OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oakland Rules and Legislation Committee Summary – February 5, 2026

City Council — Thursday, February 5, 2026
BodyOakland, California
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, February 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 45:10
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Thank you.

0:30

Thank you.

1:00

Thank you.

1:30

Thank you.

2:00

Thank you.

2:30

Thank you.

3:00

Thank you.

3:30

Thank you.

4:00

I'm so disgusted when you dipped your salad in your fries.

4:19

I was like, oh my goodness.

4:21

You did what?

4:23

All right, now.

4:25

I have no judgment.

4:30

Thank you.

5:00

Good morning and welcome to the Rules and Legislation Committee of Thursday, February 5th.

5:07

I will go over speaker card instructions before I call the roll. If you are looking to speak on any agenda item,

5:16

please fill out a speaker's card before the item is called or 10 minutes after the start of this meeting.

5:21

This meeting was called today at 1035, so the last opportunity to turn on the speaker's card will be at 1045

5:28

45 or before the item is called whichever comes first on roll for this

5:35

meeting our council members Brown present councilmember Fyfe is excused

5:40

councilmember Ramachandran present and chair Jenkins present before I begin mr.

5:49

chair do you have any announcements no announcements moving through the rest of

6:01

the agenda the first item is item 2 which is approval of the committee

6:06

minutes from January 22nd 2026 we just need a motion approval on the motion by

6:15

councilmember Brown second by councilmember Ramachandran councilmember

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Brown aye councilmember Ramachandran aye and chair Jenkins aye motion passes with

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a vote of three eyes noting that councilmember Fyfe is excused moving to

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item 3 which is new scheduling item 3.1 a resolution authorizing reimbursement

6:39

from the City Council contingency fund for travel costs in an amount not to

6:44

exceed $2,500 for each council member Kevin Jenkins and John Ani Ramachandran to

6:51

travel to Washington DC for a federal advocacy this is asked to go before the

6:56

February 17th City Council agenda on non-consent and noting that this is

7:00

going straight to council it will need a rule 24 wait does it usually go on

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non-consent consent

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Council member do you want to give a little 24?

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Typically items involving travel go straight to council.

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They're just following past practice.

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On consent.

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On consent.

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So noted, this item 3.1 will be going to consent,

7:47

is requested to go to consent instead of non-consent.

7:50

Item 3.2, a resolution confirming the mayor's

7:52

reappointment of Roni Nguyen as a member of the Oakland Public

7:56

Safety Planning and Oversight Commission.

7:59

This is asked to go before the February 17th city council

8:02

agenda on consent.

8:04

This will also need a rule 24 for going straight to council.

8:13

Typically these things go straight to consent.

8:20

Item 3.3, a resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Gabriella Aranda and Reverend

8:29

Tonia Scott Smith and reappointments of Christina Machad, Julia Forte Fruden, and Kevin Bremen

8:38

as members of the Head Start Advisory Board.

8:40

This is also asked to go before the February 17th.

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City Council agenda on consent of Rule 24 will also need to be stated.

8:49

Typically, these items go straight to consent.

8:52

Going to Item 3.4, a resolution confirming the mayor's reappointment of Cara Bredford

8:58

as a landlord representative and Cynthia Munoz-Ramos as a tenant representative

9:04

and Dasana Williams as an alternate tenant representative

9:08

to the Housing Residential Rent and Relocation Board.

9:12

This is asked to go before the February 17th,

9:15

City Council agenda on consent.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness█████████████████████████████████████████████47%
Procedural█████████████████18%
Public Safety████████████13%
Miscellaneous██████████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Affordable Housing██2%
Racial Equity██2%
Budget Equity Analysis█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Rules and Legislation Committee Summary – February 5, 2026

The Rules and Legislation Committee met on February 5, 2026, to approve minutes, schedule legislation for upcoming council and committee meetings, and hear public testimony. The most contentious item was the proposed Encampment Abatement Policy (EAP), which was ultimately scheduled to the Life Enrichment Committee after debate. The committee also approved a series of scheduling requests and heard updates on OPD overtime and the police commission appointment.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the committee minutes from January 22, 2026 (3-0, with Councilmember Fyfe excused).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On the Encampment Abatement Policy (Item 3.5): Eleven speakers opposed scheduling the EAP, arguing it would criminalize unhoused residents (disproportionately Black, brown, and disabled), lacked fiscal and equity analyses, would waste millions during a budget crisis, and aligned with Trump-era policies. Speakers included Nita B, Mike Piatak, Nina Liz Schultz, Lily Robles (East Bay Community Law Center), Charlotte, Bridget Nicoletti (East Bay Community Law Center), Satya, Madeline Stacy, Armando, Delphine, and Samin. Several urged the committee to send it to the Life Enrichment Committee for further study, while others demanded it not be scheduled at all.
  • On OPD Overtime (Item 3.14): Rajne Mandal requested the report include clear explanations of overtime tracking, the difference between paid and comp time, structural drivers of overtime, and prior auditor recommendations; they also asked for context within citywide payroll.
  • On the Police Commission Appointment: Rajne Mandal asked for clarity on when Doug Wong's appointment would return to council, noting it was described in federal court as relevant to constitutional policing sustainability.
  • Open Forum: Rajne Mandal provided an update on a federal court hearing regarding the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA), noting the judge acknowledged progress and emphasized local accountability after oversight ends.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3.5 – Encampment Abatement Policy: Councilmember Houston argued the policy should go directly to the February 17 council meeting, citing a December 24 Cal ICH letter stating the draft meets state guidelines and that delaying it jeopardized $21 million in HAP funds. Other councilmembers (Ramachandran, Brown) favored sending it to the Life Enrichment Committee (LEC) first for proper review. After debate, the committee voted to schedule Item 3.5 to the February 24 LEC agenda.
  • Item 3.4 – Housing Board Reappointments: Moved to the February 19 Rules committee for discussion, per procedure.
  • Item 3.9 – Oakland Public Library Commission Report: Rescheduled from February 24 LEC to March 24 LEC at the administration's request.
  • Item 3.14 – OPD Overtime Report: Withdrawn at the administration's request, with plans to schedule under Item 4.
  • Item 3.15 – Vice Chair Designation: Withdrawn and placed on the Port Liaison Committee pending list with no date.
  • Item 3.16 – Business Closures Report: Placed on the CED pending list with no date.
  • Item 4 – Draft Agendas: The committee noted a quarterly report on public safety overtime would be added to the March 10 Finance and Management Committee agenda.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 3.1 (Council travel to D.C.): Approved to go to the February 17 council consent calendar (Rule 24 waived).
  • Item 3.2 (Public Safety Oversight Commission reappointment): Approved to go to the February 17 council consent calendar (Rule 24 waived).
  • Item 3.3 (Head Start Advisory Board appointments): Approved to go to the February 17 council consent calendar (Rule 24 waived).
  • Item 3.4 (Housing Board appointments): Scheduled to the February 19 Rules and Legislation Committee for discussion.
  • Item 3.5 (Encampment Abatement Policy): Scheduled to the February 24 Life Enrichment Committee.
  • Item 3.9 (Library Commission report): Rescheduled to March 24 Life Enrichment Committee.
  • Item 3.14 (OPD overtime report): Withdrawn, to be rescheduled under Item 4.
  • Item 3.15 (Vice chair designation): Moved to Port Liaison Committee pending list.
  • Item 3.16 (Business closures report): Moved to CED pending list.
  • Item 4 (Draft agendas): Approved as amended; quarterly public safety overtime report added to March 10 Finance and Management Committee agenda.
  • All other scheduling items (3.6–3.8, 3.10–3.13, 3.17–3.18) were approved as presented to their respective committee dates.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so disgusted when you dipped your salad in your fries. I was like, oh my goodness. You did what? All right, now. I have no judgment. Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the Rules and Legislation Committee of Thursday, February 5th. I will go over speaker card instructions before I call the roll. If you are looking to speak on any agenda item, please fill out a speaker's card before the item is called or 10 minutes after the start of this meeting. This meeting was called today at 1035, so the last opportunity to turn on the speaker's card will be at 1045 45 or before the item is called whichever comes first on roll for this meeting our council members Brown present councilmember Fyfe is excused councilmember Ramachandran present and chair Jenkins present before I begin mr. chair do you have any announcements no announcements moving through the rest of the agenda the first item is item 2 which is approval of the committee minutes from January 22nd 2026 we just need a motion approval on the motion by councilmember Brown second by councilmember Ramachandran councilmember Brown aye councilmember Ramachandran aye and chair Jenkins aye motion passes with a vote of three eyes noting that councilmember Fyfe is excused moving to item 3 which is new scheduling item 3.1 a resolution authorizing reimbursement from the City Council contingency fund for travel costs in an amount not to exceed $2,500 for each council member Kevin Jenkins and John Ani Ramachandran to travel to Washington DC for a federal advocacy this is asked to go before the February 17th City Council agenda on non-consent and noting that this is going straight to council it will need a rule 24 wait does it usually go on non-consent consent Council member do you want to give a little 24? Typically items involving travel go straight to council. They're just following past practice. On consent. On consent. So noted, this item 3.1 will be going to consent, is requested to go to consent instead of non-consent. Item 3.2, a resolution confirming the mayor's reappointment of Roni Nguyen as a member of the Oakland Public Safety Planning and Oversight Commission. This is asked to go before the February 17th city council agenda on consent. This will also need a rule 24 for going straight to council. Typically these things go straight to consent. Item 3.3, a resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Gabriella Aranda and Reverend Tonia Scott Smith and reappointments of Christina Machad, Julia Forte Fruden, and Kevin Bremen

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