SEC. 3.610. DEFINITIONS.
Whenever in this Chapter 6 the following words or phrases are used, they shall have the following meanings:
“Affiliate” shall be defined as set forth in Section 1.126 of this Code.
“Agent” shall mean any person who represents a party in connection with a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use as set forth in Title 2, Section 18438.3 of the California Code of Regulations, as amended from time to time.
“At the behest of” shall mean under the control or at the direction of, in cooperation, consultation, coordination, or concert with, at the request or suggestion of, or with the express, prior consent of.
“Behested payment” shall mean a payment that is made at the behest of an officer, or an agent thereof, and that is made principally for a legislative, governmental, or charitable purpose.
“City Contractor” shall be defined as set forth in Section 1.126 of this Code, except only with respect to contracts with any department of the City and County of San Francisco.
“Commissioner” shall mean any member of a City board or commission, excluding the Board of Supervisors, who is required to file a Statement of Economic Interests as set forth in Section 3.1-103(a)(1) of this Code.
“Contact” shall be defined as set forth in Section 2.106 of this Code.
“Department head” shall mean any department head who is required to file a Statement of Economic Interests as set forth in Section 3.1-103(b)(1) of this Code.
“Designated employee” shall mean any employee of the City and County of San Francisco required to file a Statement of Economic Interests under Article III, Chapter 1 of this Code.
“Elected official” shall mean Assessor-Recorder, City Attorney, District Attorney, Mayor, Public Defender, Sheriff, Treasurer, or member of the Board of Supervisors.
“Financial interest” shall be defined as set forth in the California Political Reform Act (California Government Code Section 87100 et seq.), any subsequent amendments to these Sections, and its implementing regulations.
“Grant” shall mean an agreement with a government agency, non-profit organization or private entity to fund or provide goods or services to assist with City projects or programs, under which the grantor imposes restrictions on the City’s spending of the grant.
“Interested party” shall mean:
(a) any party, participant, or agent of a party or participant involved in (1) a proceeding regarding either administrative enforcement, or a license, permit, or other entitlement for use, before any officer within the department of the officer or designated employee; or (2) any other governmental decision regarding either administrative enforcement, or a license, permit, or other entitlement for use, in which the officer or designated employee was personally and substantially involved. This subsection shall not apply to any license, permit, or other entitlement for use that is issued on a ministerial basis;
(b) (1) any City Contractor contracting with or seeking to contract with the designated employee’s or officer’s department, or any affiliate of such a City Contractor, except for the purposes of providing a grant to the City or City department; (2) as pertains to members of the Board of Supervisors, any City Contractor, or any affiliate of such a City Contractor, if the Board of Supervisors approves the City Contractor’s agreement with the City, except for the purposes of providing a grant to the City or a City department; and (3) any person who attempted to influence the designated employee or officer regarding the approval, denial, extension, or amendment of a City contract, provided that “attempt to influence” shall be defined as set forth in the Ethics Commission’s regulations, and shall not include (A) oral or written public comment that becomes part of the record of a public hearing, (B) speaking at a public forum or rally, or (C) communications made via petition or social media;
(c) any contact or expenditure lobbyist, as defined under Article II, Chapter 1 of this Code, who has registered as a contact or expenditure lobbyist with the Ethics Commission, if the contact or expenditure lobbyist is registered to lobby the designated employee’s or officer’s department; and any person on whose behalf a contact or expenditure lobbyist has made a contact with the employee’s or officer’s department in the last 12 months; or clients, or affiliates of clients, for whom they have contacted the department for in the last 12 months; or
(d) any permit consultant, as defined under Article III, Chapter 4 of this Code, who has registered as a permit consultant with the Ethics Commission, if the permit consultant has reported any contacts with the designated employee’s or officer’s department to carry out permit consulting services during the prior 12 months.
“Interested party” shall not include: (a) any nonprofit organization that Article V of the Charter has authorized to support an arts and culture department; (b) any federal or State government agency; (c) an individual, solely because the individual is an uncompensated board member of a nonprofit organization that is an interested party; or (d) as pertains to members of the Board of Supervisors, a City Contractor, or affiliate of a City Contractor, if the Board of Supervisors did not approve the City Contractor’s agreement with the City.
“License, permit, or other entitlement for use” shall mean professional, trade, or land use licenses, permits, or other entitlements to use property or engage in business, issued in the discretion of the administering agency, including professional license revocations, conditional use permits, rezoning of property parcels, zoning variances, tentative subdivision and parcel maps, cable television franchises, building and development permits, private development plans, and contracts (other than labor or personal employment contracts and competitively bid contracts where the City is required to select the highest or lowest qualified bidder), as set forth in California Government Code Section 84308, as amended from time to time. For purposes of Section 3.620, “license, permit, or other entitlement for use” shall not include licenses, permits, or other entitlements for use that involve little or no discretion, merely apply a checklist or objective criteria to the facts as presented, and/or “as-of-right.”
“Officer” shall mean any commissioner, department head, or elected official.
“Participant” shall mean any person who is not a party but who actively supports or opposes (by lobbying in person, testifying in person, or otherwise acting to influence) a particular decision in a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use and who has a financial interest in the decision, as set forth in California Government Code Section 84308 and Title 2, Section 18438.4 of the California Code of Regulations, as amended from time to time.
“Party” shall mean any person who files an application for, or is the subject of, a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use, as set forth in California Government Code Section 84308, as amended from time to time.
“Payment” shall mean a monetary payment, or the delivery of goods or services, with a value of $1,000 or more, or a series of payments within a 12-month period that in the aggregate total $1,000 or more.
“Permit consulting services” shall be defined as set forth in Article III, Chapter 4 of this Code.
“Person” shall be defined as set forth in Section 1.104 of this Code.
“Personally and substantially involved” shall be defined as set forth in the Ethics Commission’s regulations Section 3.234-5.
“Proceeding” shall be defined as set forth in 2 California Code of Regulations Section 18438.2, as amended from time to time, and shall not include a ministerial action such as the issuance of a first-in-time/first-in-right license, permit, or other entitlement for use, as may be the case when a member of the public seeks permission from a City department to use public space. For purposes of this Chapter 6, this definition shall also apply to proceedings regarding administrative enforcement actions.
“Public appeal” shall mean a request for a payment when such request is made by means of television, radio, billboard, a public message on an online platform, the distribution of 200 or more identical pieces of printed material, the distribution of a single email to 200 or more recipients, or a speech to a group of 20 or more individuals.
“Relative” shall mean a spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, child, sibling, parent-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and first cousin, and includes any similar step relationship or relationship created by adoption.
(Added as Sec. 3.600 by Ord. 1-17, App. 1/20/2017, Eff. 2/19/2017, Oper. 1/1/2018; amended by Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 1/1/2019; repealed by Ord. 232-21, File No. 201132, App. 12/24/2021, Eff. 1/24/2022; redesignated and amended by Proposition E, 6/7/2022, Eff. 7/10/2022; amended by Ord. 204-22, File No. 220539, App. 10/6/2022, Eff. 11/6/2022)
(Former Sec. 3.610 added by Ord. 232-21, File No. 201132, App. 12/24/2021, Eff. 1/24/2022; redesignated as Sec. 3.620 by Proposition E, 6/7/2022, Eff. 7/10/2022)
(Former Sec. 3.610 added by Ord. 1-17, App. 1/20/2017, Eff. 2/19/2017, Oper. 1/1/2018; amended by Ord. 129-18, File No. 180280, App. 5/30/2018, Eff. 6/30/2018, Oper. 1/1/2019; repealed by Ord. 232-21, File No. 201132, App. 12/24/2021, Eff. 1/24/2022)
