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DISCUSSION REGARDING ETHICS COMMISSIONS AND RELATED POLITICAL CONSULTANT REPORTING
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RECOMMENDATION
Information only. Staff is seeking direction from the Committee on potential creation of an Ethics Commission and associated policy related to political consultant reporting.
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Summary
Consistent with previous Committee direction, this report provides information to facilitate discussion on potential creation of an Ethics Commission and policy related to political consultant reporting.
DISCUSSION
Background
At the July 17, 2024, meeting of the Legislation/Environmental Committee, information was presented in accordance with the San Joaquin Civil Grand Jury recommendation to review and consider enacting new policies to strengthen election transparency and ethics. The Committee directed staff to bring back further information on a potential Ethics Commission and political consultant reporting.
Present Situation
Today Staff presents the findings of research conducted into Ethics Commissions and political consultant reporting.
Ethics Commissions
A review of municipalities located in California was conducted to provide the following summary, details of which are provided in Attachment A - Ethics Commission Comparative.
Ethics Commissions are rare, existing in only 6 out of 483 cities in California. Ethics Commissions are most frequently found in cities that have complicated laws specific to their municipalities that are in addition to the existing state laws. These commissions generally provided oversight for municipal laws covering government ethics, campaign finance, lobbying, sunshine ordinance, whistleblowing hotlines, procurement, and development.
Membership ranges from 5 to 7 Commissioners that are typically experts in the fields of law, ethics, campaign finance, or local government. Meetings are held monthly or as needed. It should be noted that two of the cities, Sacramento and San Jose, frequently cancel their monthly scheduled meetings.
All Ethics Commissions have support staff. At a minimum, they are supported by an evaluator position along with the City Clerk’s Office providing administrative support. The San Francisco Ethics Commission is a department of 34 staff and a FY24 budget of $7.09 million. In addition to standard meeting facilitation and agenda/minutes creation, support staff conducts data collection and analysis, provides Ethics Commission developed education and training, assists the commission on issuing advice and opinions, and carries forward new legislation proposed by the commission.
The Ethics Commission in San Francisco provides oversight of political consultant reporting.
Political Consultant Reporting
San Francisco was found to be the only California municipality to require political consultant reporting. A nationwide search revealed Portland, Oregon to also require political consultant reporting. It should be noted that the State of New York requires political consultants to report.
A review of the most recent election for the City of Stockton revealed out of 20 candidates and 1 citizen initiative, there were 8 supported by political consultants, and of those, there were only 5 different consultants. Consultant information is included in “Schedule E - Payments Made” on Fair Political Practices Commission Form 460 upon filing of the candidate’s report.
CONCLUSION
Staff seeks direction from the Committee on how it would like to proceed.
Attachment A - Ethics Commission Comparative