Rules Committee Meeting – October 2, 2023: Appointments, Surveillance Policy, and Labor Code Updates
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Rules Committee Meeting – October 2, 2023
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee met on Monday, October 2, 2023, at 10:00 AM (local time) under Chair Matt Dorsey, with Vice Chair Shimon Walton and Supervisor Asha Safai. The meeting began with a moment of remembrance for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, a former San Francisco Board President and Mayor. The committee considered six agenda items: two reappointments to the Treasury Oversight Committee, one appointment to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, adoption of a social media monitoring dashboard policy for the Department of Elections, a contractor debarment ordinance for labor law violations, and a code reorganization establishing a Labor and Employment Code.
Consent Calendar
- None explicitly designated, but all items were approved unanimously and moved to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (Sunshine Ordinance Task Force): Jen Say, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, supported Maxine Anderson, citing her decades of active membership and commitment to government transparency. David Pilpel also supported Anderson, noting her passion and confirming that process improvements for sunshine requests are already being considered.
- Item 4 (Elections Social Media Surveillance): David Pilpel expressed support, calling the department’s request a “reasonable use of technology” not mass surveillance.
- Item 5 (Debarment for Labor Law Violations): Chema Hernandez Gill (SEIU Local 1021) supported the ordinance, stating it should only apply to the worst actors. Debbie Lerman (San Francisco Human Services Network) raised unresolved questions about safeguards in the debarment process, urging continued dialogue to avoid unjust pressure on employers, especially in human services.
- Item 6 (Labor and Employment Code): David Pilpel questioned the need for a new code but accepted it if it was the best way to achieve the goal.
Discussion Items
- Items 1 & 2 – Treasury Oversight Committee Reappointments: Chair Dorsey introduced Brenda Kwee McNulty and Aimee Brown, both renominated by Treasurer Jose Cisneros. McNulty highlighted her MBA in finance and 33 years in financial services, including past service on the Citizens General Obligation Bonds committee. Brown emphasized 30 years in public finance, experience as a financial advisor to the SFPUC, and prior leadership on the Revenue Bond Oversight Committee. Both were approved without questions.
- Item 3 – Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Appointment: Maxine Anderson, nominated by the League of Women Voters, spoke about her journey from voter registration to advocacy for government transparency. Chair Dorsey raised the possibility of IT improvements to streamline sunshine requests; Anderson agreed, noting funding challenges. The committee voted unanimously to recommend her appointment.
- Item 4 – Department of Elections Social Media Monitoring Policy: Director John Arntz explained the proposed software (e.g., Hootsuite or Sprout) as a dashboard to unify social media accounts and schedule posts. He clarified the tool does not track individuals but aggregates engagement metrics. The policy went through the Committee on Information Technology (COIT) process starting in 2022. The committee approved unanimously.
- Item 5 – Contractor Debarment for Labor Law Violations: Supervisor Connie Chan presented the ordinance to add wage theft and unfair labor practices as grounds for suspension or debarment of city contractors. She cited support from the Chinese Progressive Association and noted that debarment requires egregious violations proven through state or federal labor law. Supervisor Walton and Safai expressed strong support; Safai requested to be added as a co-sponsor, as did Chair Dorsey. Chan acknowledged Human Services Network concerns and committed to continuing discussions, possibly offering amendments on the full board floor.
- Item 6 – Establishing the Labor and Employment Code: Supervisor Safai described the ordinance as a code cleanup that renumbers existing worker protection laws (19 in Division I for all employees, 9 in Division II for city contractors) and removes three expired COVID-19 laws. No substantive changes were made. The committee approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 & 2: Motion to strike “reject” from the motions and send both appointments to the full board with positive recommendations – passed 3-0.
- Item 3: Motion to recommend Maxine Anderson to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force – passed 3-0.
- Item 4: Motion to send the Surveillance Technology Policy for the Department of Elections to the full board with a positive recommendation – passed 3-0.
- Item 5: Motion to send the Suspension/Debarment Ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation – passed 3-0. Supervisor Chan committed to ongoing discussions with stakeholders before the October 17 board hearing.
- Item 6: Motion to send the Labor and Employment Code to the full board with a positive recommendation for the October 17 board meeting – passed 3-0.
All items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on October 17, 2023.
Meeting Transcript
This meeting will come to order. Good morning, everyone. And welcome to the uh Monday, October 2nd, 2023, meeting of the Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Chair of this committee, and I am joined by Vice Chair Shimon Walton and uh committee member Asha Safai is on his way. Um together we'd like to express our gratitude to our clerk today, Mr. Victor Young. Thanks also to the team at SFGov TV for facilitating and broadcasting today's meeting, in particular our producer today, uh Mr. Matthew Egnow. Um before we get underway, I want to acknowledge a memorial on our Board of Supervisors Chambers today, which honors a former member and president of this body. Today's Rules Committee marks the first public meeting of the Board of Supervisors since the sad news last Friday that Senator Diane Feinstein passed away. First elected in 1969, Diane Feinstein served with distinction on this board from January 8th, 1970 to December 4th, 1978, when a shocking tragedy of the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk thrust her into the mayoralty of the city during one of its most difficult and tumultuous tumultuous moments. She was the first woman to serve as board president in San Francisco history. She was the first woman to serve as mayor in San Francisco history. She was also the first women woman to win the Democratic nomination for governor in California history in 1990, which was the year I first met Diane Feinstein. She lost narrowly that year, but as luck would have it, I worked for the political consulting team two years later that was part of her successful Senate bid. And yes, she was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in California history. There will be many more words spoken in the coming days about everything that the late Diane Feinstein meant to our city, to our state, and to our nation. But as an expression of our condolences to her family and loved ones, I would ask that we observe just a moment of remembrance. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Uh yes, the Board of Supervisors and his committees are now convening hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. Public comment will be taking on each item on this agenda. Those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we will take those who are waiting on the telephone line. The public comment call-in number is streaming across the screen. When connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but you'll be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Those joining us in person should line up to speak, and those on the telephone should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. If you are on the telephone, please remember to turn down your television and other listening devices you may be using. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR.yo N G at SFGov.org. You may also send your written comment via U.S. mail to our office at City Hall. One, Dr. Carlton, B. Goodlet Place, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. Finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear at the Board of Supervisors' agenda on October 17th, 2023, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one and number two together? Yes, item number one is a motion approving and rejecting the treasurer's nomination of Brenda Key McNutley for uh term ending September 30th, 2027 to the Treasurer Oversight Committee. Item number two is a motion approving rejecting the treasurer nomination of Amy Brown for a term ending September 30th, 2027 to the Treasury Oversight Committee. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Um the two individuals are uh before us today are currently serving in these roles and have been re-ominated by Treasurer Jose Cisneros. The requirements for each of their seats is to be a member of the public who has expertise in or academic background in public finance and are economically diverse and bipartisan in political registration. I'd first like to invite up Brenda Quee McNulty, who has been renominated to seat number seven. As always, I'd like to ask nominees to keep their remarks to uh no more than two minutes and uh be available for questions if necessary. Ms.
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