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Ethics Commission adopts regulations to implement new lobbyist and permit-consultant rules
Summary
The commission unanimously adopted draft regulations interpreting recent amendments to the lobbyist ordinance and new requirements for permit consultants and major developers, clarifying when contacts count as lobbying and how fundraising by lobbyists must be reported.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission on July 28 unanimously adopted a package of draft regulations to implement recent changes to the city's lobbyist ordinance and new rules covering permit consultants and developers.
Deputy Executive Director Jesse Menardi told commissioners the draft examples and rules responded to concerns raised primarily by the attorney community and the regulated community, particularly around how to treat contacts with staff and when those communications should be reported as lobbying. Menardi said staff drafted examples to draw a line between everyday technical conversations with staff and lobbying contacts that reach city officers.
Deputy City Attorney Andrew Shen clarified the ordinance's intended reach: "the lobbyist ordinance... only addresses contacts between lobbyists or potential lobbyists and city officers," he said, explaining why not every staff-level conversation would be reportable under the lobbyist rules and noting that much land-use lobbying will be addressed under the separate permit-consultant provisions.
Members of the public including attorneys from the Sutton Law Firm urged changes or raised concerns about the proposed approach to disclosing lobbyist fundraising activity, urging the commission to consider alternatives used in Los Angeles and San Diego that aggregate event totals rather than itemizing every contributor the lobbyist "has reason to know" was influenced by the lobbyist's fundraising.
After discussion, minor technical edits and a public comment period that included input from new permit-consultant representatives and city legal counsel, Commissioner Keane moved to adopt the draft regulations and the commission approved adoption unanimously. Staff will place the final form online and transmit the regulations for any required 60-day posting and review process.
The regulations interpret several parts of the recent amendments, including examples clarifying when an attorney's communications are part of the practice of law (and therefore not lobbying), when a contact with planning staff becomes reportable, and how lobbyist fundraising activities must be disclosed.
