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Rules Committee advances ordinance requiring contractors to disclose safety records
Summary
The Rules Committee voted unanimously to forward an ordinance that would add contractor safety records, including upheld and pending OSHA citations, to the definition of "responsible" bidders for Chapter 6 public works contracts; no public comment was received.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on June 22 voted to advance an ordinance requiring construction bidders to disclose safety performance records as part of the city efinition of a "responsible" contractor and recommended the measure to the full Board.
Bill Barnes of the City Administrator epartment told the committee the ordinance is informed by prior work, including a 2018 hearing about a fatal incident in the West Portal Tunnel, and aims to ensure safety performance becomes an explicit element in responsibility determinations across Chapter 6 contracting departments. "All this ordinance does is add to the definition of responsible, that you share your safety record," Barnes said, describing safety records to include "both upheld citations from OSHA as well as ones that might be pending." He said the change was drafted in consultation with the City Attorney and has support across Chapter 6 departments, and that the Public Utilities Commission has already implemented similar practices.
Under the proposed change read into the record by the clerk, contractors bidding for public works and improvement projects would be required to disclose safety records as part of demonstrating experience, insurance and bonding capacity. The ordinance also clarifies that the "responsible" requirement applies across different procurement methods enumerated in Chapter 6, including design-build and elevator construction, which previously were not explicitly covered.
There were no callers in the public-comment queue for this item. Chair Hillary Ronan moved the ordinance forward with a positive committee recommendation; Supervisors Catherine Stephanie, Gordon Marr, Supervisor Maher and Chair Ronan recorded "aye." The motion passed without objection and the clerk noted items acted on by the committee are expected to appear on the Board agenda on June 30.
The ordinance as presented does not list penalties or administrative processes in detail in this hearing record; the committee advanced the measure to the Board for further consideration.
