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Ethics Commission approves limited waiver allowing supervisors to solicit donations, adds 3-year sunset
Summary
The San Francisco Ethics Commission voted 3–1 on Jan. 9, 2026 to approve an amendment that would let the Board of Supervisors grant limited behested-payment waivers to supervisors and staff who work for the board, add a report-back requirement, and include a three-year sunset on the supervisors' waiver authority. Critics said waivers risked pay-to-play influence.
San Francisco — The San Francisco Ethics Commission on Jan. 9 approved, by a 3–1 vote, staff-recommended changes to local behested-payment rules that would allow the Board of Supervisors to grant limited waivers letting supervisors solicit donations on behalf of charities or third parties. The commission added a staff-supported reporting requirement and a three-year sunset specifically for the section that would allow the board to grant waivers for its own members.
The measure addresses an exception created after Proposition E and the 2021 ordinance that expanded the city's ban on solicitations from "interested parties"; under the proposed amendment, any waiver issued to a supervisor would require a public report within 60 days after the waiver expires identifying donors, donation amounts, recipients and the interested-party relationship. Staff told the commission the report-back requirement was intended to make after-the-fact solicitations visible to the public and…
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