasurer or Responsible Officer | Date referral effective | Original amount referred | Last month’s balance | Current balance (Changes are in bold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnnie Carter for Community College Board | 1226264 | Johnnie Carter | 6/16/06 | $9,520 | $6,595 | $6,595 |
| 2 | Committee to Elect M. Valle for Treasurer | 1278937 | Manuel B. Valle | 6/14/07 | $5,525 | $5,525 | $5,525 |
| 3 | Bill Barnes for District 5 | 1265969 | Alix Rosenthal | 1/3/08 | $3,120 | $113 | $113 |
| 4 | Care Not Cash | 1244505 | Ronald Jin | 2/29/08 | $5,331 | $1,556 | $1,256 |
| 5 | Omar Khalif for Board of Educ. | 1287030 | Omar Khalif | 7/30/09 | $1,800 | $1,775 | $1,775 |
| 6 | Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup | 1306882 | Myrna Lim | 7/30/09 | $1,180 | $1,180 | $1,180 |
| 7 | Myrna Lim for District 11 Sup | 1256697 | Jia Jun Chen | 8/20/07 | $3,855 | $2,775 | $2,775 |
| 8 | San Francisco Women’s Political Committee | 1243711 | Giselle Barry | 5/16/06 | $1,906 | $50 | $50 |
| 9 | Johnny K. Wang JKW Political Consulting |
100716 | Johnny K. Wang | 4/19/11 | $2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| TOTAL | $21,269 |
5. Revenues report.
For FY 10-11, the Commission is budgeted to generate $78,000 in revenues. As of June 1, 2011, the Commission received and deposited $105,854 as summarized below. The figure represents collection of approximately 135 percent of expected revenues for FY 10-11.
Revenues received and deposited as of June 1, 2011:
| Source | Budgeted Amount FY 10-11 | Receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Fees | $8,000 | $40,000 |
| Other Ethics General | $1,000 | $381 |
| Campaign Finance Fines | $50,000 | $38,252 |
| Campaign Consultant Fees | $15,000 | $16,450 |
| Lobbyist Fines | $1,000 | $2,050 |
| Statements of Economic Interests Fines | $1,000 | $295 |
| Other Ethics Fines | $1,000 | $5,626 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $1,000 | $2,800 |
| Total | $78,000 | $105,854 |
6. Draft regulations related to complaints regarding Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force.
The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF) has informed the Commission that its review of draft regulations related to the handling of complaints regarding alleged violations of the Sunshine Ordinance and referrals from the SOTF continues. The SOTF anticipates that it will complete its work sometime this summer.
7. Lobbyist program.
As of June 1, 2011, 73 individual lobbyists were registered with the Commission. In FY 10-11, total revenues collected to date amount to $42,050, which consist of $40,000 in lobbyist registration fees and $2,050 in late fines. The April 2011 reporting period deadline is May 16, 2011.
8. Campaign Consultant program.
As of May 31, 2011, 29 campaign consultants are active and registered with the Commission. $16,450 in registration fees and $2,800 in late fines have been collected during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The next campaign consultant quarterly report deadline is Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Staff mailed and e-mailed reminder notices to all active campaign consultants two weeks before the deadline. Staff will send an additional e-mail reminder one week prior to the deadline.
9. Statement of Economic Interests program.
Between May 3 and June 1, staff entered 382 SEI-related filings into SFEDS. Staff continues to work on processing the filings.
10. Outreach and Education.
On May 27, staff met with a delegation of 14 representatives from the municipality of Xi’an, which is the capital city Shaanxi Province, China. The group was visiting the U.S. to attend a training program to learn practices of public administration and anti-corruption in the public sector. Many of the delegates were attorneys general or inspectors general in their district.
On June 9, staff met with a delegation of 20 representatives of the ShanDong Provincial Government of China. The group was interested in discussing the organizational structure of local government, ethics as it applies to employees, and the creation of transparency and anti-corruption in government.
On May 11, staff conducted a Governmental Ethics and Statement of Incompatible Activities Training for the Fire Department.
On May 17, staff conducted two Governmental Ethics and Statement of Incompatible Activities Trainings for the Planning Department.
The Commission continues to offer trainings on Statements of Incompatible Activities to City departments.
The following are the currently scheduled live trainings for 2011:
Candidates’ Training: June 23, and August 9
SIA Training for the Planning Department: June 14
The following are web video trainings available on the Commission website:
Department of Building Inspection SIA Training
Candidates’ Training
Controller’s Office SIA Training
Department on the Environment SIA Training
Governmental Ethics Ordinance Training for City Employees
Lobbyist Ordinance Training
Medical Examiner’s Office SIA Training
Non-Candidate Recipient Committee Training
Public Utilities Commission SIA Training
SIA Template Language Training
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________
John St. Croix
Executive Director
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