Ethics Commission advances amended definitions, pauses on broader Sunshine Ordinance enforcement rules

The San Francisco Ethics Commission took its first formal step toward new regulations for handling referrals from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force on Thursday, voting to adopt amended definitions but agreeing to revise key sections after sustained public criticism and commissioner questions.

Commission staff introduced a package of proposed changes broken into six decision‑point groups intended to speed enforcement of Sunshine referrals while the task force is largely dormant. “The staff feels that time is more of the essence and that, we should go ahead and move these forward so we can move some cases that are stalled here,” said Mr. St. Croix, a member of the commission staff, as he opened discussion.

Why it matters: The rules being debated would govern whether and how the Ethics Commission responds to task force findings that city officials failed to disclose records or otherwise violated public‑access rules. The stakes include whether the commission can order…