Ethics Commission reports 95% Form 700 filing compliance after e-filing expansion; staff planning compliance reviews

At the May 13 meeting the Commission received an update on the Form 700 electronic-filing expansion. Engagement and Compliance Manager Rachel Gage said the program, which moved designated employees onto the e-filing platform earlier this year, achieved strong compliance: as of May 11, 97% of city officers and 94% of designated filers had submitted their annual statements, for an overall 95% compliance rate.

Gage described the program's implementation: an interactive training module, facilitator-led virtual sessions, a dedicated support portal and searchable public access to filings on the Commission's website and via SF Open Data. She said filings are searchable by filer name, position, department, filing period, and can be downloaded in bulk for analysis.

Commissioners asked whether staff track public engagement with the disclosure site and whether the Commission could produce aggregated analyses (for example, which private firms appear most frequently in filings). Gage and executive staff said the Commission's electronics and disclosure team monitors analytics and that a compliance-review program for Form 700 is being developed to begin in FY23 to assess reporting quality, under- and over-reporting and trends.

Public commenters urged additional guidance for how departments should treat consultants and for departmental organization charts to help the public identify which positions are subject to disclosure requirements. Staff said these suggestions would inform the compliance-review framework.