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Committee accepts amended cigarette-litter fee; ordinance would charge 20¢ per pack to fund cleanup and education
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee reviewed an ordinance to impose a cigarette litter abatement fee and accepted technical amendments that set the fee at 20¢ per pack (down from an earlier estimate), with projected first-year revenue of about $4.5 million starting October 1; enforcement responsibilities were shifted to the Tax Collector.
The committee took up Item 6, an ordinance to create a cigarette-litter abatement fee to recover the city’s costs of cleaning cigarette butts and to fund anti-litter education. Catherine Dodd of the Mayor’s Office summarized the findings of a nexus study: cigarette butts and related packaging comprise an estimated portion of litter and cigarette filters contain toxic organic compounds that can harm marine life when butts enter storm drains.
Dodd said the final nexus study supported a defensible fee of 20¢ per pack (the earlier estimate had been as high as 33¢) and that the administration expects roughly $4,500,000 in annual revenue starting October 1 under that rate. The proposed ordinance adds a new chapter to the San Francisco Administrative Code and amends the Health Code to allow suspension of tobacco sales permits for nonpayment; the Tax Collector would handle collection and enforcement to improve auditability.
Supervisors asked about outreach to small grocers and implementation; Dodd said the administration met with the large grocers association, had discussions with smaller retailers and adjusted collection methods so retailers would not need to track by pack at point of sale (collection integrated with existing excise-tax records). Public commenters were split: opponents called the fee regressive while supporters said the fee funds cleanup and could support nonprofit workforce and local-hiring priorities.
The committee accepted the technical amendments summarized by staff and moved the ordinance forward to the full Board with recommendation.
What’s next: The ordinance will be transmitted to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration; the administration plans an October 1 start date if enacted.
