Ethics Commission adopts ballot statement, delegates spokesperson for expenditure-lobbyist measure

The San Francisco Ethics Commission voted unanimously July 27 to adopt language drawn from existing ordinance findings as its official voter-pamphlet statement for a proposed ballot measure that would restore public disclosure of spending by expenditure lobbyists.

Deputy City Attorney Andrew Shen told commissioners the City Attorney's memo cautions officials against explicit campaigning but allows objective, factual explanations of a measure and participation in ballot processes. "You can certainly respond to requests for what the measure is trying to address and what the measure does," Shen said, adding that officials should "avoid any campaign rhetoric or slogans" and not "expressly urge a vote one way or the other." He also noted the commission could participate in ballot simplification hearings and other informational settings.

The commission's ballot statement will largely reuse the findings in the existing ordinance with edits suggested during the meeting to present the measure as what it "seeks to" accomplish rather than as already in force. Commissioner Bonner (readers should note the transcript lists him as "Mr. Bonner") moved to adopt the findings as the commission's ballot statement with those amendments; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

Public commenters urged the commission to frame the text as a restoration of prior law so voters understand it is not a wholly new requirement. "This ballot measure restores the requirement of public disclosure of spending by expenditure lobbyists that existed in San Francisco until 02/2009," a sentence proposed during the meeting to be added to the draft language.

Commissioners and staff also discussed logistics for ballot materials. A public commenter and staff cited the Municipal Elections Code section 575'the municipal section the comment referenced'and noted a typical 300-word limit for ballot arguments and 250 words for rebuttals. Deputy City Attorney Shen advised the commission to consider a communications protocol and a designated point person to respond to public and media questions, and he suggested delegating authority in advance to shorten the statement if it exceeds word limits.

The commission also agreed to delegate spokesperson duties for the ballot process. Commissioners moved that Chair Rennie serve as the commission's spokesperson for the ballot simplification committee and related public questions, with assistance from Mr. Menardi (as referenced during the meeting). The commission further authorized the designated commissioner and staff to shorten the argument if necessary and to prepare any rebuttal argument in the event an opposition argument is filed.

Next steps: staff and the designated commissioner will finalize the drafted statement to meet ballot-word limits and arrange representation at the ballot simplification hearing scheduled for this week. The commission did not set a separate public outreach plan at the meeting, noting that any public appearances must remain informational and not constitute advocacy.