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UC Hastings students present plain-language fact sheets on San Francisco lobbyist rules
Summary
Two UC Hastings students presented six plain-language fact sheets designed to help people determine whether they must register as lobbyists under the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance; commissioners praised the work and asked for clarification on counting contacts and exemptions.
Two UC Hastings law students, Sally Hong and Lina Germanario, presented six plain-language fact sheets that synthesize key points of the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance and the regulations the Ethics Commission adopted earlier this year.
Jesse Menardi, the commission's deputy executive director, said the project was a partnership between the Ethics Commission and UC Hastings' Center for State and Local Government Law. The students described their process: they read statutes several times, drafted a memorandum explaining the law to a fictional lobbyist, interviewed registered lobbyists from the commission's database and revised the fact sheets based on staff feedback.
The students said they re-focused their target audience during the project after learning registered lobbyists generally understood the ordinance. They therefore tailored the fact sheets to people who may not know they qualify as lobbyists and emphasized clear, chronological steps to help users determine whether they must register. "We selected this project because of our interest in political ethics and because the clear proposal would allow us to delve deeply," Sally Hong said. Lina Germanario described the decision to translate statutory "contact" definitions into a simpler flow that lets readers decide whether they qualify as lobbyists.
Commissioners praised the students' work. Commissioner Keane complimented the clarity and asked whether any specific gaps in the ordinance jumped out; the students and staff discussed ambiguities about counting contacts and exemptions (for example, how ownership percentages should be treated for employer-based exceptions). Commissioner Andrews and others thanked the students and staff for a product that will help the regulated community and the public.
The fact sheets will be included with the commission's outreach materials and made available digitally; staff said the materials will help regulated parties and those who are unsure whether the law applies to them.
