Rules Committee forwards firefighter retirement charter amendment to ballot

The San Francisco Rules Committee voted to forward to the full Board of Supervisors a proposed charter amendment that would change how the "age factor" is calculated for fire department members who joined on or after Jan. 7, 2012, allowing those members to reach the highest benefit percentage at age 55 rather than 58 and placing the amendment on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot.

Chair Supervisor Safaei said the controller provided an updated fiscal estimate showing the first‑year cost of the measure at about $3,700,000, down from earlier estimates exceeding $10 million annually, and argued there may be long‑term savings tied to reductions in cancer claims. "The amount of cancer exposure being the number 1 leading cause of death for firefighters is unacceptable, and we need to be doing everything we can to fight this," Safaei said.

Floyd Rollins, president of San Francisco Firefighters Local 798, urged the committee to support the measure, calling it "very important to our members" and saying it addresses a leading occupational health risk. "I can't express how important this is to all of our members," Rollins said.

President Aaron Peskin, who took part in committee discussion, praised the committee's negotiated amendments as making "fiscal sense" and stressed that the Rules Committee's role is to refine measures before recommending them to the full board, which ultimately decides whether to place charter amendments on the ballot.

The committee voted to forward the charter amendment as a committee report to the full board; Vice Chair Walton and President Peskin recorded ayes alongside Chair Safaei and the motion passed without objection. The Board of Supervisors will consider the committee's recommendation before any final action on placing the measure before voters.