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Board committee advances local vehicle license fee proposal for November ballot
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee advanced two companion measures to ask San Francisco voters this November to reinstate a local vehicle license fee (VLF); supervisors emphasized state preemption limits and broad stakeholder support while noting legal and ballot‑threshold complexities.
The Budget and Finance Committee voted to forward two companion measures that would allow San Francisco to place a local vehicle license fee (VLF) on the November ballot, a step supporters said could help restore revenue lost when portions of the VLF were curtailed by state action.
President Carmen Chu said the ordinance and accompanying resolution are intended to allow a voter election on reinstating a local VLF and that the city has amended the language to be compatible with state law. Chu described the local measure as one that could permit a local VLF (discussed in committee at levels up to 0.85 percent in prior drafts) but acknowledged the local ordinance must “mirror exactly what’s happening at the state level.”
Public testimony included endorsements from Jim Lazarus of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and representatives of SEIU and the San Francisco Labor Council, who said polling shows strong support for placing a recapture of a historic VLF tier before voters. Lazarus noted that, because no supervisor races are on the November ballot, state law could require a two‑thirds vote for local ordinances unless the Board seeks unanimous support to avoid that threshold.
Several supervisors, including MacRaeamy and others, raised policy questions about whether a VLF structure could be designed to incent lower‑emission vehicles; Chu and other supervisors said state law currently limits the city’s ability to craft differential rates for vehicle types.
The committee moved both the resolution and ordinance forward to the full board without recommendation so the measures can be considered at Tuesday’s board meeting.
What happens next: The full Board of Supervisors will consider the resolution and ordinance; if the Board places them on the ballot and state implementing legislation is in place, voters in San Francisco would decide the measure in November.
