SEC. 1.126. CONTRIBUTION PROHIBITION - CONTRACTORS DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY.
§ 1.126
City Contractors (vendors with $100,000+ in annual city contracts) and their affiliates are prohibited from making contributions to city elected officials, candidates, or their committees if those officials must approve the contract. City agencies must notify contractors and the Ethics Commission of these restrictions, and any prohibited contributions must be forfeited to the city.
If you have a business contract with San Francisco worth $100,000 or more per year, you and your company's owners and officers cannot donate money to a city official or candidate whose approval is needed for your contract. This ban lasts from when you submit a bid until either negotiations end or 12 months after the contract is approved. City officials cannot accept these prohibited donations and cannot ask contractors for money. If a prohibited donation is made anyway, the money must be returned to the city. City agencies have to tell contractors about these rules, and city officials have to report approved contracts to the Ethics Commission.
- Controversial:Campaign contribution restrictions for government contractors are inherently contentious, with debate over whether they prevent corruption or improperly limit free speech and political participation.
- Complex:The section contains multiple cross-references, nested definitions (particularly 'Affiliate' and 'City Contractor'), and layered notification requirements across different parties that make it difficult to follow.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
SEC. 1.126. CONTRIBUTION PROHIBITION – CONTRACTORS DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this Section 1.126, the following words and phrases shall mean:
“Affiliate” means any member of an entity’s board of directors or any of that entity’s principal officers, including its chairperson, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, any person with an ownership interest of more than 10% in the entity, and any subcontractor listed in the entity’s bid or contract.
“Board on which an individual serves” means the board to which the officer was elected and any other board on which the elected officer serves.
“City Contractor” means any person who contracts with, or is seeking a contract with, any department of the City and County of San Francisco, a state agency on whose board an appointee of a City elective officer serves, the San Francisco Unified School District, or the San Francisco Community College District, when the total anticipated or actual value of the contract(s) that the person is party to or seeks to become party to with any such entity within a fiscal year equals or exceeds $100,000.
“Contract” means any agreement or contract, including any amendment or modification to an agreement or contract, with the City and County of San Francisco, a state agency on whose board an appointee of a City elective officer serves, the San Francisco Unified School District, or the San Francisco Community College District for:
(1) the rendition of personal services,
(2) the furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment,
(3) the sale or lease of any land or building,
(4) a grant, loan, or loan guarantee, or
(5) a development agreement.
“Contract” shall not mean a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding between the City and a labor union representing City employees regarding the terms and conditions of those employees’ City employment.
(b) Prohibition on Contributions. No City Contractor or affiliate of a City Contractor may make any contribution to:
(1) An individual holding a City elective office if the contract must be approved by such individual, the board on which that individual serves, or a state agency on whose board an appointee of that individual serves;
(2) A candidate for the office held by such individual; or
(3) A committee controlled by such individual or candidate.
(c) Term of Prohibitions. The prohibitions set forth in subsection (b) shall apply from the submission of a proposal for a contract until:
(1) The termination of negotiations for such contract; or
(2) 12 months from the date the contract is approved.
(d) Prohibition on Soliciting or Accepting Contributions. No individual holding City elective office, candidate for such office, or committee controlled by such an individual shall:
(1) accept any contribution prohibited by subsection (b); or
(2) solicit any contribution prohibited by subsection (b) from a person who the individual knows or has reason to know to be a City Contractor.
(e) Forfeiture of Contribution. In addition to any other penalty, each committee that accepts a contribution prohibited by subsection (b) shall pay promptly the amount received or deposited to the City and County of San Francisco and deliver the payment to the Ethics Commission for deposit in the General Fund of the City and County; provided that the Commission may provide for the waiver or reduction the waiver or reduction1 of the forfeiture.
(f) Notification.
(1) Notification by City Agencies..1
(A) Prospective Parties to Contracts. The City agency seeking to enter into a contract subject to subsection (b) shall inform any prospective party to a contract of the prohibition in subsection (b) and of the duty to notify the Ethics Commission, as described in subsection (f)(2), by the submission of a proposal for such contract.
(B) Parties to Executed Contracts. After the final execution of a contract by a City agency and any required approvals of a City elective officer, the agency that has entered into a contract subject to subsection (b) shall inform any parties to the contract of the prohibition in subsection (b) and the term of such prohibition established by subsection (c).
(2) Notification of Ethics Commission. The City agency seeking to enter into a contract subject to subsection (b) shall notify the Ethics Commission. within 30 days of the submission of a proposal, on a form or in a format adopted by the Commission, of the parties to the contract, and any subcontractor listed as part of the proposal.
(3) Notification by Prospective Parties to Contracts. Any prospective party to a contract subject to subsection (b) shall, by the submission of a proposal for such contract, inform any member of that party’s board of directors and any of that party’s principal officers, including its chairperson, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, any person with an ownership interest of more than 10% in the party, and any subcontractor listed in the party’s bid or contract of the prohibition in subsection (b).
(4) Notification by Individuals Who Hold City Elective Office. Every individual who holds a City elective office shall, within five business days of the approval of a contract by the officer, a board on which the officer sits, or a board of a state agency on which an appointee of the officer sits, notify the Ethics Commission, on a form or in a format adopted by the Commission, of each contract approved by the individual, the board on which the individual serves, or the board of a state agency on which an appointee of the officer sits. An individual who holds a City elective office need not file the form required by this subsection (f)(4) if the Clerk or Secretary of a Board on which the individual serves or a Board of a State agency on which an appointee of the officer serves has filed the form on behalf of the board.
(Added by Ord. 71-00, File No. 000358, App. 4/28/2000; amended by Proposition O, 11/7/2000; Ord. 141-03, File No. 030034, App. 6/27/2003; Ord. 228-06, File No. 060501, App. 9/14/2006; Proposition H, 6/3/2008; Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 1/1/2019)
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 129-18.