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Rules Committee agrees to continue Fair Chance ordinance amendment after public testimony
Summary
Supervisor Malia Cohen asked the Rules Committee to continue consideration of proposed changes to San Francisco's Fair Chance ("Ban the Box") ordinance to allow more community engagement; public commenters — including legal-services advocates and people with conviction histories — urged stronger enforcement and private remedies. The committee continued the item without objection.
Supervisor Malia Cohen on Wednesday asked the Rules Committee to continue consideration of an amendment to San Francisco's Fair Chance ordinance, a local "Ban the Box" measure that limits employer and housing-provider use of conviction histories.
"What I'm doing today is I'm requesting a continue a continuance from for item 1, which is an amendment to our fair chance ordinate ordinance," Supervisor Malia Cohen said, asking for extra time to consult stakeholders and to compare the proposal with a related state assembly measure.
The Fair Chance ordinance prohibits employers and housing providers from inquiring about or basing decisions on applicants' conviction histories. Cohen said she wants more time to "engage with a few more community members, and consider a little bit more information" before moving forward.
Public commenters urged the committee to strengthen the measure and to retain robust enforcement. Eva Dellair, staff attorney at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, said awarding enforcement fines to harmed parties would empower people to enforce their rights and hold employers and housing providers accountable. "Ban the box is not just a single ordinance or state law but it's an international movement for the full restoration of the rights of formerly incarcerated people and their families," Dellair said.
Sandra Johnson and Daryl Geyer described losing jobs and the difficulty of finding work after convictions, and Noe Godinho, an organizer with All of Us Are Done, urged the board to "shore up these small loopholes where companies and businesses can exploit people further."
After public comment, Chair Supervisor Asha Safai moved to continue the item to the call of the chair with a goal of scheduling it for the March 14 Rules Committee meeting; the motion carried without objection. Committee members said they welcomed additional community engagement and praised Cohen's leadership.
The committee did not take a final vote on any substantive change; the next procedural step will be an updated staff report or revised ordinance language to be considered at the continued Rules Committee meeting.
