SEC. 1.134. LIFTING OF VOLUNTARY EXPENDITURE CEILINGS; SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTING IN ELECTIONS FOR ASSESSOR, PUBLIC DEFENDER, CITY ATTORNEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, TREASURER, SHERIFF, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, OR THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT.
§ 1.134
When running for certain San Francisco offices (Assessor, Public Defender, City Attorney, District Attorney, Treasurer, Sheriff, School Board, or Community College Board), a candidate who agreed to spend no more than a set amount may stop following that limit if an opposing candidate spends more, if outside groups spend more to help or hurt them, or if they themselves overspend. The Ethics Commission must be notified within 24 hours when the threshold is crossed, and the Commission will then announce to all candidates that the spending limit no longer applies.
San Francisco allows candidates for certain elected offices to voluntarily agree to limit their campaign spending. However, this agreement only holds if everyone playing fairly. If an opposing candidate who didn't agree to the limit starts spending a lot of money, or if outside groups spend heavily to support or oppose a candidate, or if the candidate themselves spends too much, then the spending limit gets dropped for everyone in that race. When the spending limit gets dropped, the candidate or their campaign has to tell the Ethics Commission within 24 hours, and the Ethics Commission then notifies all candidates in that race that the limit is no longer in effect.
- Complex:The section involves multiple triggering conditions (three separate subsections in (a)), cross-references to state law and other city code sections, and a distinction between different types of campaign expenditures and communications that may be difficult for lay readers to parse.
- Controversial:Voluntary spending limits and their enforcement are subjects of ongoing public debate in campaign finance, with disagreements over whether they are fair, whether they should be lifted easily, and what constitutes a legitimate trigger for lifting them.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
This Section shall apply only if at least one candidate for the City elective office has accepted the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling, and the Ethics Commission has not lifted that voluntary expenditure ceiling. This Section applies only to candidates for Assessor, Public Defender, City Attorney, District Attorney, Treasurer, Sheriff, the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District, or the Governing Board of the San Francisco Community College District.
(a) The voluntary expenditure ceiling shall no longer be binding on a candidate:
(1) If a candidate seeking election to the same City elective office, who has declined to accept the voluntary expenditure ceiling, receives contributions or makes qualified campaign expenditures in excess of 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling,
(2) If a person or persons make expenditures or payments, or incur expenses for the purpose of making independent expenditures, electioneering communications or member communications that total more than 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling, and those expenditures or communications clearly identify a candidate seeking election to the same City elective office, or
(3) If a candidate seeking election to the same City elective office, who has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling, makes qualified campaign expenditures in excess of 100 percent of the voluntary expenditure ceiling.
(b) Any candidate committee that receives contributions, makes qualified campaign expenditures, incurs expenses or has funds in its Campaign Contribution Trust Account that total more than 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling shall, within 24 hours of exceeding 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling, file a statement with the Ethics Commission, on forms to be provided by the Ethics Commission, stating that fact and any additional information required by the Ethics Commission.
(c) The Executive Director shall promptly review statements filed pursuant to state and local law, including California Government Code section 84204 and Sections 1.161, 1.162, and 1.163 of this Chapter, to determine whether a communication supports or opposes one or more candidates.
(d) Within one business day after determining that the threshold listed in subsection (a) has been met with respect to an office appearing on the ballot, the Executive Director shall inform every candidate for that office that the Ethics Commission has lifted the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling. The Executive Director shall also post a notice on the Ethics Commission's website and send written notice by e-mail to any other person who has requested such notice.
(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. 71-05, File No. 041489, App. 4/15/2005; Ord. 75-05, File No. 050624, App. 4/27/2005; Ord. 3-06, File No. 051439, App. 1/20/2006; Ord. 31-06, File No. 051773, App. 2/23/2006; Ord. 268-07, File No. 071003, App. 11/26/2007; Ord. 234-09, File. No. 090989, App. 11/20/2009; Ord. 102-15 , File No. 150294, App. 6/25/2015, Eff. 7/25/2015)