SEC. 3.214. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS.

   (a)   Disclosure. A City officer or employee shall disclose on the public record any personal, professional, or business relationship with any person who is the subject of or has an ownership or financial interest in the subject of a governmental decision being made by the officer or employee where as a result of the relationship, the ability of the officer or employee to act for the benefit of the public could reasonably be questioned. For the purposes of this Section 3.214, the minutes of a public meeting at which the governmental decision is being made, or if the governmental decision is not being made in a public meeting, a memorandum kept on file at the offices of the City officer or employee’s department, board, commission, or agency shall constitute the public record.

   (b)   Penalties. A court may void any governmental decision made by a City officer or employee who fails to disclose a relationship as required by subsection (a) if the court determines that: (1) the failure to disclose was willful; and (2) the City officer or employee failed to render their decision with disinterested skill, zeal, and diligence and primarily for the benefit of the City.

   (c)   Regulations. The Ethics Commission may adopt regulations setting forth the types of personal, professional, and business relationships that must be disclosed pursuant to this Section 3.214 and how the required disclosure must be made and archived.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003; amended by Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)

SEC. 3.216. BRIBERY AND GIFTS.

   (a)   Prohibition on Bribery.

      (1)   No City officer or employee shall solicit for the benefit of any person, or accept, anything of value or contribution from any person, with the intent that the City officer or employee will be influenced or rewarded thereby in the performance of any official act.

      (2)   No person shall offer, provide, or agree to provide anything of value or contribution to any person, with intent to influence or reward thereby any City officer or employee in the performance of any official act.

   (b)   Restricted Source Rules. In addition to the gift limits, prohibitions, and reporting requirements imposed by the Political Reform Act and this Code and any subsequent amendments thereto, the following shall be prohibited:

      (1)   No City officer or employee may solicit, coordinate, facilitate, or accept, any gift for themselves or for any other City officer or employee from a person who the officer or employee knows or has reason to know is a restricted source for themselves or for the recipient of the gift.

      (2)   No City officer or employee may solicit or accept a gift from any person, including any gift obtained through a City department, if the officer or employee knows or has reason to know that the gift was funded, provided, or directed by a restricted source.

      (3)   No City officer or employee may solicit or accept any gift from a restricted source for any of their family members.

      (4)   No lobbyist or permit consultant may offer or make a gift to any officer or employee, or any of the officer’s or employee’s family members, nor direct the offer or making of any gift by any other person, if the lobbyist or permit consultant knows or has reason to know that they are a restricted source for the officer or employee. For purposes of this subsection (b)(4), a person who is required to register as a lobbyist or permit consultant and file disclosures but fails to do so shall be considered a restricted source for any official for whom, had the person properly registered and file disclosures, the person would be considered a restricted source.

      (5)   No lobbyist or permit consultant may make a payment to an intermediary, including any City department, if the lobbyist or permit consultant knows or has reason to know that the intermediary will use the payment to provide a gift to any City officers or employees and that they are a restricted source for the officers or employees.

      (6)   No person may accept or use a payment on condition or with the agreement or mutual understanding that the payment will be used for a gift to an officer or employee, if the person knows or has reason to know that the source of the payment is a restricted source for the officer or employee.

      (7)   Regulations. The Ethics Commission may issue regulations implementing this Section 3.216, including regulations exempting certain gifts.

   (c)   Gifts and Loans from Subordinates. No officer or employee shall solicit or accept any gift or loan, either directly or indirectly, from any subordinate or employee under their supervision or from any candidate or applicant for a position as a subordinate or employee under their supervision. The Ethics Commission may issue regulations implementing this Section 3.216, including regulations exempting certain gifts that are given under circumstances in which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged.

   (d)   Gifts of Travel.

      (1)   Gifts to Elected Officers. In addi- tion to the gift limits and reporting requirements imposed by the Political Reform Act and this Code, no elected officer may accept a gift of transportation, lodging, or subsistence for any out-of-state trip paid for in part by an individual or entity other than the City and County of San Francisco, another governmental body, or a bona fide educational institution, defined in Section 203 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, unless the officer has first disclosed on a form filed with the Ethics Commission:

         (A)   the name of the individual or entity and the total amount that will be paid by the individual or entity to fund the trip, including but not limited to the amount directly related to the cost of the elected officer’s transportation, lodging, and subsistence;

         (B)   the name, occupation and em- ployer of any contributor who has contributed more than $500 to the individual or entity funding the trip and whose contributions were used in whole or in part to fund the trip;

         (C)   a description of the purpose of the trip and the itinerary; and

         (D)   the name of any individual accompanying the official on the trip who is:

            (i)   a City employee required to file a Statement of Economic Interests,

            (ii)   a lobbyist or campaign consultant registered with the Ethics Commission,

            (iii)   an employee of or individual who has any ownership interest in a lobbyist or campaign consultant registered with the Ethics Commission, or

            (iv)   the individual funding the trip, or an employee or officer of the entity funding the trip.

      (2)   Reimbursement of Gifts of Trav- el. In addition to any other reporting requirements imposed by the Political Reform Act or local law, an elected officer who reimburses an individual or entity for a gift of transportation, lodging or subsistence related to out-of-state travel and thereby avoids having received or accepted the gift shall file a form with the Ethics Commission within 30 days of such reimbursement disclosing:

         (A)   the name of the individual or entity that originally paid for the transportation, lodging or subsistence;

         (B)   the amount paid by the individ- ual or entity for the elected officer’s transporta- tion, lodging or subsistence;

         (C)   the amount reimbursed by the elected officer to the individual or entity and the process used to determine that amount; and

         (D)   a description of the purpose of the trip and the itinerary.

      (3)   Format. The Ethics Commission shall provide forms for the disclosure required by this subsection and shall make the completed forms available on its website.

      (4)   Definition. For the purpose of this subsection, the term “elected officer” means the Mayor, member of the Board of Supervisors, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Assessor, Treasurer, and Sheriff.

   (e)   Restrictions. Nothing in this section 3.216 shall prohibit a City department, agency, board, or commission from imposing additional gift restrictions on its officers or employees.

   (f)   Aggregation of Gifts. For purposes of this Section 3.216, gifts shall be aggregated as set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Section 18945.1, as amended from time to time.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003; amended by Ord. 128-06, File No. 060217, App. 6/22/2006; Ord. 301-06, File No. 061333, App. 12/18/2006; Ord. 107-11, File No. 110335, App. 6/20/2011, Eff. 7/20/2011; Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)

SEC. 3.217. DISCLOSURE OF GIFTS TO THE CITY.

   (a)   Disclosure Requirement. Any department head whose City department receives any payment from a non-City source for which equal or greater consideration is not provided by the department must disclose the payment to the Ethics Commission. A department head who fails to timely report any such payment, or, if the department head has delegated the filing responsibility to a subordinate, whose subordinate fails to timely report any such payment, may be subject to discipline by the department head’s appointing authority but shall not be subject to penalties under Section 3.242.

   (b)   Contents. The disclosure required in subsection (a) must include the following:

      (1)   the name of the source of the payment;

      (2)   the date of the payment;

      (3)   the total value of the payment;

      (4)   if the payment includes goods or services, a description of the goods or services;

      (5)   the purpose and use of the payment;

      (6)   the name of any City officer or employee that receives a personal benefit from the gift or through the City’s use of the gift;

      (7)   a description and valuation of the personal benefits received by any City officer or employee through the department’s use of the gift;

      (8)   a description of any contract that the payor has with the department;

      (9)   a description of any license, permit, or other entitlement for use that the payor is currently seeking from the department or has been issued by the department within the last 12 months to the payor; and

      (10)   a description of any financial interest the payor has involving the City.

   (c)   Deadline for Initial Filing. The disclosure required in subsection (a) must be filed no later than the fifteenth calendar day following the end of the month in which the payment was received by the department.

   (d)   Supplemental Filings. If any of the information disclosed by the department head in the initial filing made pursuant to subsection (c) changes after the time of the initial filing, the department head must submit a supplemental filing within 30 days that describes those changes.

   (e)   Form. The disclosures required by this Section 3.217 must be made in a form and format prescribed by the Ethics Commission and may include an electronic format.

   (f)   Exception – Payments from Government Agencies. Payments from local, state, and federal government agencies to City departments are not subject to the disclosures required in this Section 3.217.

(Added by Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)

SEC. 3.218. INCOMPATIBLE ACTIVITIES.

   (a)   Prohibitions. City officers and employees shall not engage in the following activities:

      (1)   Activities Subject to the Department’s Jurisdiction. City officers and employees shall not engage in activities that are subject to the control, inspection, review, audit, permitting, enforcement, contracting, or are otherwise within the responsibility of the officer or employee’s department. But City officers and employees may engage in certain activities including, but not limited to, the following: being a party to a matter before or otherwise appearing before one’s own department or commission on behalf of oneself or one’s immediate family, filing or otherwise pursuing claims against the City on one’s own behalf, making a public records disclosure request or other request for information as permitted by law, attending and participating in a meeting of a board, commission, or other policy body under the Brown Act or Sunshine Ordinance, and engaging in non-compensated, volunteer activity for a nonprofit organization with tax exempt status under 26 United States Code Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(5). Incompatible activities prohibited by this subsection (a)(1) shall include, but are not limited, to the following:

         (A)   contracting with one’s own department or serving on the board of directors for an entity that contracts with one’s own department (but this prohibition shall not extend to any entity solely because an officer or employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner serves as a member of its board of directors);

         (B)   acquiring an ownership interest in real property, if the officer or employee had participated personally and substantially in the permitting or inspection of that property within the 12 months prior to the acquisition; and

         (C)   having or acquiring a financial interest in any financial products issued or regulated by the officer or employee’s department.

      (2)   Selective Assistance. City officers and employees shall not provide assistance or advice that is not generally available to all persons, in a manner that confers an advantage on any person who is doing business or seeking to do business with the City. This subsection (a)(2) shall not prohibit an officer or employee from communicating with individual applicants regarding the individual’s application, bid, or proposal, provided that such assistance is provided on an impartial basis to all applicants who request it and is part of the officer or employee’s City duties.

      (3)   Use of City Resources. City officers and employees shall not engage in the use, other than minimal or incidental use, of the time, facilities, equipment, or supplies of the City for private gain or advantage. Nothing in this subsection (a)(3) shall be interpreted or applied to interfere with, restrict, or supersede any rights or entitlements of employees, recognized employee organizations, or their members under state law or regulation or pursuant to provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to use City facilities, equipment, or resources.

      (4)   Use of Prestige of Office. City officers and employees shall not engage in the use of any marker (including without limitation a badge, uniform, or business card), prestige, or influence of the City officer or employee’s position for private gain or advantage.

      (5)   Use of City Work Product. City officers and employees shall not sell, publish, or otherwise use, in exchange for anything of value and without appropriate authorization, any non-public materials that were prepared on City time or while using City facilities, property (including without limitation, intellectual property), equipment, or other materials. Nothing in this subsection (a)(5) shall be interpreted or applied to interfere with, restrict, or supersede any rights or entitlements of employees, recognized employee organizations, or their members under state law or regulation or pursuant to provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to use public materials for collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

      (6)   Acting as an Unauthorized City Representative. City officers and employees shall not hold themselves out as a representative of their departments, or as an agent acting on behalf of their departments, unless authorized to do so, including the use of City letterhead, title, e-mail, business card, or any other resource for any communication that may lead the recipient of the communication to think that the officer or employee is acting in an official capacity when the officer or employee is not.

      (7)   Compensation for City Duties or Advice. City officers and employees shall not receive or accept a payment from anyone other than the City for the performance of a specific service or act the officer or employee would be expected to render or perform in the regular course of their City duties or for advice about the processes of the City directly related to the officer or employee’s duties and responsibilities or the processes of the officer or employee’s department.

      (8)   Lobbying Activity. City officers and employees shall not receive or accept a payment from anyone other than the City in exchange for communicating with any other City officer or employee within their own department with the intent to influence an administrative or legislative action.

   (b)   Excessive Time Demands or Regular Disqualifications. No City appointed department head or employee may engage in any activity that either imposes excessive time demands such that it materially impairs the appointed department head’s or employee’s performance of their City duties or that disqualifies the appointed department head or employee from their City assignments or responsibilities on a regular basis.

      (1)   Advance Written Determination. An appointed department head or employee may seek an advance written determination from the decision-maker specified in subsection (b)(2) below as to whether a proposed outside activity would impose excessive time demands or require regular disqualifications and would therefore be prohibited under this subsection (b).

      (2)   Decision-Maker.

         (A)   For a request by an employee, the department head of the employee’s department or the department head’s designee shall be the decision-maker on a request for an advance written determination. If the department head delegates the decision-making to a designee and if the designee determines that the proposed activity imposes excessive time demands or results in regular disqualifications, the employee may appeal that determination to the department head.

         (B)   For a request by an appointed department head, the department head’s appointing authority shall be the decision-maker on a request for an advance written determination.

         (C)   The decision-maker shall respond to the request by providing a written determination to the requestor by mail, email, personal delivery, or other reliable means. For a request by an employee, the decision-maker shall provide the determination within a reasonable period of time depending on the circumstances and the complexity of the request, but not later than 20 working days from the date of the request. If the decision-maker does not provide a written determination to the employee within 20 working days from the date of the employee’s request, the proposed activity will be determined not to violate this Subsection 3.218(b).

      (3)   Effect. An advance written determination approved by the appropriate decision-maker that an activity does not impose excessive time demands or require regular disqualifications provides the officer or employee immunity from any subsequent enforcement action for a violation of subsection (b) if the material facts are as presented in the appointed department head or employee’s request for an advance written determination. An advance written determination cannot exempt the requestor from any other applicable laws.

      (4)   Public Records. Requests for advance written determinations and advance written determinations, including approvals and denials, are public records.

   (c)   Statements of Incompatible Activities. Statements of Incompatible Activities adopted and approved prior to March 5, 2024 are hereby repealed and shall no longer have any legal effect. Any administrative or disciplinary proceedings initiated prior to the repeal of a Statement of Incompatible Activities alleging violations of the Statement of Incompatible Activities may continue.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003; amended by Proposition D, 3/5/2024, Eff. 4/12/2024, Oper. 10/12/2024)

SEC. 3.220. PROHIBITION ON DUAL OFFICE HOLDING.

   Any person holding an office under the City and County with an annual salary in excess of $2,500, whether by election or by appointment, who shall, during his or her term of office, hold or retain any other office with such a salary under the government of the United States, the State of California, or the City and County shall be deemed to have thereby vacated the office held by him or her under the City and County. For the purposes of this Section, the term salary does not include: (1) a stipend, per diem, or other payment provided for attendance at meetings; or (2) health, dental or vision insurance, or other non-cash benefits.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003)

SEC. 3.222. PROHIBITING OFFICERS FROM CONTRACTING WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY.

   (a)   Definitions. For purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

      (1)   Business. The term "business" means any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, organization, or other legal entity or undertaking organized for economic gain.

      (2)   City and County. The term "City and County" includes any commission, board, department, agency, committee, or other organizational unit of the City and County of San Francisco.

      (3)   Contract. The term "contract" means any agreement other than a grant or an agreement for employment in exchange for salary and benefits.

      (4)   Subcontract. The term "subcontract" means a contract to perform any work that a primary contractor has an agreement with the City and County, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the San Francisco Unified School District, or the San Francisco Community College District to perform.

   (b)   Prohibition. During his or her term of office, no officer shall enter, submit a bid for, negotiate for, or otherwise attempt to enter, any contract or subcontract with the City and County, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the San Francisco Unified School District, or the San Francisco Community College District, where the amount of the contract or the subcontract exceeds $10,000.

   (c)   Exceptions. This Section shall not apply to the following contracts or subcontracts:

      (1)   A contract or subcontract with a nonprofit organization;

      (2)   A contract or subcontract with a business with which an officer is affiliated unless the officer exercises management and control over the business. A member exercises management and control if he or she is:

         (A)   An officer or director of a corporation;

         (B)   A majority shareholder of a closely held corporation;

         (C)   A shareholder with more than five percent beneficial interest in a publicly traded corporation;

         (D)   A general partner or limited partner with more than 20 percent beneficial interest in the partnership; or

         (E)   A general partner regardless of percentage of beneficial interest and who occupies a position of, or exercises management or control of the business;

      (3)   A contract or subcontract entered into before a member of a board or commission commenced his or her service;

      (4)   An agreement to provide property, goods or services to the City and County at substantially below fair market value; or

      (5)   A settlement agreement resolving a claim or other legal dispute.

   (d)   Waiver. The Ethics Commission may waive the prohibitions in this section for any officer who, by law, must be appointed to represent any profession, trade, business, union or association.

   (e)   Limitation. Failure of an officer to comply with this Section shall not be grounds for invalidating any contract with the City and County.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003; Ord. 244-09, File No. 091013, App. 12/3/2009)

SEC. 3.224. PROHIBITION ON REPRESENTING PRIVATE PARTIES BEFORE OTHER CITY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES – COMPENSATED ADVOCACY.

   (a)   Prohibition. No officer of the City and County shall directly or indirectly receive any form of compensation to communicate orally, in writing, or in any other manner on behalf of any other person with any other officer or employee of the City and County with the intent to influence a government decision.

   (b)   Exceptions. This section shall not apply to any communication by: (1) an officer of the City and County on behalf of the City and County; (2) an officer of the City and County on behalf of a business, union, or organization of which the officer is a member or full-time employee; (3) an associate, partner or employee of an officer of the City and County, unless it is clear from the totality of the circumstances that the associate, partner or employee is merely acting as an agent of the City and County officer; or (4) a City officer in his or her capacity as a licensed attorney engaged in the practice of law, which includes representing clients in communications with the City Attorney's Office, District Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, attorneys in the Tax Collector's Office or Sheriff's Office, outside legal counsel hired by the City, representatives of the City who are named in a pending litigation matter or witnesses or potential witnesses in a pending litigation matter.

   (c)   Waiver. The Ethics Commission may waive the prohibitions in this section for any officer who, by law, must be appointed to represent any profession, trade, business, union or association.

(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003; Ord. 97-06, File No. 051837, App. 5/19/2006; Ord. 244-09, File No. 091013, App. 12/3/2009)