Rules Committee forwards ordinance easing purchases of data and content subscriptions

San Francisco — The Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on April 14 voted to forward to the full board an ordinance that would let city departments buy specific data and content subscriptions without complying with some solicitation requirements and certain municipal contracting obligations, committee members and city staff said.

The change is intended to speed procurement of low-dollar, commercially provided data services that departments say are difficult to obtain under the city's current contracting rules. Molly Peterson, a representative of the Office of the City Administrator, told the committee the proposal is narrowly tailored to purchases in which "the city is downloading or receiving data" and does not cover contracts in which the city would provide or upload its own data.

The ordinance would exempt qualifying purchases from elements of San Francisco's standard contracting process, including some solicitation requirements and provisions the municipal code imposes on contractors. Peterson said typical long-form city contracts of "20 to 30 pages" are often not a good fit for subscription-based data products, and some vendors are unwilling to renegotiate standard terms for a single jurisdiction.

Supervisor Mark Mahmood, who introduced the ordinance, described the measure as a modernization step. He said city departments have been delayed in obtaining information they need, and cited the San Francisco Public Library as an example: "The city librarian couldn't access basic business data and provide it for free to the public. Instead, they're handing out paper manuals," Mahmood said.

Peterson and other staff told the committee that the exemption is meant for a narrow use case and to protect the city where appropriate: the proposal excludes purchases that would require the city to upload or share its own data with vendors and offers a detailed definition of covered transactions.

Committee President Mandelmann said the measure balanced policy goals and operational needs and said he would cosponsor the legislation. After brief discussion and no public comment, President Mandelmann moved to forward the ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation. The motion passed without objection on recorded voice votes of "aye" from Vice Chair Cheryl, Member Mandelmann and Chair Supervisor Shamann Walton.

If approved by the full board, the ordinance would allow departments such as the Treasurer's Office and the Assessor-Recorder's Office to more quickly obtain commercially produced lease and property data used for tax and valuation work, officials said. City staff said they would continue to monitor procurement practices for nonprofits and other suppliers and work with supervisors on any needed safeguards.

The Rules Committee meeting record shows the item will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on April 22, 2025, unless otherwise noted.