This meeting will come to order.

Welcome to the July 23rd, 2021 special meeting of the government audit and oversight committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

I am Supervisor Dean Preston, Chair of the Committee, and I'm joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Connie Chan and committee member Supervisor Raphael Mandelman.

Our committee clerk is John Carroll, and also want to thank Michael Baltasar from SLW for staffing this meeting.

Mr.

Clerk, do we have any announcements?

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

The minutes will reflect the committee members are participating in this remote meeting through video conference to the same extent as though physically present in their committee room.

The board recognizes that public access to city services is essential and invites public participation in the following ways first.

Public comment will be available on each item on this agenda.

Either cable channel 2678 or 99, as well as sfgovtv.org are streaming the public comment call-in number across the screen at this time.

Your opportunity to speak during any of today's public comment periods will be available to you via phone by calling 415 65501.

The meeting ID for today's meeting is 1461505087.

After you've entered the meeting ID, dial the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting.

When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your line will be muted and in listening mode only.

When your item of interest comes up, dial star followed by three to be added to the speaker line.

Best practices are to call from a quiet location to speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television, your radio, your streaming device, or whatever you may be using to access the meetings proceedings.

Alternatively, you may submit your public comment in writing in either of the following ways.

You may email them to myself.

I'm the government audit and oversight committee clerk, and my email address is J-O-H-N, period C-A-R-R-O-L-L at SFGOV.org.

You may also submit your written public comment to our office in City Hall.

Our address is one, Dr.

Carlton B.

Goodlake Place, room 244, the clerk's office, San Francisco, California 94102.

Of course, all this contact information is printed on the cover sheet of every agenda that we publish on our website as well, so you can consult it there if you need to.

And finally, any items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of July 7th, 2021, unless otherwise stated.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Let's call item one and two together, please.

Agenda item number one is a hearing on the de facto route abandonment and service restoration for munibuses, trains, and cable cars.

Agenda item number two is a resolution urging the municipal transportation agency to reinstate all transit lines and restore pre-COVID service hours by December 31st, 2021, and release by August 31st, 2021, a written plan for restoration of all lines and service.

Members of the public wish to provide public comment on this hearing and resolution should call the public comment call-in number now.

That number is 415 65501.

Enter the meeting ID, which is 146-150-5087.

Press the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting and then press star, followed by the number three to enter the queue to speak.

Assistant prompt will indicate that you'll raise your hand.

Please wait until the system indicates that you've been unmuted.

And that will begin your time to offer your comments to the committee.

And finally, one more thing, Mr.

Chair, I'm in receipt of a memo from your desk requesting that the resolution agenda item number two be agendized and considered as a committee report for potential consideration by the Board of Supervisors during the July 27th, 2021 regular board meeting.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk, and uh looking forward to uh to hearing from uh MTA on uh on these items.

Um, you know, I just want to say to start, um I I have been a proud everyday muni rider for I think it's going on 28 years now.

And um, if you know me, you know I absolutely love public transportation.

I think it is what not only gets us places, but in so many ways defines a city, not just our city, but any city.

Um, I believe very strongly in the freedom to move.

I believe freedom that that uh public transportation is a right, not a privilege.

And I want to just start out by thanking everyone who rides Uni, even if uh you don't now because of the pandemic and the changes, uh, but folks who who have relied on Muni over the years and who really are doing their civic duty by riding uh public transportation.

And I think you really deserve to be celebrated, especially now during this challenging time.

I also want to convey right at the outset my gratitude and respect for those who have given so much of themselves to public transportation.

That includes the workers who drive our buses, our trains, cable cars, maintain our overhead lines, maintain the tunnels clean and fix our coaches, process uh payments, give information, plan the routes, um, and really envision a greener future uh through their commitment and work to public transportation.

Uh, also want to recognize that our my colleague on this um uh committee, uh Supervisor Mandelman, um, also plays a leadership role in and has for years on public transportation issues, um, including sharing our transportation authority.

And I want to thank uh Vice Chair Chand for her uh uh work on behalf of Muni Riders and her co-sponsorship of the resolution that's part of one of the two items up before us today.

Um I have requested today that the SFMTA come to the GAO for a hearing on route abandonment.

Uh, called for this hearing on July 24th, actually announced that at a rally, uh, return the 31 rally that was hosted by uh TNDC and many uh advocates and organizers in a rally that Director Tumlin attended.

Um since that time, we we have had a plan for a partial return of the 31.

The second item uh that we're hearing is the resolution from Supervisor Chan in my office urging the MTA to reinstate all transit lines and restore pre-COVID service hours by December 31st of this year, um, and calling on the FFMTA to release a written plan for restoration by August 31st, 2021.

For the last 16 months, as many of you know, um, many MUNI lines have been suspended, some with no timetable for return.

Um, and meanwhile, the MTA has refused to issue a plan to return 100% pre-pandemic service hours or restore all suspended lines.