Supervisor Chen proposes public bank charter amendment and seeks hearing on $4.7M no‑bid contract

Supervisor Chen told the board on May 19 that she is introducing a charter amendment to create a municipal finance corporation and a public bank aimed at supporting housing production, small business lending and climate investments.

"San Francisco has been grappling to advance large‑scale solutions that can address our housing affordability challenges," Chen said, describing the Bank of North Dakota as a model and citing the California Public Bank Act as an enabling path. "The municipal finance corporation will not commingle with the city and county and have no impact on the general fund," she said, urging colleagues to consider authorizing the measure.

Chen also said her office is requesting a hearing into a $4.7 million contract that was awarded without competitive bidding by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. "There were questions about how the organization receiving the award was chosen and what the goal, criteria, expected outcome of the contract included. Those questions are still left unanswered," Chen said. She requested that the mayor’s office, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development and the department of homelessness report back.

Chen framed the bank proposal as a tool to finance local priorities — from multifamily acquisitions under the city's small‑sites program to building electrification projects — and said it would partner with local credit unions and community development financial institutions to create targeted lending products.

The charter amendment and the contract hearing request were introduced during new business; the board will decide next steps through committee assignment and future hearings.