SEC. 1.162. ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS.
§ 1.162
People who spend $1,000 or more per candidate on electioneering communications (ads or messages about candidates) must include specific disclaimers on those communications and file detailed disclosure statements with the Ethics Commission within 24 hours of distribution, identifying who paid for the communication and how funds were sourced.
If you spend money to communicate about a San Francisco candidate for office, and you spend $1,000 or more on that candidate in a year, you must include a disclaimer saying who paid for the message and direct people to sfethics.org for financial information. You also have to file a report with the Ethics Commission within one day of sending the communication, telling them who you are, who gave you money to pay for it, which candidate the money was for, and providing a copy of the actual communication (the ad, script, video, or whatever it was).
- Complex:The section contains multiple cross-references to the Political Reform Act, detailed apportionment rules for multi-candidate communications, and granular reporting requirements spread across several subsections that require careful reading to understand all obligations.
- Controversial:Electioneering communication disclosure and disclaimers are the subject of ongoing public debate over campaign finance transparency, free speech, and the balance between donor anonymity and voter information.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) DISCLAIMERS.
(1) Every electioneering communication for which a statement is filed pursuant to subsection (b) shall include the following disclaimer: "Paid for by __________ (insert the name of the person who paid for the communication)." and "Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org."
(2) Any disclaimer required by this Section 1.162 shall be included in or on an electioneering communication in a size, speed, or format that complies with the disclaimer requirements for independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates set forth in the Political Reform Act and its enabling regulations.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), any disclaimer required by this Section 1.162 1
(A) to appear on a mass mailing, door hanger, flyer, poster, oversized campaign button or bumper sticker, or print advertisement, shall be printed in at least 14-point font;
(B) to be included in an audio advertisement, shall be spoken at the beginning of such advertisements; or
(C) to be included in a video advertisement, shall be spoken at the beginning of such advertisements.
(b) REPORTING OBLIGATIONS.
(1) Every person who makes payments for electioneering communications in an aggregate amount of $1,000 per candidate during any calendar year shall, within 24 hours of each distribution, file a disclosure statement with the Ethics Commission. For the purposes of this subsection, payments for a communication that refers only to one candidate shall be attributed entirely to that candidate. Payments for a communication that refers to more than one candidate, or also refers to one or more ballot measures, shall be apportioned among each candidate and measure according to the relative share of the communication dedicated to that candidate or measure.
(2) Each disclosure statement required to be filed under this Section shall contain the following information for each communication:
(A) the full name, street address, city, state and zip code of the person making payments for electioneering communications;
(B) the name of any individual sharing or exercising direction and control over the person making payments for electioneering communications;
(C) the distribution date of the electioneering communication, the name(s) and office(s) of the candidate(s) for City elective office or City elective officer(s) referred to in the communication, the payments for the communication attributable to each such candidate or officer, a brief description of the consideration for which the payments were made, whether the communication supports, opposes, or is neutral with respect to each such candidate or officer, and the total amount of reportable payments made by the person for electioneering communications referencing each such candidate or officer during the calendar year;
(D) for any payments of $100 or more that the person has received from another person, which were used for making electioneering communications, the date of the payment's receipt, the name, street address, city, state, and zip code of the person who made such payment, the occupation and employer of the person who made such payment, if any, or, if the person is self-employed, the name of the person's business, and the cumulative amount of payments received from that person during the calendar year which were used for making electioneering communications;
(E) a legible copy of the electioneering communication, including any electioneering communication distributed electronically, and
(i) if the communication is a telephone call, a copy of the script and if the communication is recorded, the recording shall be provided; or
(ii) if the communication is audio or video, a copy of the script and an audio or video file shall be provided.
(F) any other information required by the Ethics Commission consistent with the purposes of this Section.
(3) The filer shall verify, under penalty of perjury, the accuracy and completeness of the information provided in the disclosure statement, and shall retain for a period of five years all books, papers and documents necessary to substantiate the statements required by this Section.
(4) The Ethics Commission shall determine the method for filing the disclosure statement and the copy of the communication, which may include electronic filing.
(c) REGULATIONS. The Ethics Commission may issue regulations implementing this Section.
(Added as Sec. 1.161.5 by Ord. 71-05, File No. 041489, App. 4/15/2005; amended by Ord. 75-05, File No. 050624, App. 4/27/2005; Ord. 228-06, File No. 060501, App. 9/14/2006; Ord. 234-09, File. No. 090989, App. 11/20/2009; redesignated and amended by Ord. 102-15 , File No. 150294, App. 6/25/2015, Eff. 7/25/2015; Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 1/1/2019; Proposition F, 11/5/2019, Eff. 12/20/2019)
(Former Sec. 1.162 added by Ord. 261-07, File No. 071290, App. 11/14/2007; repealed by Ord. 102-15 , File No. 150294, App. 6/25/2015, Eff. 7/25/2015)
(Former Sec. 1.162 added by Ord. 71-00, File No. 000358, App. 4/28/2000; renumbered by Proposition O, 11/7/2000; amended by Ord. 141-03, File No. 030034, App. 6/27/2003; repealed by Ord. 261-07, File No. 071290, App. 11/14/2007)
CODIFICATION NOTE
1. So in Ord. 129-18; also in Proposition F, 11/5/2019.