San Francisco  The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Oct. 16 voted to amend and forward to the full Board of Supervisors an ordinance that would change how covered airport employers meet the citys Healthy Airport Ordinance healthcare-spending requirement.

The measure, presented by Board President Rafael Mandelman, would let qualifying employers use additional compliance options beyond providing health insurance or paying into a medical reimbursement account. Mandelman said the changes add an option to make an "irrevocable health care expenditure" on behalf of employees, allow certain collective bargaining waivers and create a tiered spending floor tied to employee household size.

The ordinance would amend the citys labor and employment code and apply to employers whose workers are in the airports quality-standards program, which covers positions related to health, safety or security. Mandelman told the committee the proposal is intended "to preserve the improvements made to airport safety and security through the HAO while providing covered employers expanded flexibility to determine how best to provide healthcare expenditures to their employees." He also said non-substantive amendments circulated by his office would clarify how self-funded health plans get credit for coverage and address the compliance grace period.

Nick Menard of the Budget and Legislative Analysts office told the committee the analysts review found the proposal would broaden options for airport entities that operate at the airport and have employees in the quality-standards program. Menard said the analyst estimated the change would increase costs to those airport contractors by about $270,000 a year for 71 employees and that, because the employers are airport contractors, the additional cost "will ultimately be passed on to the airport and paid for by the airport, not the general fund." He referenced a summary of the analysis in the analyst report file provided to the committee.

There was no public comment on the item. Committee members recorded two aye votes to amend the ordinance and to forward the item to the full board with a positive recommendation; one member was excused. The committee clerk noted items acted on at the committee are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of Oct. 28 unless otherwise stated.

Why it matters: The Healthy Airport Ordinance, first passed by the Board of Supervisors in November 2020, was intended to raise standards for airport service employees. This amendment would maintain existing employer responsibilities while widening the set of acceptable employer actions to satisfy the health-care spending requirement and tying spending floors to household size, which could alter costs for airport contractors and the airport authority.

Next steps: The measure will go to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration. The committee-record file includes the analyst report and the amendments Mandelman said were circulated.