The San Diego City Council's Rules Committee and Public Safety Committee met on September 16, 2026, to consider a cryptocurrency ATM warning sign ordinance, updates to the city's records retention schedule, authorization for remote meetings for certain boards and commissions, amendments to contractor standards, and other items. Public testimony covered a wide range of topics including scams, flooding, surveillance, and youth prevention.
Item 2: Ordinance Requiring Cryptocurrency ATM Warning Signs – Presented by Council President Lacava's staff (Joaquin Quintero, Brian Elliott). The ordinance would require a warning sign on cryptocurrency ATMs to combat scams, modeled on Omaha's law. Public testimony strongly supported the measure: Gwen Marie Hillary (Senior Affairs Advisory Board), Robert Pratt, Barry Berman (AARP), Alana Martinson (Serving Seniors), Joyce Sanyata, and virtual speakers Blair Beekman and Natalie Ratchke all spoke in favor. Maximilian Schmidt opposed, calling it part of a communist plot. Councilmembers Elo Rivera, Campillo, and President Pro Tem Lee expressed support, with Lee requesting multilingual signs. Outcome: Motion by Chair Lacava, second by Rivera, passed unanimously.
Item 3: Amendment to Master Record Schedule (MRS) – Rename to Municipal Retention Schedule – Presented by City Clerk Diana Fuentes, Mark Webb, and Elena Mendoza. The update involved 10 new record series, 31 title changes, 27 updated retention periods, and other revisions after a two-year review with 77 subject matter experts. Public comment: Joyce Sanyata supported; Crypto Bradley expressed unrelated concerns; Blair Beekman supported. Councilmember Campillo moved approval, second by Chair Lacava. Outcome: Passed unanimously.
Item 4: Findings Under SB 707 to Allow Certain Boards and Commissions to Meet Remotely – Presented by Chida Warren (Mayor's Office). The resolution would authorize 20 advisory bodies to permit remote participation, addressing quorum issues. Public testimony: Joy Sanyata supported; Maximilian Schmidt opposed, calling remote work a "communist plot." Virtual speakers Tanisha Jean Martin (Climate Advisory Board chair) and Blair Beekman supported; Amanda suggested a six-month audit. Councilmember Campillo made the motion, second by Councilmember Ilo Rivera. Outcome: Passed unanimously.
Good morning. Welcome to the rules committee meeting of September 16th, twenty twenty-six. I am Joel Agava, Council Member for District One and Chair of the Committee. Our committee lays on Sarah Jordan. We'll go over instructions for today's meeting. Sarah? Thank you, Chair Lacava. Well, members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person. This meeting is being televised and live streamed on the city's website, and Council administration will continue to make arrangements for the public to comment using the Zoom webinar platform. Members of the public who wish to provide virtual testimony must enter the virtual queue by raising their hand before the virtual queue closes. The queue will close when the last virtual speaker finishes speaking, or five minutes after in-person test testimony ends, whichever occurs first. Council Member Elo Rivera. And I am present. Also attending the meeting today are Gillian Andalina with the office of the independent budget analyst, Kathy Steinman with the office of the city attorney, Matt Yeah, with the office of Mayor Todd Gloria, and Abby Reuters, the committee consultant. With that, Sarah, please continue with public comment instructions. Thank you, Chair Lakava. If you are in person, please complete a speaker slip located at the entrance of the committee room and place it in the top of the box indicated at the table at the front of the room. Please do so in a timely manner to ensure proper meeting management. Once organized presentations have concluded, no other for no further organized presentations will be taken. In-person testimony will conclude before virtual testimony begins, and no further in-person testimony will be taken once the committee begins virtual testimony. Members of the public can also join the webinar by computer, tablet, or smartphone by accessing the link, which is listed online in the preamble language of the agenda on the city's webpage. If you need to participate by telephone, you may dial 1669-2545252 entering webinar ID 1604399420 pound. This information is also available on the agenda and it will appear on the screen during the public comment period for each agenda item. Please note that if you're watching via City TV 24 or online, there may be delay. Please participate via the audio on your phone and mute your TV or computer when it's your turn to speak. If you wish to speak to a particular item, please wait for that item to be called and then raise your hand to speak by tapping the raise your hand icon, or if you're calling participant by pressing star nine on your phone. If you raise your hand during a non-comment period, your hand will be large. All right, thank you, Sarah. With that, we will now take up non-agenda public comment. Council members respect and appreciate the public. Some putting are fully committed to protecting every participant's free speech rights at council and committee meetings. Sarah, please proceed with non-agenda public comment. And each speaker will have two minutes to provide their non-agenda public comment. We will begin with in-person testimony. Maximilian Schmidt, if you'll please approach the lecture, and you will have two minutes and you have submitted some visual materials that we will display during your comment time. And um it says on it receipt, not a license or permit. And this is after I completed the application and even paid them. And it says, if you do not receive your identification card within 60 days, please contact or present this receipt to any DMV office. And the DM and the um ID card never came in the mail. And I've actually um have caught on to a communist Zionist plot to depopulate people in California. I searched DMV processing times on the DMV.ca.gov website, and it said um two weeks. And then I went to the DMV chat bot and I said, what are the processing times for an ID card? And it said um has been reduced from 20 weeks to about six weeks. And then I asked it again another time, and it had some very strange language. And I've scavenged the internet about this, and as far as I can tell, I'm the first person to expose this. There's um lots of disinformation online and lots of gaslighting online. And um I'm very very angry. And um I was born in Southern Ohio and have constitutional birth rights that are not being honored in California. And I carry around a copy of the um constitution and also um the divine mercy, because everyone in San Diego is also possessed by the devil, and it's very, very scary. And when I walk around downtown, everyone has frowns on their face and standing abnormally still.