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Rules Committee forwards ordinance to fix taxi medallion eligibility gaps
Summary
The Rules Committee recommended forwarding an ordinance amending San Francisco Police Code §11.21 to the full Board that would shift the compliance start date from 2004 to February 2005 and allow the Taxi Commission to prorate current-year driving requirements, addressing notice and drafting problems raised by long-waiting medallion applicants.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee voted to forward an ordinance amending San Francisco Police Code §11.21 to the full Board after public comment from taxi drivers, advocates and Taxi Commission staff highlighted notice failures and a drafting error in earlier Prop K–related legislation.
Supporters said the change would correct an unfair result that began after Prop K–era updates. Attorney Ray Alexander, speaking for an applicant whose 1993 application was affected, said the proposed amendments “reverse an inequity” that moved the goalposts for long‑waiting applicants. Taxi Commission representative Paul Gillespie said the changes are sensible housekeeping that would prevent current administrative interpretations from disqualifying drivers who expected to be eligible when they reached the top of the waiting list.
Several drivers described personal hardships. Barry Korngold said he has been on the list for 15 years and that the Commission’s interpretation effectively requires an extra year of driving when an application is pulled early in a calendar year; he urged the Commission be allowed to prorate partial calendar years. Raymond Delgado and another long‑waiting applicant urged the committee to shift the measurement start date to February 2005, saying notification about the 2004 changes was not timely.
Chair Daley summarized the two fixes the ordinance would make: move the starting compliance date from 2004 to 02/2005 and allow the Taxi Commission to prorate the current year’s driving requirement to avoid penalizing drivers whose applications are pulled partway through a calendar year. The committee moved the item to the full Board as a committee report with recommendation without objection.
What it means next: the ordinance will appear before the full Board for a hearing and final action; the Taxi Commission may need to notify affected applicants if the Board approves the amendments.
Authorities and actions noted at the hearing included references to Prop K and San Francisco Police Code §11.21; specific draft language and final vote tallies were not taken at the committee level and are to be recorded at the full Board hearing.
Ending: The committee’s action forwards a narrowly focused fix intended to prevent administrative interpretations from disqualifying long‑waiting, otherwise‑eligible applicants; the full Board will decide whether to adopt the ordinance and any implementing instructions to the Taxi Commission.
