The Budget and Finance Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened on September 2, 2026, at 6:15 PM, chaired by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, with Vice Chair Cheyenne Chen and Member Danny Sauter. The meeting featured a lengthy agenda covering items from a nitrous oxide ban to major bond issuances and a controversial contract for a citywide permitting system (Permit SF). The committee took public comment on multiple items and voted on a series of routine approvals, bond sales, and the OpenGov contract extension.
This meeting will now come to order. This is the September 2nd, 2026 meeting of the Budget and Let and Finance Committee. I would like to welcome everyone back from their legislative recess, which is in part why we have a lengthy agenda today. I'm Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Chair of this committee. I'm also joined by Vice Chair Cheyenne Chen and Member Danny Sauter. Our clerk today is Mr. Brent Halipa, whom we thank in advance for staffing and keeping us on track. As well, we're appreciative to the entire team at SFGov TV for facilitating and broadcasting today's meeting, and that's especially for our producer Jeanette Eganloff. Uh Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a friendly reminder to those in attendance to please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices to prevent interruptions to our proceedings. And should you have any documents to be included as part of the file, they should be submitted to myself, the clerk. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. And when your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak on the west side of the chamber to your right, my left along those curtains. And while not required to provide public comment, we do invite you to fill out a comment card and leave them on to trade by the television to your left by the doors. If you wish for your name to be accurately recorded for the minutes, alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself.jal I P A at SFGOV dot ORG. If you submit public comment via email, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also included as part of the official file. You may also send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office in City Hall at 1. Dr. Carlton be good at place. Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. And finally, due to our observance of Labor Day, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of September 15th, unless otherwise stated. Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And before we call item number one, I would like to remind our viewers and attendees that we have budget and legislative analyst reports for items one, two, three, and then seven through twenty-four on today's agenda. For those items, we will hear from the department uh first with their presentation followed by the budget and legislative analyst. Uh, we will then facilitate questions from the committee and then invite a public comment. Uh Mr. Clerk, would you please call item number one? Yes, item number one is an ordinance amending the police code to prohibit the retail sale of nitrous oxide, with exceptions for medical or dental procedures, research and development manufacturing or industrial operations and food product purposes. Um make violations of the prohibition an infraction or misdemeanor, subject to imprisonment and or a fine, and authorize the director of public health to enforce the prohibition and make violations of the prohibition a public nuisance, subject to administrative fines, civil penalties, and revocation of a tobacco sales permit. Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. It's my understanding that this item has uh will likely be continued because there is a request for a meeting confer, but it's uh Supervisor Sauter's item, and I'd like to ask Supervisor Sauter to say a few words. Thank you, Chair Dorsey. And um this is an item that we've been working on since a drafting request in February of this year. And we're doing so because at the moment, nitrous oxide is a substance that is addictive, deadly, and available at ease in San Francisco and across much of this state. Um nitrous oxide for those not familiar, also referred to as laughing gas or whippets, has been exploding in popularity. One study over uh found that over the past decade there was an increase of 600 percent in deaths. Emergency room visits up some 500 percent. Um this is a substance that can lead to life-threatening health complications, including nerve damage, psychosis, heart attack, and much more. And it is for this reason and more that we have garnered widespread support for this item, uh, including support and endorsements from the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, from Ecology, from Teamsters 350, from NEMS, the Northeast Medical Services, and for many individuals, parents in particular, who are worried about this substance and the ease that it is available.