Committee forwards lawsuit settlement to full Board after closed session; declines to disclose deliberations

SAN FRANCISCO — The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on March 6 convened in closed session to consider an ordinance approving settlement of a lawsuit against the city and later voted to forward the settlement to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation.

After returning to open session, the committee’s clerk reported that the committee voted to forward the closed‑session item to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The committee then voted not to disclose the closed‑session discussions.

The meeting record shows the closed‑session item listed as “an ordinance approving a settlement of a lawsuit against the city.” No public comments were received on the closed‑session item. The committee’s subsequent roll calls on the motions to convene in closed session, to forward the settlement to the full Board, and to withhold disclosure of the closed‑session deliberations registered ayes from the members recorded in the clerk’s roll call. The clerk announced that the committee had three ayes on the non‑disclosure motion.

By statute and Board rules, certain settlement discussions are properly considered in closed session; the committee did not disclose the substance of its deliberations when it returned to open session. The committee’s action forwards the settlement ordinance to the full Board for consideration.

The full Board will receive the forwarded ordinance for further action at a future meeting.