SEC. 1.163. MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS.
§ 1.163
People who spend $1,000 or more on communications supporting or opposing a candidate within 90 days before an election must file a disclosure statement with the Ethics Commission within 24 hours of each distribution, including details about the communication, its cost allocation, and supporting documentation such as scripts or copies of the materials.
If you spend $1,000 or more in the three months before an election on communications (like ads, phone calls, or videos) that support or oppose a candidate for San Francisco office, you must report it to the Ethics Commission within one day of sending the communication out. Your report must include your name and address, who controls the spending, which candidate(s) it targets, how much money went to each candidate, whether you support or oppose them, and a copy of the actual communication (including scripts or recordings if it's a phone call or video). You have to swear under penalty of perjury that everything is accurate and keep records for five years to back it up.
- Complex:The apportionment rules for multi-candidate communications in subsection (a) and the detailed documentation requirements in subsection (b)(4) with sub-categories (A) and (B) create multiple moving parts that require careful tracking.
- Controversial:Campaign disclosure and spending transparency rules around member communications are frequent subjects of political debate about financial influence in San Francisco elections.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) Every person who makes payments for member communications in an aggregate amount of $1,000 per candidate within the 90 days prior to an election 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 supports or opposes only one candidate shall be attributed entirely to that candidate. Payments for a communication that supports or opposes more than one candidate, or also supports or opposes 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.
(b) Each disclosure statement required to be filed under this Section shall contain the following information:
(1) the full name, street address, city, state and zip code of the person making payments for member communications;
(2) the name of any individual sharing or exercising direction and control over the person making payments for member communications;
(3) the distribution date of the member 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 for such costs were made, whether the communication supports or opposes each such candidate or officer, and the total amount of reportable payments made by the person for member communications supporting or opposing each such candidate or officer during the calendar year;
(4) a legible copy of the member communication, including any member communication distributed electronically; and
(A) if the communication is a telephone call, a copy of the script and if the communication is recorded, the recording shall be provided; or
(B) if the communication is audio or video, a copy of the script and an audio or video file shall be provided.
(5) any other information required by the Ethics Commission consistent with the purposes of this Section.
(c) 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.
(d) REGULATIONS. The Ethics Commission may issue regulations implementing this Section.
(Added by Ord. 102-15 , File No. 150294, App. 6/25/2015, Eff. 7/25/2015; amended by Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 1/1/2019)
(Former Sec. 1.163 added by Ord. 187-01, File No. 010779, App. 8/31/2001; amended by Ord. 141-03, File No. 030034, App. 6/27/2003; repealed by Ord. 102-15 , File No. 150294, App. 6/25/2015, Eff. 7/25/2015)
SEC. 1.163.5. [REPEALED.]
(Former Sec. 163.5 added by Ord. 228-06, File No. 060501, App. 9/14/2006; repealed by Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 6/30/2018)