SEC. 1.100. PURPOSE AND INTENT.

(a) Huge sums of money often are necessary to finance American election campaigns. Inherent to the high cost of election campaigning is the problem of improper influence, real or potential, exercised by campaign contributors over elected officials. In addition, this fundraising distracts public officials seeking reelection from focusing upon important public matters, encourages contributions which may have a corrupting influence, gives incumbents an unfair fundraising advantage over potential challengers, and provides contributors with greater access to public officials than other members of the public. These developments undermine the integrity of the governmental process and the competitiveness of campaigns. The amount of money raised by many candidates and committees supporting or opposing candidates also erodes public confidence in local officials by creating the appearance that elected officials may be unduly influenced by contributors who support their campaigns or oppose their opponents' campaigns.

(b) It is the purpose and intent of the People of the City and County of San Francisco in enacting this Chapter to:

(1) Place realistic and enforceable limits on the amount individuals may contribute to political campaigns in municipal elections and to provide full and fair enforcement of all the provisions in this Chapter;

(2) Ensure that all individuals and interest groups in our city have a fair opportunity to participate in elective and governmental processes;

(3) Create an incentive to limit overall expenditures in campaigns, thereby reducing the pressure on candidates to raise large campaign war chests for defensive purposes beyond the amount necessary to communicate reasonably with voters;

(4) Reduce the advantage of incumbents and thus encourage competition for elective office;

(5) Allow candidates and officeholders to spend a smaller proportion of their time on fundraising and a greater proportion of their time dealing with issues of importance to their constituents' community;

(6) Ensure that serious candidates are able to raise enough money to communicate their views and positions adequately to the public, thereby promoting public discussion of the important issues involved in political campaigns;

(7) Limit contributions to candidates and committees, including committees that make independent expenditures, to eliminate or reduce the appearance or reality that large contributors may exert undue influence over elected officials;

(8) Assist voters in making informed electoral decisions and ensure compliance with campaign contribution limits through the required filing of campaign statements detailing the sources of campaign contributions and how those contributions have been expended;

(9) Make it easier for the public, the media and election officials to efficiently review and compare campaign statements by requiring committees that meet certain financial thresholds to file copies of their campaign statements on designated electronic media;

(10) Help restore public trust in governmental and electoral institutions; and

(11) Help ensure the integrity of the election process by prohibiting campaign advertisements that contain false endorsements of current and former public officials, candidates, political clubs, and organizations. Such false endorsements undermine the integrity of the electoral process by misleading and confusing voters about the actual support for or opposition to candidates or ballot measures and it is too burdensome for individual voters, inundated with campaign messages, to verify the accuracy of such claims and for persons whose positions are misrepresented to correct the misrepresentations close in time to the election.

(c) This Chapter is enacted in accordance with the terms of Sections 5 and 7 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of California and Section 1.101 of the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco.