Prop C: Expenditure Lobbyists. NO!

[Sonja Trauss]

C

Expenditure Lobbyists Legal Text (PDF)  Legislative Digest (PDF) Controller Analysis (PDF) Ballot Question (PDF)

Filed 7/7/2015

San Francisco Ethics Commission

Jesse Mainardi               415-252-3100

SF Ethics Commission

Terence Faulkner

Here's a description of the measure.

This does not affect SFBARF or the PAC right now because I don't spend $2,500/ month on anything. But it could in the future. I recommend: Vote NO.

Aside from saving your favorite organization $500/ yr, I say vote no because I don't like that this law implies that encouraging your fellow citizens to contact their local government, and get involved in politics generally, is nefarious and in need of supervision.

If all SFBARF does is make a few hundred people realize how accessible local government is, and empowers them contact their local electeds with abandon, I would feel ok about that! I want it to be wholesome and easy for people or companies to encourage people to contact their local officials, and teach people how to do it.

This law was made because SF conservatives think there is something untoward about AirBnB and Uber organizing their users, but AirBnB and Uber are having an easy time of organizing their users because they are actually very useful platforms. Laws limiting their use would affect a zillion people. Organizing is labor, it costs money. If the companies didn't pay to organize users, no one would and the users would risk getting shafted by law changes.

This proposed law applies to non-profits and individuals. That means anyone with an opinion who spends more than $2,500/ mo putting up ads and flyers telling people to email or call their reps would have to pay $500 and report. $2,500/ mo is a lot of money for an individual, but I could see a student group or other small, amateur political group getting caught up in it.

Finally, going through the process of setting up a political entity has made me realize that laws like these are barriers to entry. The more paperwork you have to do, the more complicated it is, the more discouraged people are from organizing their friends and community.

Also - I don't know if the $2500 is inflation adjusted or if it is going to become the equivalent of $100 in today's dollars?

Vote Here: http://goo.gl/forms/m0Q7htjSdd

You can edit your responses! So vote early, vote often! Voting will close Tuesday September 8th.

Notice - I will cross reference the votes here with the people who signed into the database of voters, or donated. If you want your vote to count, you have to either put yourself in the database of voters, or have donated to the Tilt, or send me $35 now on paypal (just sign the database, it's free).

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Vote on Renters' PAC endorsements: http://goo.gl/forms/m0Q7htjSdd Voting closes Sept 8 2015.

[Donald Dewsnup]

I concur.

Besides I don't like Larry Bush personally and He is an uber NIMBY. :/

D