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SF Ethics Commission
EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF LOBBYISTS
REGISTERED WITH THE CITY
THIRD QUARTER SUMMARY
July 1, 2008 through September 30, 2008
Susan Harriman, Chairperson
John St. Croix, Executive Director
Date Issued:
November 10, 2008
Individual lobbyist activity reports containing detailed information are available at the Ethics Commission office, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 220, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Table of Contents
Third Quarter Summary of Earnings and Activity of Registered Lobbyists
Table 1: All Reported Activity
Table 2: Political Contributions of $100 or more
Table 3: Total Political Contributions
Table 5: Gift Tickets and Admissions
Table 6: City Contracts Awarded
Table 7: Employment of City Officers or Employees
Table 8: Payments for Campaign Consulting Services
Introduction
The Regulation of Lobbyists Ordinance (“Ordinance”), San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code Article II, Chapter 1, Sections 2.100 - 2.155, requires individuals and entities that qualify as lobbyists to register with the City and County of San Francisco and file quarterly activity reports. Forty-four lobbyists filed reports with the Ethics Commission on October 15, 2008, detailing their lobbyist activity during the third quarter of 2008 (July 1 – September 30). The Ethics Commission has compiled this information in its Third Quarter 2008 Summary of Earnings and Activity of Lobbyists Registered with the City.
Individual lobbyist activity reports are available at the Ethics Commission office at 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 220, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Lobbyist Ordinance
The Ordinance provides that there are three kinds of lobbyists: contract lobbyists, business and organization lobbyists, and expenditure lobbyists.
Contract lobbyists are individuals or entities that are hired to influence local legislative or administrative action on another’s behalf. Contract lobbyists must register with the Ethics Commission when they earn $3,200 or more in any consecutive three months in exchange for lobbying services or when they have at least 25 separate contacts with City officers in any two consecutive months for the purpose of influencing local legislative or administrative action. Clients and employees of contract lobbyists are not themselves contract lobbyists and are not subject to the registration and reporting requirements of the Lobbyist Ordinance.
Business and organization lobbyists are entities that lobby on their own behalf. Business and organization lobbyists may include for-profit and non-profit corporations and organizations, associations, and unions. An entity qualifies as a business and organization lobbyist if the entity pays employees or members any amount to lobby on its behalf AND the employees or members have at least 25 separate contacts with City officers, within a two-month period, for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action. Individual employees and members of business and organization lobbyists do not themselves qualify as lobbyists and are not subject to the registration and reporting requirements of the Lobbyist Ordinance.
Expenditure lobbyists are entities which spend, directly or indirectly, more than $3,200 within any three consecutive months to influence local legislative or administrative action. Payments made to contract lobbyists and other paid advocates do not count toward the $3,200 threshold, nor do dues payments, donations, and other payments to any business and organization lobbyist or expenditure lobbyist.
Each lobbyist must file with the Ethics Commission quarterly reports containing information about payments made or received in order to influence local legislative or administrative action, actions each lobbyist sought to influence, activity expenses incurred, political contributions of $100 or more made or delivered by the filer or made by a client at the behest of a filer to a City officer, candidate or committee, City contracts awarded, payments made in exchange for campaign consulting services, and the names of each City officer employed or retained by the filer or by a client of the filer.
City Officers include: any officer identified in San Francisco Administrative Code 1.50, elected officials, the Controller, the City Administrator, department heads, members of City boards and commissions, members of the Board of Education, members of the Governing Board of the Community College District, members of the Housing Authority, members of the Redevelopment Agency, members of the Transportation Authority, and the Superintendent of Schools.
Local legislative or administrative action includes, but is not limited to, the drafting, introduction, consideration, modification, enactment, defeat, approval, veto, granting or denial by any officer of the City and County of any resolution, motion, appeal, application, petition, nomination, ordinance, amendment, approval, referral, permit, license or entitlement to use.
Contents of Third Quarter 2008 Summary Report
Table 1: All Reported Activity
Table 1 provides a summary of all reported activity by lobbyists (hereinafter “filers”) for the third quarter of 2008. The table summarizes payments promised to and received by contract lobbyists in exchange for lobbyist services, payments made by business and organization and expenditure lobbyists to influence local legislative and administrative action, political contributions made, delivered or arranged by a filer or made by a client at a filer’s behest, and activity expenses incurred by filers. Filers are listed in alphabetical order, and all amounts for all tables have been rounded to the nearest dollar. The total reported promised payments by contract lobbyists was $1,440,946. The total reported received payments by contract lobbyists was $1,727,747. The total reported payments made by business and organization and expenditure lobbyists was $146,890.
Table 2: Political Contributions of $100 or more
Filers must report the total amount of political contributions made, delivered or arranged by the filer, or made by a clientat the behest of the filer during the third quarter. Filers must itemize contributions equaling $100 or more. Filers must report contributions made to the following: a City officer; a candidate for City office; a committee controlled by a City officer or candidate for City office; and a committee primarily formed to support or oppose a City officer or candidate for City office; a committee primarily formed to support or oppose a local ballot measure whether or not the committee is controlled by a City officer or candidate for City office. Table 2 lists all political contributions of $100 or more made by filers during the third quarter. The total reported political contributions was $ 5,301,761.
Table 3: Total Political Contributions
Table 3 lists (in descending order by lobbyists’ total contributions) all political contributions of any amount made by filers during the third quarter.
Table 4: Activity Expenses
All filers must report activity expenses. An activity expense is any expense incurred or payment made by a lobbyist (or others specified in the Ordinance) which benefits a City officer, a candidate for City office, a family member thereof (including domestic partners), or aides to members of the Board of Supervisors. Activity expenses include gifts, honoraria, consulting fees, salaries, and any other form of economic compensation totaling more than $30 in value in a consecutive three-month period.
Table 4 lists activity expenses reported by filers, the total of which includes salaries paid to employees who also serve as City officers. The table lists the filer, salaries paid, the date of the activity expense, the name and official title or position of each beneficiary of the expense and a description of the benefit conferred. The table also includes the total cost of the activity, the portion of the total cost of the activity which represents the value of the benefit conferred on each beneficiary and the name of the payee of the expense if it is different from that of the beneficiary. The total reported amount of activity expenses during the third quarter was more than $10,000.
Table 5: Gift Tickets and Admissions
Filers are required to report gift tickets and gift admissions to political fund-raisers and events sponsored by 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations given to City officers. Table 5 shows each reported gift ticket and/or admission given to a City officer. The table gives the date and description of the political or charitable event and the name and official title of the beneficiary of the gift ticket and/or admission. No filers reported gift tickets and/or admissions given to City officers or employees during the third quarter.
Table 6: City Contracts Awarded
Filers must report certain City contracts they were awarded during the reporting period. Table 6 lists the type of contract awarded (rendition of personal services; furnishing of any material, supplies or equipment to or from the City; or sale or lease of land or buildings to or by the City, or financing of the same), the date the contract was approved, the name of the City officer and Department that approved the contract, and the subject matter of the contract. One filer reported being awarded a City contract during the third quarter.
Table 7: Employment of City Officers or Employees
Filers must report the names of City officers or employees who have been employed or retained by the filer at any time during the reporting period. This table lists the name and position of the City officer and the services provided by the City officer to the filer. Filers must also report whether a City officer or employee has been employed or retained by a client of the filer at the behest of the filer at any time during the reporting period. Filers in this case must list the name of the client and that of the City officer. Four filers reported employing City officers or employees during the third quarter.
Table 8: Payments for Campaign Consulting Services
Filers must report the total payments received from City officers during the reporting period in exchange for providing campaign consulting services (as defined in S.F. Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code Article I, Chapter 5, Section 1.505). Such payments must be reported only if the filer contacted the officer within one year of the date of payment. No filers reported receiving payments for campaign consulting services during the third quarter.
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