SEC. 1.144. DISBURSEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS.
§ 1.144
This section establishes how San Francisco disburses public campaign financing to eligible candidates for Mayor and Board of Supervisors, including payment timing, eligibility amounts, matching fund formulas, and procedures for claiming funds.
When a candidate qualifies for public financing, the Controller sends them money from the Election Campaign Fund based on rules that differ for mayoral and supervisor races. Mayoral candidates get an initial $300,000 and up to $1.2 million total (or $1.185 million if incumbent), with matching funds at a 6-to-1 ratio. Supervisor candidates get an initial $60,000 and up to $255,000 total (or $252,000 if incumbent), also with 6-to-1 matching. Candidates must request payment by submitting claims showing they've raised a minimum amount in contributions ($5,000 for Mayor, $1,000 for Supervisors, or lower amounts in the final 14 days before the election), and the Ethics Commission must certify these requests within a set timeframe. All money must go into the candidate's campaign trust account.
- Controversial:Public campaign financing involves contentious questions about how taxpayer money should support elections and whether matching fund formulas and spending caps are fair to incumbents versus challengers.
- Complex:The section contains multiple conditional formulas, time-dependent thresholds, and separate rules for two different offices with slightly different matching percentages and caps, making it dense and cross-referential.
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Official text
(a) PAYMENT BY CONTROLLER. Upon certifying that a candidate is eligible to receive public financing under this Chapter, the Executive Director shall forward the certification to the Controller, and the Controller shall disburse payments to the candidate from the Election Campaign Fund in accordance with the certification and this Section.
(b) TIME OF PAYMENTS. The Controller shall not make any payments under this Chapter to any candidate more than 142 days before the date of the election. Payments from the Controller shall be disbursed to eligible candidates within two business days of the Controller receiving notification from the Ethics Commission regarding the amount of the disbursement, except that within fifteen calendar days before the election, such payments shall be made within one business day.
(c) PAYMENTS FOR ELECTION EXPENSES TO CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR. Candidates for Mayor certified as eligible to receive public financing for their election campaigns will have access to funds from the Election Campaign Fund on a first-come, first-served basis according to the following formula:
(1) Upon qualification the candidate shall receive a one-time payment of $300,000 from the Election Campaign Fund.
(2) After the initial payment under subsection (c)(1), for the first $150,000 in matching contributions raised by the candidate, the candidate shall receive six dollars from the Election Campaign Fund for each dollar raised. If the candidate is the incumbent Mayor, after the initial payment under subsection (c)(1), for the first $147,500 in matching contributions raised by the candidate, the candidate shall receive six dollars from the Election Campaign Fund for each dollar raised.
(3) The maximum amount of public funds a non-incumbent mayoral candidate may receive is $1,200,000. The maximum amount of public funds an incumbent mayoral candidate may receive is $1,185,000.
(d) PAYMENTS FOR ELECTION EXPENSES TO CANDIDATES FOR THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. Candidates for the Board of Supervisors certified as eligible to receive public financing for their election campaigns will have access to funds from the Election Campaign Fund on a first-come, first-served basis according to the following formula:
(1) Upon qualification the candidate shall receive a one-time payment of $60,000 from the Election Campaign Fund.
(2) After the initial payment under subsection (d)(1), for the first $32,500 in matching contributions raised by the candidate, the candidate shall receive six dollars from the Election Campaign Fund for each dollar raised. If the candidate is an incumbent member of the Board of Supervisors after the initial payment under subsection (d)(1), for the first $32,000 in matching contributions raised by the candidate, the candidate shall receive six dollars from the Election Campaign Fund for each dollar raised.
(3) The maximum amount of public funds a non-incumbent candidate for the Board of Supervisors may receive is $255,000. The maximum amount of public funds an incumbent candidate for the Board of Supervisors may receive is $252,000.
(e) SUBMISSION OF CLAIMS FOR PUBLIC FUNDS. The Ethics Commission shall determine the information needed to submit a claim for payment of public funds. The Executive Director shall certify each request for payment of public funds within four business days of the request, except that within 14 calendar days before the election, when the certification of a request for public funds shall be made within two business days of the request. No candidate may submit a claim for public funds if the candidate has any such claims pending with the Ethics Commission. For candidates for Mayor, any submission of a claim for public funds must include a minimum of $5,000 of matching contributions; provided that in the 14 calendar days preceding an election, a claim must include a minimum of $1,000 of matching contributions. For candidates for the Board of Supervisors, any submission of a claim for public funds must include a minimum of $1,000 of matching contributions; provided that in the 14 calendar days preceding an election, a claim must include a minimum of $200 of matching contributions. All claims for public funds must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 30th day following the date of the election.
(f) DEPOSIT IN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION TRUST ACCOUNT. A candidate must deposit all payments received from the Election Campaign Fund in his or her candidate committee's Campaign Contribution Trust Account.
(Added by Proposition O, 11/7/2000; amended by Ord. 141-03, File No. 030034, App. 6/27/2003; 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. 74-08, File No. 080278, 4/30/2008; Ord. 234-09, File. No. 090989, App. 11/20/2009; Ord. 64-12, File No. 111082, App. 4/20/2012, Eff. 5/20/2012; Ord. 218-19, File No. 190660, App. 10/4/2019, Eff. 11/4/2019, Oper. 1/1/2020)