Committee advances municipal ID ordinance after broad public support; staff outline costs and security measures

The Budget and Finance Committee advanced Supervisor Tom Ammiano’s ordinance to create a San Francisco municipal identification card and continued the item for further amendment and review, following technical briefings and more than an hour of public comment.

Ammiano told the committee the ordinance would "create a city-issued ID card for San Francisco residents regardless of immigration status," and said he expects the card to improve public safety by making it easier for people to report crimes, open bank accounts and access local services. He said the proposal draws on New Haven’s program, which issued about 4,000 cards after launching in July.

City Attorney Francesca Gessner summarized the ordinance’s key provisions, including new proof-of-identity and proof-of-residency rules, an expiration date requirement for cards, confidentiality protections for applicant data and a $15 fee for adults and $5 for minors (subject to exceptions). Gessner said applicants would file under penalty of perjury and that the county clerk would be required to accept specified forms of identity and residency. The ordinance would become operative nine months after its…