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Board of Supervisors ends most remote public comment, preserves access for people with disabilities
Summary
On Oct. 17, 2023, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8–3 to amend its rules and discontinue most remote public comment, allowing remote participation only as legally required to accommodate people with disabilities.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8–3 on Oct. 17 to amend its rules of order to discontinue most remote public comment at meetings of the board and its committees, except where state or federal law requires remote access for people with disabilities.
Supporters said the change was needed after repeated episodes of abusive, racist and antisemitic calls during remote public comment. Supervisor Peskin, who introduced the item out of committee, described anonymous callers who used remote comment “to unleash a torrent of racist and antisemitic comments” and said the board should explore other ways to restore remote access before those changes could be implemented at the state level.
Opponents argued the rule would reduce access…
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