Rules Committee opens special hearings and continues multiple charter amendments

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee met in special session and read four first-draft charter amendments, then agreed to table or continue each matter so the full committee could deliberate and gather stakeholder input.

Chair Supervisor Tom Ammiano opened the hearing, saying the meetings begin an "intricate" process of moving charter amendments to the full board and, eventually, the ballot. He said some sponsors requested continuances to ensure a full complement of supervisors could consider the measures.

The clerk read Item 1, a proposal to create a public works commission, authorize the mayor to appoint the department director, and require Controller performance audits of Public Works; the item’s sponsor, Supervisor Sandoval, requested the matter be tabled. Item 2, a draft amendment to increase the chief of police’s suspension authority from 10 to 45 days, drew an initial amendment request from Supervisor Ellsburn to clarify application to both police and fire commissions and was continued to next Friday to allow input from the Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC), the Police Officers Association (POA), and other stakeholders.

Clerk readings and public presentations on Item 3 and Item 4 likewise ended in continuances. Item 3, a charter draft to establish a homicide-prevention plan, a survivors’ advocate, and a violence-prevention fund (the clerk’s reading referenced $10,000,000 per year for three years), received a substantially different proposal from John Avalos (presenting for Supervisor Chris Delli’s office) to reconstitute the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice into an Office of Public Safety with a $20,000,000 set-aside, including $2,000,000 for planners. The committee agreed to continue Item 3 for one week for further review and stakeholder meetings.

Item 4 would require the mayor or four or more supervisors proposing an initiative to submit the measure to the Director of Elections 45 days earlier than current practice and request a public hearing; the sponsor, Supervisor Ellsburn, described the measure as a "sunshine" reform prompted by recent ballot initiatives and said it would not bar measures from the ballot but would record in the voter guide if no public hearing occurred. Stakeholders including the Chamber of Commerce and civic groups urged support. The committee continued Item 4 until tomorrow for further consideration.

Public comment spanned focused, policy-oriented statements in favor of increased transparency and public-safety funding as well as several off-topic or non-substantive remarks. No formal votes or adoptions occurred during the session; the committee recessed and will reconvene to continue these items.