SEC. 3.410. PERMIT CONSULTANT REGISTRATION AND DISCLOSURES.
§ 3.410
Permit consultants must register with the San Francisco Ethics Commission within five business days of starting work and file quarterly disclosure reports detailing their clients, contacts with city departments, compensation received, political contributions of $100 or more, and other information the Ethics Commission requires.
If you work as a permit consultant in San Francisco, you must sign up with the Ethics Commission no later than five business days after you start helping clients with permits. When you register, you tell the Commission your contact information, your clients' information, and your employer's information. Then, four times a year, you file reports showing who paid you, which city officials you met with and why, what permits you worked on, and any political donations you or your employer made of $100 or more.
- Controversial:Permit consultant disclosure and regulation is a topic of potential disagreement regarding transparency, lobbying oversight, and the appropriate scope of ethics enforcement in San Francisco's development process.
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Official text
(a) REGISTRATION OF PERMIT CONSULTANTS REQUIRED. Permit consultants shall register with the Ethics Commission and comply with the disclosure requirements imposed by this Chapter. Such registration shall occur no later than five business days after providing permit consulting services, but the permit consultant shall register prior to providing any further permit consulting services.
(b) REGISTRATION. At the time of initial registration each permit consultant shall report to the Ethics Commission the following information:
(1) The name, business address, e-mail address, and business telephone number of the permit consultant;
(2) The name, business address, e-mail address, and business telephone number of each client for whom the permit consultant is performing permit consulting services;
(3) The name, business address, e-mail address, and business telephone number of the permit consultant’s employer, firm or business affiliation; and
(4) Any other information required by the Ethics Commission consistent with the purposes and provisions of this Chapter.
(c) PERMIT CONSULTANT DISCLOSURES. Beginning on April 15, 2015, each permit consultant shall file four quarterly reports, according to the following schedule: the permit consultant shall file a report on April 15 for the period starting January 1 and ending March 31; on July 15 for the period starting April 1 and ending June 30; on October 15 for the period starting July 1 and ending September 30; and on January 15 for the period starting October 1 and ending December 31. Each quarterly report shall contain the following:
(1) The name, business address, e-mail address, and business telephone number of each person from whom the permit consultant or the permit consultant’s employer received or expected to receive economic consideration for permit consulting services during the reporting period, and the amount of economic consideration the permit consultant received or expected to receive;
(2) For each contact with the Department of Building Inspection, the Entertainment Commission, the Planning Department, or the Department of Public Works in the course of providing permit consulting services during the reporting period:
(A) The name of each officer or employee of the City and County of San Francisco with whom the permit consultant made contact;
(B) A description of the permit sought or obtained, including the application number for the permit; and
(C) The client on whose behalf the contact was made.
(3) All political contributions of $100 or more made by the permit consultant or the permit consultant’s employer during the reporting period to an officer of the City and County, a candidate for such office, a committee controlled by such officer or candidate, a committee primarily formed to support or oppose such officer or candidate, or any committee primarily formed to support or oppose a ballot measure to be voted on only in San Francisco.
(4) Any amendments to the permit consultant’s registration information required by Subsection (b).
(5) Any other information required by the Ethics Commission consistent with the purposes and provisions of this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. 98-14 , File No. 130374, App. 6/26/2014, Eff. 7/26/2014; re-enacted by Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)